Old Town La Verne Business Improvement District Agendas

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE FEBRUARY 1, 2021 OLD TOWN LA VERNE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT MEETING The Old Town La Verne Business Improvement District meeting will be closed to the public in compliance with Governor Newsom’s Executive Order to minimize the spread of the COVID- 19 Virus. Additionally, the meeting will be conducted via teleconference with members participating remotely. Considering this, the customary meeting format has been modified. Even with this change in format, the City is still encouraging public participation and wishes to make residents aware of the following opportunities for participation: 1) View the meeting through the City’s website at www.cityoflaverne.org/stream 2) Please submit your written comments via email at planning@cityoflaverne.org. They will be shared with the District Board Members prior to the meeting and will be made part of the permanent record. We ask that you provide those emails before 7:00 p.m. the day before the meeting. Please be advised that public comments submitted by emails or any other format to the City are public records that will be made available for public viewing. 3) For individuals that wish to share their comments during the live stream, you may email planning@cityoflaverne.org by 7:00 a.m. on the day of the meeting with a phone number and the item(s) you wish to speak on. We will call you back at the appropriate time during the meeting for your comment.  AGENDA Old Town La Verne Business Improvement District Advisory Board Tuesday, February 1, 2021 – 8:30 am – www.cityoflaverne.org/stream 1. WELCOME AND CALL TO ORDER- Board Members City Representatives/Others Present Craig Walters, Chair Eric Scherer, Com. Dev. Director Chris Gendreau, Vice Chair Natalie Hiatt, Com. Dev. Admin. Clerk Marianne Stark Leah Skinner, Chamber of Commerce Jason Miller Alfie Sanchez, Majestic Cycling Micky Rehm Matt Forgey (Alternate) 2. CALENDAR- Cool Cruise - Sat. April 3, 2021? 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES December 2, 2020 and December 7, 2020 4. NEW BUISNESS A. Majestic Cycling – Proposed Event 5. CONTINUED BUSINESS A. D Street Closure B. Alternate Board Member Interest 6. COMMITTEE REPORTS/ UPDATES A. City Report (Eric Scherer): B. University Report (Jason Miller): C. Marketing (Micky Rehm): D. Chamber Report (Leah Skinner): E. Social Media Update (Micky Rehm): F. Financial Report: 6. PUBLIC COMMENT (Any discussion or action on non-agendized items must be deferred to the following meeting, as required by California Brown Act Law) 7. ADJOURNMENT – Monday March 1, 2021 8:30 am–www.cityoflaverne.org/stream  OLD TOWN LA VERNE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTIRICT MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING Wednesday, December 2, 2020 1. The teleconference meeting was called to order by Chairperson Craig Walters at 8:30a.m. Chairperson Walters stated that questions can be emailed to planning@cityoflaverne.org. Advisory Board Members present: Craig Walters, Chris Gendreau, Jason Miller, Marianne Stark, Micky Rehm and Matt Forgey. City Representatives present: Community Development Director Eric Scherer, Administrative Clerk Natalie Hiatt, and Mayor Tim Hepburn. Others present: Leah Skinner. Chairperson Walters remembered Brian McNerney of the La Verne Chamber of Commerce. Mr. McNerney unexpectedly passed the morning of Thanksgiving. 2. CALENDAR Cool Cruise – Rescheduled – Date to be determined. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES None 4. NEW BUSINESS None 5. CONTINUED BUSINESS A. D Street Closure - Chairperson Walters recapped that last week Los Angeles County ordered that all outdoor dining stop and be limited to takeout and delivery for three weeks. He stated concern for the businesses on D Street that were utilizing the street closure and invested in outdoor dining setups. The City polled members and it was decided to keep the barriers in place until more information was provided regarding the court case filed by the California Restaurant Association. Mr. Scherer stated that since the order was issued there has been discussion of a new Safer at Home order issued by the State that would presumptively extend outdoor dining closure further. He stated that it was temporarily decided to leave the street closed. The City is now looking for direction from the Board. There were four Public Comments received. Ms. Stark asked if it would be considered outdoor dining if the restaurants left their outdoor dining area in place for takeout diners. Mr. Scherer stated that it would be considered outdoor dining because it’s an extension of their restaurant area as permitted by the City, Alcohol Beverage Control, and Los Angeles County Health Department. 