Downtown Development Commission

Downtown Development Commission July 17, 2013 Open Meeting Act Present: Carla Brady, Maureen Byrne, Ben Cahill, Brad Cramer, Mark Fabyanski, Mike Kopas, Wayne Lajewski, Steven Whitehorn, Marsha Ann Zimmerman, Jim Burnet Excused: Mayor Conley, Lisa Ellis, Craig Erezuma, Larry Jasen, Russell Stern, Carmen Vacchiano Ben Cahill motion to approve minutes. Motion approved. Mike ,Carla, Brad abstain Invitation to the Public: Treasurer’s Report: May Day is on track to make a profit. Farmer’s Market has brought is on track to break even. The Art Poles were $3600; expect to recoup this expense after the art exhibition. Mayor’s Report: No report Council Liaison's Report: Drove around at 3 and 3:30, saw no impact on traffic or parking from the Farmers Market. Realogy ribbon cutting took place today. 950 employees is a large potential market for the Downtown The Chamber is developing Corporation personalized Value Cards to encourage larger corporation employees to come downtown. Planning Board: Realogy got variance for extra sign. A sub-committee is working on looking at zoning at Giralda Farms. We can’t keep companies for leaving; how do we attract new tenants in as quickly as possible. Pfizer building is a special project; the planning board took a tour of the property, and looking at impervious coverages, hazardous run off,, above ground parking, looking at making it as attractive as possible, without losing the values Madison has established. It was suggested that at some point the Planning Board and DDC jointly discuss the results of the sub committee. Walgreen’s has announced they are going to submit to take over the entire first floor; nothing has been presented to the Planning Board. There is a proposed development of the Jaguar building on Main and Alexander; it may be appropriate for the DDC to weigh in on the project. Eric, Jim and Russ will craft a letter setting out the conditions that the DDC would need to support the development of the property. Elite Nails is moving into the old Naftali property. Great Clips (Hairdresser) is moving into the space next to Naftali’s (in the Starbucks area). Committee Reports University Relations; Mike spoke about the MAD shuttle. The universities will be meeting again to discuss changes that will make it more economically feasible (increase ridership). The question was raised, after the term of the transit sponsorship is up, will the DDC continue to support (financially) the shuttle. Eric suggested that the DDC would support marketing efforts, including maintaining the domain name and paying for any possible route sign changes. Ridership is low; it has been increasing, but it is not self-stainable; even if the bus was full at all times, the shuttle would not be self sufficient. Hard to quantify the economic benefit to the town; ridership is hard to determine. Possible upgrades would be a card swipe and GPS tracker with app (so people would know how far away it is). But these would require additional dollars from the participating schools Drew’s experience with the Zip Car project was that it was a slow take up, but has developed a large following. Possible that the MAD shuttle will have a similar history. Mike suggested that a more “retro” trolley would increase traffic. Still need to quantify the results of the ridership, before the grant expires in September 2014. Drew Town Tour will be August 31st. Hopefully anyone in town will participate as the town tour guide. Public Improvement: Will be meeting next Wednesday morning. No report. Eric asked when DPW will be installing the Lincoln Place grates. Jim will look into this. Sign and Façade: Policy and Procedure work continues; all the communications with applicants and code enforcement communication will funnel through zoning office; the borough zoning officers will be overseeing this, not the committee. (Similar to the Planning Board process). Ad Hoc Committees Taste of Madison; check for $12,000 should be coming soon. May Day; Still updating the report. Bottle Hill Day: Applications will go out mid-July; posted on website. Drew is looking to have more significant presence at the fair. Moving parents day activities to Bottle Hill the community will be invited back to Drew that evening for a fire works display. MACA is owed a $1000 grant towards equipment or other things involved in Bottle Hill Day. Marsha Ann reported that there is a verbal agreement for sponsorship for the next two years. Farmer’s Market: July 4th market. Two vendors will not be able to come on that date. Barbara was talking to the other vendors to see who might have a difficulty. At least one farmer is committed, so the market will continue. Old Business: Proposal from Alternative Press for advertising. $135 for a small ad, or $250 for a large ad. Bonnie Crammer presented a report on readership and what the Alternative Press has to offer. The Alternative Press has grown to 50 communities and over 1 million readers, and anticipates growing to 100 communities by year end. The Alternative Press is a community based and focused business, focusing on positive local stories. Possibility to advertise different events, search engine optimization, (direct link to Love Madison site). Quantifiable results (clicks per month). One year contract. Also includes a spotlight article. Ad can change as often as we want. Steve Whitehorn moved that we sign up for the $135 per month for a year. Bob Landrigan seconded it. Discussion that individual events may want to have additional advertisements on a n ad hoc basis. Motion carried; Brad Cramer abstained. July Electric bill insert is devoted to DDC. Will do a promo of the DDC on one side, and the Farmer’s Market on the other. Maureen Byrne suggested a call for volunteers be included. Cook and Elmer lots improvement: At the last meeting we approved $5000 matching grant to improve landscaping. We will approach Coviello’s to present a design plan for the parking lots. Jim and Eric will revisit the shared parking agreements and put together a proposal for shared parking signage. Wayne L mentioned there is some concern about the number of alcohol related events taking place in Madison, Foundation Report: Reorganization meeting May 7;th. The 2013 grant has been approved. Additional grants were discussed and approved. The Drew Town Tour was granted a separate hearing since it was a time sensitive grant Future Meetings: July 18 Oct 17 Dec 17 Assistant Borough Administrator’s Report: Realogy opening today. The building is Silver LEED, and highly technical. Jim Burnet will arrange for the DDC to get a tour and hold a meeting there at a future date. Marketing of Pfizer: Looking to work on a Power Point presentation to market the space. Jim is working with various marketing entities to July 24th is the Quest-Town Softball game. Mark Fabyanski’s band will provide the entertainment. Eric suggested that following the Foundation schedule we schedule an August meeting hiatus. Katelyn Moriarity is the new intern. Midori Tagawa is returning to Japan for the summer, but will rejoin us in September. Meeting adjourned at 8:51.