Downtown Development Commission

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building Date: April 21, 2016 Time: 7:15pm DRAFT - MEETING MINUTES 1) CALL TO ORDER: This meeting was called to order at 7:15 pm by Chair Mike Kopas 2) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3) ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: R. Conley J. Hollenbach R. Stern A. Baillie J. Hoover S. Whitehorn M. Byrne M. Kopas B. Cramer L. Lajewski C. Brady E. Range M. Fabyanski B. Short P. Flemming D. Starker MEMBERS ABSENT: J. Burnet, G. Herzog, J. Hollenbach, L. Jasen, M. Zimmerman ALSO PRESENT: Lisa Ellis, DDC Program Director MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: Dan Blank and Dan Cafaro 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 2016. Copies of said notice were made available to members of the general public. 3) APPROVAL OF MARCH 2016 MINUTES Motion to approve March 2016 Meeting Minutes as presented Moved by: R. Stern and Seconded by: S. Whitehorn Voice Vote: Unanimous 4) TREASURER’S REPORT: Brad Cramer gave a brief overview of the monthly financial report. 5) MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Conley talked about the upcoming Historic & Streetscape Preservation Symposium on Wednesday, April 27th. He also spoke about Madison Avenue Challenge, which took place on Wednesday, April 20th. The Drew and FDU baseball teams faced off against each other at Dodge Field. The weather was perfect and the crowds were large. 6) COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT: Council Member Astri Baillie reported that the Borough’s budget had been approved at their meeting on April 11th. 7) PLANNING BOARD REPORT: Current projects before the Planning Board include the proposed subdivision on the corner of Kings Road and Division Street and another subdivision on Shunpike  Road. They have also been looking at potential impacts from the extensive development planned on Park Avenue in Florham Park. 8) FOUNDATION REPORT: There was no report. 9) ASSISTANT BOROUGH ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT: There was no report 10) PRESENTATION/DISCUSSION: a) Update on status of RFP for Downtown Study: Mayor Conley also reported that the RFP for the Downtown Study was being finalized and would be released shortly. b) Discussion on Waverly Trees: Substantive discussion, lead by Chair Mike Kopas, was held on the future of the Waverly Trees in conjunction with the planned sidewalk repair project. This issue had been discussed at the most recent meeting of the STMB (Shade Tree Management Board).The roots will minimally need to be shaved down so that the pavers could once again lay flat. At some point the trees will need to be replaced but it was decided that the next step would be for Mike Kopas, representing both the DDC and STMB to schedule a meeting with Borough Engineer Bob Vogel. Motion to empower Mike Kopas to meet with Borough Engineer Bob Vogel to develop a plan to address the current issues and plans for the future of the Waverly trees. Moved by: R. Conley and Seconded by: P. Fleming Voice Vote: Unanimous 11) COMMITTEE REPORTS: a) Sign & Façade: John Hoover, Chair (Karen Giambra, Leslie Lajewski, Eric Range) i) The Committee met on March 23, 2016 with the following results:  Because of the nature and work of our team, it was agreed we would meet as necessary, but not on a regular monthly basis.  Form and Addendum: Lisa Ellis is working with Craig Erezuma to gather his proposed modifications to the form. John Hoover and Lisa Ellis will craft a revision and share it with the committee.  It was agreed that a "welcome kit" of some type should be developed with key parameters to be included:  A list of do's and don'ts extracted from the Code  Examples of best signs o Review and modify our Guidelines as needed. o Reconsider a matching grant program ii) Applications March 17 – April 21:  Glitz and Gloss, 17 Waverly Place - Submitted then withdrawn  Hat Shop Madison, 81 Main Street - Approved 04/14/16  Yoga Mechanics, 10-12 Elmer Street - Approved 04/21/16. Note: This sign was installed before approval causing some concern about the process. b) PIC (Public Improvement): Jim Hollenbach, Chair (Maureen Byrne, Brad Cramer Mark Fabyanski, John Hoover, Russell Stern, Suzy Whitehorn) The Committee met on Thursday, March 24th at 8:30 am at the Waverly Clock to review potential sites for the installation of water fountains. A site on the corner of Waverly and Lincoln was suggested as well as replacement of the fountain at Rose Garden Park. A site near the METC was also looked at but was not recommended. The purchase of the water fountains was discussed at 2|Page  length and it was decided that three units would be purchased. Motion to purchase three water fountains as presented by Jim Hollenbach. Moved by: R. Conley and Seconded by: P. Fleming Voice Vote: Unanimous Beginning at the May meeting both the Historic Town Tour and Wayfinding will become part of the scope of the PIC Committee and will no longer be listed separately on the agendas. It was also noted that follow-up is needed on the broken light fixtures in the Cook Plaza Alley as well as the installation of the historic light fixtures under the Green Village Road Trestle,. Lisa Ellis will contact former commissioner Craig Erezuma to get contact information and details necessary to complete these projects. c) University Relations: Carla Brady, Chair (Mark Fabyanski, Mike Kopas, Larry Jasen, Eric Range, Deb Starker, Marsha Ann Zimmerman) i) The Committee will meet next on Tuesday, June 7th at 1:00 pm at Drew. The meeting schedule has been adjusted and the new dates are as follows: June 7th, September 6th and November 8th. The meetings will be held at 1:00 pm at Drew. ii) The Committee has the following items to report:  A representative from CSE has joined the committee.  