1 Ms. Stark asked if City owned park benches can be added to the center of D Street for takeout. Mr. Scherer stated that it has been discussed but there is some risk in facilitating. The City needs to investigate with their insurance company. Chairperson Walters stated that there were mixed feelings about opening the street last week but those that he spoke to directly supported opening the street if there was no activity in the street. Mr. Gendreau suggested waiting for the outcome of the court case before making a decision. He stated that many restaurants in Glendora and Claremont are going against the order and have remained open. Ms. Rehm stated that Downtown is dead and only one restaurant is still utilizing the space. She stated that by re-opening the street there would be more activity and easier access for the consumers. Ms. Stark asked if City Council can override the order. Mr. Scherer stated that the City is taking hands off approach. If complaints are received the Police Department will follow-up and educate the businesses. Mayor Hepburn stated that as of yesterday there are 832 COVID cases and 15 deaths. He stated that he is not agreement of the order but we must abide by it. Chairperson Walters stated that this special meeting was called in hopes that the court’s decision would be made but it was delayed. Mr. Forgey stated support in the street remaining closed if the court case is successful. Ms. Rehm stated that she hopes the court case is in favor of the restaurants but if it does not rule in favor, the street should be re-opened. Mr. Miller recommended that the Board agree upon a timeframe to re-open the street based upon the court’s decision. Mr. Scherer stated the decision can be handled at a staff level but City Council will be informed and given the opportunity to add the item to the City Council agenda for Monday’s meeting. Ms. Stark recommended waiting until the Monday BID meeting for a decision. It was moved by Mr. Gendreau and seconded by Ms. Stark to recommend the City continue the street closure for outdoor dining if a positive court decision is received. However, if the decision is not in favor of the restaurants the City should start the process 2  of re-opening the street. If the court case is not decided today the DBID will wait until the regularly scheduled meeting Monday to decide. Motion carried by a 5-0 vote. Mr. Gendreau asked if the Business Assistance Grant was still available and if those that already received money can re-apply for more assistance. Mr. Scherer stated there are still funds available and it’s a possibility that the Committee will decide to allow businesses to apply for more assistance. He encouraged those that have not applied to submit their applications. Mayor Hepburn stated that the businesses have the Council’s full support. 6. COMMITTEE REPORTS/ UPDATES A. City Report (Eric Scherer): None B. University Report (Jason Miller): None C. Marketing (Micky Rehm): None D. Chamber Report (Leah Skinner): None E. Social Media Update (Micky Rehm): None F. Financial Report: None 7. PUBLIC COMMENT (Any discussion or action on non-agendized items must be deferred to the following meeting, as required by California Brown Act Law) 8. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 9:18 a.m., to the next meeting to be held on Monday, December 7, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. Respectively submitted, _____________________ Natalie M. Hiatt ATTACHMENT: PUBLIC COMMENTS RECEIVED. 3 From: Jackson Salinas [mailto:jaxsalinas@gmail.com] Sent: Saturday, November 28, 2020 2:23 PM To: Planning Subject: OLD TOWN LA VERNE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT SPECIAL MEETING Public Comment 12/02/2020 Continued Business A: I am asking this board to defy the outdoor dining ban from Los Angeles County, and to join the lawsuit filed by the California Restaurant Association as well as getting neighboring cites to form a coalition that will defy the order as well. For the sake of our residents and our businesses please do what’s right for the public and our local economy. If our restaurants have to go back only for take-out or delivery it is going to make things worse for them. I sent this to the city council already but we have had enough of this. I hope you take this into consideration. Committee Reports/Updates A. Has the city looked into forming a health