IF Downtown Development Corporation (IFDDC)

Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corp. October 12, 2021, board meeting was held at the Bank of Idaho board room 350 Memorial Drive, Suite 200 at 8:30am Attendance: Jill Hansen, Emily Fitzpatrick, Chip Langerak, Greg Crockett, Tasha Taylor, Kevin Josephson, Cindy Napier, Steve Fischbach, Kasi Nelson, Rain, guest of Kevin Josephson and Councilman Jim Francis Staff: Catherine Smith, Juan Hernandez and Mala Lyon Minutes for September 14, 2021 were reviewed – Kevin J. motioned they be approved; Chip seconded and board approved Financial Report –Overall financials are in solid position for organization. $61,000 of the Other income line item the PPP loan that was forgiven and turned into a grant. $13,000 from the sale of the CanAm side-by-side. With those removed we have an $11,000 actual profit overall which is terrific. We were over budget for maintenance because of snow plowing, ice melt and hauling the snow piles out. We also had some vandalism with the flowerpots and had to buy new flowers. We came in low on postage and delivery, public art, and travel as the conferences were canceled last year. Parking income is good – we have collected $7000 approximately from the Temporary Parking permits which construction workers use so they can park on the street while working in buildings. The processing fees, software and unpaid ticket notification letters costs fluctuate depending on the number of citations issued. Tasha motioned they be approved; Jill seconded, and board approved Catherine – Oktoberfest was Sept 25th and we were down about $6,300 in income from past years. We moved the event to have the same footprint as Alive After 5 by the Civitan Plaza for a number of reasons. That being better control of the footprint of where alcohol is being consumed with the footprint established at Civitan’s Plaza and the B Street closure. We also saved $1500 on expenses because we have power at Civitan’s and a stage. We save on renting that equipment necessary for the event. The bars on Park were not happy that we moved it as they felt they lost business that night. We do need to define what the true intent of our events are. A fundraiser for us or to promote the businesses of downtown? Greg said we have events to bring people downtown but we have to ensure IFDDC covers expenses and raises the funds for our organization. Cindy asked what the time was for the event? 4-9:00pm Chip asked if we do our St Paddy’s event on St. Paddy’s day? We usually do it the weekend before. Kasi suggested we start our events earlier and then people will filter into the downtown bars and restaurants after as the evening will still be young. Fall Brew will be Nov 5th and it will be an open event so social distancing can happen. Crawl-o-ween will be Oct 30th with a coupon page for $10 and a costume contest. People can buy the coupon pages online or the night of. The parking ‘block face’ ordinance has been approved by the city council and the signs will be installed in the next few weeks. Patrons will be able to park for two hours then they must move to the next block to park for a second two hours. We have placed a vinyl art wrap on the new traffic cabinet at Memorial and Broadway with artwork from Fred Ochi. We also have installed a new sign on the green belt that has out logo on it. The poles are too tall, and we will be getting them fixed. Met with Public Works about the arch sign over Broadway. Chris Fredrickson likes the idea. We are going to work with Lisa Farris to get $1,500 grant money for the engineering design which will cost about $2,900. IFDDC will have to cover the $1,400. There are details like making sure it doesn’t cover the line of sight to be able to see the traffic lights. Jerry Miller joined us from Boise to give an overview of the MainStreet program. He said that Downtowns are the ‘canary in the coal mine’. You can tell how a community is doing by noticing how their downtown is doing. Most visitors to a city are coming to visit family and friends. To create a community transformation, you need 4 things: Economic Vitality, Design, Organization and Promotion. You want to ‘sell an experience’ more than an item so people will remember the positive experience and want to come back. People are looking for experiences that they can’t have in their own hometown when they travel. They are willing to pay more to have that. There are 3 spaces we spend our time – home, work and places we go to have fun and gather. Create a diverse Business environment that includes services and activities, learning hubs like a library, housing – most people spend most of their disposable income within 2 miles of their home, sound business practices like consistent hours being open. Look at being open evenings and weekends of Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 7:00pm so people that work 9 to 5 have a chance to come shopping. Many businesses are using the ‘Tuesday is the new Sunday’ and are closed on Tuesdays. E-Commerce and social media are so important. Be on Trip Advisor. People look there for reviews and ideas of where to shop and eat out in a new city. Local shops can provide customer service, a great experience and answer questions. You will have follow-up sale if they have a great experience. MainStreet offers training, networking, conferences, research and data and much more. You can learn from other communities and find out what is working for them. For example, Nampa has a Walking Tour app that is very successful. Downtowns are using electric car charging stations to get people to discover their downtown. It takes 30 to 60 minutes to charge a car, so these people have time to go walking around. ‘Gem State Prospector’ has lists of buildings for sale or lease and can be used by your downtown. Jerry is going to send a PDF file to Catherine for those that would like to see more. Meeting was adjourned at 10:00am Our next board meeting is scheduled to be held November 2, 2021. Respectfully submitted by Jill Hansen, Secretary and Mala Lyon