Downtown Development Commission

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building Date: March 19, 2015 Time: 7:15pm MEETING MINUTES 1) CALL TO ORDER This meeting was called to order at 7:16pm by Chairman Russell Stern 2) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3) ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: R. Conley, (7:35)C. Erezuma E. Range J. Burnet C. Brady B. Short R. Stern J. Hoover S. Whitehorn M. Fabyanski L. Jasen (7:25)M. Zimmerman M. Byrne M. Kopas B. Cramer L. Lajewski MEMBERS ABSENT: A. Baillie, G. Herzog, P. Flemming, J. Hollenbach ALSO PRESENT: Lisa Ellis, DDC Program Director 1) OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS ACT: In compliance with the open public meetings act, adequate notice of this meeting of the Downtown Development Commission was provided by distributing the Annual Meeting schedule to the Madison Eagle and Morris County Daily Record, posting a copy on the bulletin board at the main entrance to the Hartley Dodge Memorial Building, posting a copy on the Borough website, and filing a copy with the Borough Clerk, all on or about the first week of January 2015. Copies of said notice were made available to members of the general public. 2) APPROVAL OF FEBRUARY 2015 MINUTES Motion to approve February 2015 Minutes as presented Moved by: E. Range and Seconded by: L. Lajewski Voice Vote: Unanimous 3) CHAIRMAN/EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORT: Chairman Russell Stern gave a quick report on the Scavenger Hunt scheduled for March 21st, the Bowling for Union Beach Event on Thursday, March 26th and Taste of Madison on March 30th. Volunteers may be needed to pour at the Taste. He also mentioned that the standing committees were getting organized. 4) TREASURER’S REPORT: Brad Cramer presented the monthly Treasurer’s Report. He noted that May Day income and expenses were starting to come in. 5) MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Conley also promoted the Scavenger Hunt and mentioned that he himself was participating. He also announced the upcoming Latino Community Meeting to be held on Saturday, April 11th from 9:00-11:00am at HDM. 6) COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT: No report 7) PLANNING BOARD REPORT: It was reported that KRE/Green Village School Development would be doing 1 before the Planning Board at their next meeting. The Board was also reviewing conceptual plans for a Page  mixed use development proposed for Greenwood Avenue adjacent to the Walgreens’ property. There was additional discussion about existing vacancies and potential new businesses. 8) FOUNDATION REPORT: The Foundation held their reorganization meeting earlier this evening. Eric Range will serve as the Chair and Steve Tombalakian as the Vice Chair. Brad Cramer will continue to serve as the Treasurer. They are looking to fill one slot on the board. They are nearing completion of all necessary tax exempt status documentation. 9) PRESENTATION/DISCUSSION: a) Farmers’ Market Relocation (see presentation): https://www.rosenet.org/uploads/45/farmers_market_relocation_proposal_march_19_2015.pdf Discussion centered on possible challenges and advantages. Merchants adjacent to the Green Village Road location are disappointed with the proposed move to Central Avenue. Motion to forward the proposal to relocate of the 2015 Farmers’ Market to Central Avenue to the Mayor and Council for their review. Moved by: J. Hoover and Seconded by: M. Byrne Voice Vote: Approved by a majority. Barb Short voted No. b) Update on Addition of MACA Representative: This will be up for approval at the first Borough Council Meeting in April. c) Update on Changes to Sidewalk Dining Ordinance: Jim Burnet reported that he was in the process of researching similar ordinances from other towns. The Borough Attorney has been reviewing the issue as well. d) Potential expansion of the METC Concert Series: Lisa Ellis will reach out to the MECT Director to discuss. 10) COMMITTEE REPORTS: a) PIC (Public Improvement): Mark Fabyanski (There will be no PIC report for this meeting as the committee is still organizing details for 2015 projects.) b) University Relations: Carla Brady reported that there had been a preplanning meeting held with herself, Mike Kopas, Jim Burnet and Lisa Ellis in attendance. It was decided that the first step would be to work to get the three universities: Drew, FDU and CSE to agree to three meeting a year to be held potentially in May, September and January. c) Sign & Façade: Craig Erezuma i) 2015 Sign & Façade Committee Guidelines were presented to the Commission. ii) Craig Erezuma requested approval to further research the replacement of the “Old Methodist Church” sign on Waverly Place. Motion to approve the expenditure of up to $1500 for the replacement of this sign: Moved by: B.Cramer and Seconded by: M. Byrne Voice Vote: Approved by a majority. Eric Range voted No. d) Marketing/Branding: Eric Range reported that the committee would be getting organized in the coming weeks. He mentioned the possibility of hiring a professional photographer to come in and photograph Madison in May and October as a possible future initiative. 11) AD HOC COMMITTEE AND PROJECT UPDATES a) Scavenger Hunt (Saturday, March 21, 2015): Laura Cole is doing a great job on this event. Over 10 2 teams have already signed up and more are expected. Page  b) Taste of Madison (Monday, March 30, 2015): It was reported that sponsorship for this event was down this year. Everyone was encouraged to attend and purchase a ticket if they had not already done so. c) May Day (Saturday, May 2, 2015): It was reported that the planning for this event was moving along and that they were in the process of choosing a T-shirt design. The committee would like to honor Mara Johnson, long time event chair as she retires and moves out of the area at the end of March. The committee will be purchasing an engraved pewter tray from Stewart-Morris for presentation to Mara on her surprise farewell on Thursday, March 26th. The funds for this purchase will come out of the May Day Budget. d) DDC/MACA Sidewalk Art Gallery & Gala (Gala date: Saturday, October 24, 2015): The call for artists has gone out. e) Farmers’ Market: (See Above) f) Drew University Town Tour: No Report g) Bottle Hill Day (Saturday, October 3, 2015) h) Sidewalk Sounds: Mark Fabyanski reported that they will be working to get this organized for this year in the coming weeks. i) Historic Town Tour: No Report j) Friday Night Concert Series w/METC: (See Above) k) Wayfinding: It was reported that they are waiting for a production proposal from the sign maker. 12) ASSISTANT BOROUGH ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT: Jim Burnet gave a brief overview of the analytic report on the usage of Rosenet. The DDC’s Bottle Hill Day page had received the second most hits of all pages on the site. Overall the DDC pages are receiving a fair amount of attention. 13) OLD BUSINESS 14) NEW BUSINESS a) Update of the DDC “Meet the Commissioners” tab and contact information. Lisa Ellis is still requesting bios and photographs from the commissioners. b) Maureen Byrne noted that the Madison Environmental Commission will not be hosting the Green Fair this year. c) Craig Erezuma offered that the DDC needs to keep generating and pursuing new ideas. d) Lisa Ellis reported on upcoming Madison Chamber of Commerce events. Including; Easter Fun Fest, The Home Expo, the Madison Loyalty Rewards Card program. She stressed the importance of continuing to enhance the partnership between the DDC and Chamber. 15) INVITATION FOR DISCUSSION FROM THE PUBLIC: No public in attendance 16) ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn at 9:06pm Moved by: E. Range and Seconded by: B. Cramer Voice Vote: Unanimous NEXT MEETING: Thursday, April 16, 2015 at 7:15pm, Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building. Executive Board Meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at 8:15am. 3 Page