department in regards to the health orders? San Dimas is starting to look into doing that as well because they don’t like what the county is doing regarding the current orders. If we had our own health department like Pasadena and Long Beach it would let us do our own thing regarding the current health orders. Has there been any update from Kathryn Barger's office regarding getting La Verne exempt from the outdoor dining ban? Jackson Salinas 4 From: emartinez306 [mailto:emartinez306@yahoo.com] Sent: Sunday, November 29, 2020 10:59 PM To: Planning Subject: Down Town La Verne outdoor dining To whom it may concern, Please keep the outdoor dining option in D St. As long as the employees follow the mask /face sheild guidelines there is no reason to shut it down. E. Martinez Resident residing on D St. Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S10. 5 From: smoke shop <smokeshoplaverne@gmail.com> Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2020 at 9:05 AM To: Craig H Walters <chwalters@cpp.edu> Subject: Ex: I hope this email finds you well during this difficult time .I wanted to thank our city council in supporting our samll businesses in down town la verne. During the start of the pandemic . I was one of the first to support the resturants surrounding my shop.The clasure of the street affected my shop and caused my business to barely survive. Since the new stay at home Order was in effect 11/30 till 12/20. The resturants will Not be able to dine Outside so it will be appropriate to Re open the street . This will help the non-resturants on the street that are struggling as well. We all need to unite as a community to help One another because the pabdemic is affecting every household financially and emotionally. Thank you for your time and support Regards Frank 6 From: Michelle BENITEZ [mailto:myjuljad@att.net] Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2020 12:22 PM To: Planning Subject: Support for small business Hello- I’m in favor of la Verne restaurants being able to stay open for outdoor dining. They can’t survive with take out alone. If the city doesn’t do something business will close, people will loose jobs and so on. It’s a spiral affect that won’t stop. I’m also in favor of the city working with San Dimas to get our own health officer so we are not lumped together with LA County. Please take care of the small business in la Verne. Thank you, Michelle Benitez Get Outlook for iOS 7  OLD TOWN LA VERNE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTIRICT MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING Wednesday, December 7, 2020 1. The teleconference meeting was called to order by Chairperson Craig Walters at 8:30a.m. Chairperson Walters stated that questions can be emailed to planning@cityoflaverne.org. Advisory Board Members present: Craig Walters, Chris Gendreau, Jason Miller, Marianne Stark, Micky Rehm and Matt Forgey. City Representatives present: Community Development Director Eric Scherer, Administrative Clerk Natalie Hiatt, and Mayor Tim Hepburn. Others present: Leah Skinner. 2. CALENDAR Cool Cruise – Saturday, April 3, 2021? 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES November 2, 2020 It was moved by Ms. Stark and seconded by Mr. Miller to approve the minutes of the November 2, 2020 meeting. Motion carried by a 5-0 vote. 4. NEW BUSINESS A. La Verne Car Show Contract Extension – Mr. Scherer stated that he and Craig Hoelzel had an informal discussion regarding a one year extension of the current contract instead of re-negotiating a new contract. The extension would allow Mr. Hoelzel the opportunity to re-schedule the Car Shows cancelled due to COVID-19. The Board provided general direction to pursue this further. B. Proposed Old Town La Verne Delivery Service - Mr. Scherer stated that Robin Levander contacted him suggesting that the businesses band together to create a delivery service. The participants would pay a driver to make their deliveries. Mr. Gendreau stated that he was not interested in this for his business. Mr. Forgey stated that they have their own delivery person and he was not interested. He expressed some concerns about the cost breakdown. Mr. Gendreau suggested that Ms. Levander recruit other businesses for interest. There was one Public Comment received. 5. CONTINUED BUSINESS A. D Street Closure – Chairperson Walters stated that the Restaurant Association challenged the outdoor dining shutdown but the court’s decision was pushed. In the meantime, the Governor has expanded statewide order to shutdown outdoor dining. 