IF Downtown Development Corporation (IFDDC)

Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corp. March 2, 2021 board meeting was held at the DEC – 480 Park Ave at 8:30am Attendance: Jake Durtschi, Emily Fitzpatrick, Brandi Newton, Kevin Josephson, Steve Fischbach, Cindy Napier, Jill Hansen, Tasha Taylor, Lisa Farris, Kevin Cutler, Brad Crammer and Anas Almassrahy. Staff: Catherine Smith, Juan Hernandez, Mala Lyon Minutes for February 9, 2021 were reviewed - Tasha motioned to accept the minutes. Jill seconded and board approved Financial report – Brandi – We applied for a second PPP loan and assume it also will be forgiven like the first one was. We have $106,000 so we are in a good position to pay the bills. We are still learning about the costs of software and other parking costs as we go forward. Jake asked if we know when we can apply to have to PPP loan forgiven? In 3 to 4 months. The Bank of Idaho will help us know when to do that. This money is to help us keep paying the payroll. Jake asked if events were in the budget? No we didn’t include them, but the board can approve them cost of putting them on with the knowledge it might be at a loss. Brandi motioned the financial report be approved; Kevin Cutler seconded and board approved. Directors report - Catherine – Events cost about $80,000 to put on but then after expenses we have $25,000 – $30,000 profit. The events help us fulfill our mission to promote the downtown. When do we start to have events again? We don’t have the time to do the St Paddy’s Day in March, but the Springbrew would usually be held April 17th with the ‘Awesomeness of Autism’ fund raiser that goes on the week prior and ends at the Springbrew. We did not hold the 2020 Winterbrew as the Civitan Plaza had too much snow and there have been no events since. Brandi said we need to decide what the objective is – to get people downtown? Raise funds? The restaurants are still at limited seating and no matter what you choose the perception given of holding a ‘safe’ event or not you can’t win because opinions are so diverse on what is the right thing to do. Maybe spending $5,000 on an ad campaign to promote downtown right now is the best thing to do. Catherine has had several phone calls from business owners asking what we are doing, so we feel we need to do something to show them our value whether its an event or a robust advertising campaign. Jake is having a Comedy Night in March where people will be seated at a table and required to stay put and the response has been extremely positive. People are ready to get out. Steve asked how we would look doing an event like the Springbrew, even though it would most likely be a success. Brandi said they had a dance competition event, and everyone was very compliant with the rules. Jill said people will not be wearing masks as they will be drinking and eating. Tasha said it will be an outdoor event but maybe we could push it back to June giving us plenty of time to plan. Brandi said you can announce the date as a show of we are trying to make things happen and then cancel if needed. A letter could be given to all the downtown businesses telling them what we are hoping to do. Kevin J. said you are not going to make everyone happy, so we can just pick a date. Kevin C. suggested we do a ‘season opener’ for the Alive After 5 in May. We can work with them on advertising maybe even be a title sponsor for the summer. We can work together to set up the rules of how to make these events work. Brandi said you can get exemptions from the Health Department to hold events. We may need to hire more security, so it does not all fall on the staff to enforce wearing of masks or spacing out rules. Catherine will confirm the date of the first Alive After 5, talk with Krisi on dates for a brew fest prior to their first one and ask Civitans about the cost of being a title sponsor. The enforcement vehicle we call the Vroom Vroom we have been using for almost 1 ½ years now and we have discovered is it very expensive to maintain. Juan created a power point to show the costs. It costs $150 each time the oil is changed every 1,000 miles which is every 8 – 9 weeks. It only gets about 12 miles to the gallon. We were told that we cannot drive it out of the Downtown so we can’t park it at Juan’s house like we were last year, we have to bring cans of gas in as there is not a gas station within our downtown borders, and we have not been able to find a secure place to park it at night. We have been using the parking garage and the A Lot. There are very expensive cameras and computers on and in the Vroom Vroom that need to be protected. We have investigated the option of having the equipment moved to a small car. All these issues and maintenance costs would be less. We estimate we could sell the Vroom Vroom for $10,000 and purchase a used car for that amount or less to replace it. We would have to buy the car, move the equipment and then sell the Vroom Vroom. Jake asked if we would buy an American made car? Brandi asked if we could get a dealership to sponsor and we could put their logo on the car? Or lease a car? We must install the equipment with bolts into the floor, so leasing is not an option. Kevin J suggested buying a small pickup truck so we would still have the means to haul water and other things. Catherine said Boise uses smaller cars so that was who we were following as an example. The watering needs and parking enforcement are two different things. Brandi motion that we find a car that fits our needs, move the equipment and then sell the Vroom Vroom; Cindy seconded and board approved. Public Art – this summer we will install fiberglass Labrador dogs calling the project “Labs of Downtown” as a nod to the INL who is sponsoring it after the mural didn’t happen last summer. Gibby Smeade will paint the first one as she was the artist that was to do the mural for the INL. We will work closely with Misty Benjamin from the INL. The labs will be anchored to the brick paver areas on the sidewalks. Lighting project in the parking lots is moving forward as planned. Lisa – We have $37,000 left for new projects. Spruce and Pie Hole had some construction issues that are having to be re-done. We are working on the 5-year plan moving forward to determine how to use the coming funds. Brad – introduced Anas as new to the city office. Promoting “Imagine I.F.” discussion – what to preserve, you can do oral histories and video memories as part of this. There is a city-wide survey out and everyone is encouraged to fill it out. The city water tower – Brad said we need to not disrupt this process and to think of the city council as a jury who is only reviewing the facts as presented to them. Just like a jury they need to not be influenced by opinions. Catherine said we were very involved in 2019 in letting property owners and business owners know what was happening and when the meeting were. The consensus then was not to see it put in a parking lot area and the S Capital park was the best solution. If this were to be installed in one of the proposed parking lots the Cliff Street area would be torn up for two years as it is built, impacting the businesses in that area severely. The city council voted on the S Capital park location in May of 2020. The IFDDC is not engaging in the current discussion at this time but will watch closely. Steve – snow plies in the B lot are taking up a lot od parking spaces. What is the process of when the decision is made to have snow hauled out? The exit onto B Street is almost blocked now with the snow pile and when a vehicle parks in the last spot. Catherine said we plan for 3 snow removals in the budget and will look into this to see if it can just be moved higher or if it needs to be hauled out. Meeting was adjourned at 9:30am. Our next board meeting is scheduled for April 6, 2021. Respectfully submitted by Jill Hansen, Secretary and Mala Lyon