1  Chairperson Walters spoke to several businesses and the majority preferred the streets be open while outdoor dining is not allowed. Mayor Hepburn stated that he visited Old Town on Sunday. Most of the restaurants were closed and it felt depressing. Ms. Stark asked if parking spaces can be designated for curbside pick-up. Mr. Gendreau stated that the State order overrules the County’s closure order. Ms. Rehm stated that her customers commented on how depressing the street looks and the businesses look closed. Mr. Gendreau asked how quickly the street can be closed. Mr. Scherer stated that it took approximately 6 hours when it was closed in July. He stated that businesses need to be given notice before re-opening the street and at the earliest it could be open on Wednesday. Delineators with signage can be placed at designated parking spaces for pick-up only. It was moved by Mr. Miller and seconded by Mr. Walters to re-open the street until outdoor dining is allowed. Motion carried by a 4-1 vote (Mr. Gendreau opposed). There were two Public Comments received. B. Alternate Board Member Interest – Mr. Scherer stated that no one has expressed interest and asked that the Board talk to other businesses to garner interest. 6. COMMITTEE REPORTS/ UPDATES A. City Report (Eric Scherer): None B. University Report (Jason Miller): None C. Marketing (Micky Rehm): None D. Chamber Report (Leah Skinner): Ms. Skinner stated that the scavenger hunt will continue thru December 31st, the nominations for The Excellence in La Verne award are due today, and the Shop La Verne Card is available now. E. Social Media Update (Micky Rehm): None F. Financial Report: None 7. PUBLIC COMMENT (Any discussion or action on non-agendized items must be deferred to the following meeting, as required by California Brown Act Law) 8. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 9:23 a.m., to the next meeting to be held on Monday, January 11, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. 2 Respectively submitted, _____________________ Natalie M. Hiatt ATTACHMENT: PUBLIC COMMENTS RECEIVED. 3 From: Jackson Salinas [jaxsalinas@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, December 4, 2020 12:49 AM To: Planning Subject: OLD TOWN LA VERNE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT MEETING Public Comment 12/07/2020 4. NEW BUSINESS B. Proposed Old Town La Verne Delivery Service: How will this service work? 5. CONTINUEDBUSINESS A. D Street Closure: Why don't we just let the people dine by having them sit at the tables at the restaurants outside and say it's a protest? That way the restaurants won't get fined or shut down by the county. Also, what Governor Newsom is saying about the ICU capacity regarding his regional stay at home order is false. He is trying to scare us by lying. Here are some screenshots from Justin Harts Twitter and an article about the ICU capacity from one of the screenshots. Here is his link to his post: https://twitter.com/justin_hart/status/1334599014474338306?s=21 https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/patient-flow/2-healthcare-leaders-talk-icu-capacity-5- sound-bites.html 4 5 From: Christy Shipley [mailto:christyshipley89@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 7:57 AM To: Natalie Hiatt Subject: D Street Closure in Support of our Small Businesses I love living in La Verne. The Mayberry amongst the eastern suburbs of L.A. County; I’m proud to call this my home. Since the pandemic began, our opportunities for normalcy are limited. While vacations, parties, and special events are canceled around us, my husband and I have taken comfort in our visits to the restaurants in Old Town La Verne. Less than a mile from our home, we can walk there in 15 minutes and feel “normal” again for a couple hours while enjoying a great meal. I’m heartbroken for the hardworking, small business owners of these venues. They’ve suffered a whiplash of openings, closings, and assorted restrictions. Please don’t add to their burden by asking them to remove the tents and tables from D Street. I can’t fathom how much money has been spent on the supplies purchased to make outdoor dining a pleasurable experience for the community. To dismantle their efforts for a period that might be as brief as three weeks seems like a cruel punctuation mark at the end of a long, dark story. Please consider keeping D Street closed while we wait out these last few weeks of our (hopefully) last major lockdown. Let’s not ask our restauranteurs for another sacrifice. They’ve suffered enough. I’m afraid they won’t survive much longer. Then we all lose. Thanks for your consideration, Christy Shipley La Verne resident 6