Work is being done on creating a potential intern program for the other two universities modeled on the Drew Civics Scholar Program.  Drew has booked the date for the community wide movie on Mead. The date is June 23rd.  A new survey will be sent out to the students of all three universities in the coming weeks to gain feedback from them regarding the downtown, etc. d) Marketing and Economic Development Eric Range Chair (Barb Short, Leslie Lajewski, Russell Stern, Michael Pellessier, Karen Giambra, John Morris) i) The Committee met on Friday, April 1st at 8:00 am. Eric Range was chosen to be the Chair. ii) Discussion items included: • The committee will review potential marketing firms and put them in rank order before the next meeting on May 6th. • An inventory of all DDC flags will be taken and a report complied regarding potential replacement before the May meetings. • The creation of a “Coming Soon” signage program. 13) AD HOC COMMITTEE AND PROJECT UPDATES a) Taste of Madison (Monday, March 7, 2016): Mayor Conley reported that the financials are in the process of being finalized but that it looked like the three partner (Chamber, DDC and Rotary) entities would net approximately $11,000 each from the proceeds of the event. b) May Day (Saturday, May 7, 2016) i) Planning is going well and two press releases have been distributed. Income is up and final details are being confirmed. ii) Monday, April 25th at 8:00 pm. The Mayor and Borough Council will recognize the winner of the T-shirt Art Contest at this meeting. All are invited to attend. iii) Tuesday, April 26th at 6:00 pm at Charlie Brown’s in Chatham. The Kiwanis Club requests that a representative of the DDC attend to receive their donation. They would like the representative to talk very briefly about the work of the DDC. Lisa Ellis has gone in the 3|Page  past but is unable to attend. A thank you is always included in the brief speech. Maureen Byrne offered to attend. c) DDC/MACA Sidewalk Art Gallery & Gala i) The banners are expected to be turned in in early May ii) Deb Starker and Lisa Ellis are working to set a date for the gala. d) Farmers’ Market (Thursdays, June 2 – October 13) i) The Sidewalk Sounds Performances for the Market will be set within the next day or so. ii) Vendor contracts are being returned daily and we are now at capacity and have created a waiting list. iii) Advertising with Edible Jersey has been secured and artwork delivered. iv) The New Jersey Farm Bureau paperwork has been submitted. e) Drew University Town Tour (Saturday, August 27, 2016) f) Bottle Hill Day (Saturday, October 1, 2016) i) A logistics planning meeting is being scheduled for early May. g) Sidewalk Sounds i) The performances for the Farmers’ Market are being scheduled ii) Recommendation to add a couple of Friday night performances to fill gaps in the Downtown Concert Series h) Historic Town Tour (This item will no longer appear on the agenda after tonight’s meeting. Going forward it will be subsumed under the responsibilities of the Public Improvement Committee) i) Friday Night Concert Series w/METC (The dates for this summer are June 24th, July 15th, July 29th, August 12th, August 26th and September 26th) i) The proposal for DDC sponsorship was discussed at length. It was decided that the DDC would sponsor this event in the amount of $2,500.00. The event would be co-branded as a METC & DDC event. Motion to appropriate $2,500.00 to sponsor the Madison Downtown Concert Series. Moved by: E. Range and Seconded by: M. Byrne Voice Vote: Unanimous Abstentions: Deb Starker ii) The schedule is as follows: • June 24 - The Frost Kings • July 15 - Ballycastle Band • July 29 - Rosewood • August 12 - Barba Roja Latin Band • August 26 - Jumping the Gun Band • September 16 - Sunnyside Jazz j) Wayfinding (This item will no longer appear on the agenda after tonight’s meeting. Going forward it will be subsumed under the responsibilities of the Public Improvement Committee) 14) OLD BUSINESS a) Madison Storytellers Festival (Saturday, June 11th): Barb Short, Dan Blank and Dan Cafaro will present their proposal at this meeting. (add link to PDF). There was substantive discussion about this new, upcoming event. The DDC was very supportive and decided to appropriate up to $ 3,000.00. It was also decided that an ad hoc committee would be set up to help organize this 4|Page  event. Commissioners Barb Short and Deb Starker have been instrumental in the creation of this event. Lisa Ellis has offered logistical information. Motion to appropriate up to $3,000.00 to sponsor the Madison Storytellers Festival. Moved by: E. Range and Seconded by: B. Cramer Voice Vote: Unanimous 15) NEW BUSINESS a) Morris & Essex Kennel Club Match Show scheduled for Saturday, October 1 st to coincide with Bottle Hill Day b) Update from MACA regarding Don Mullan’s project proposal. (add link to PDF) 16) INVITATION FOR DISCUSSION FROM THE PUBLIC 17) ADJOURNMENT: Motion to adjourn at 9:12 pm Moved by: P. Fleming and Seconded by: B. Cramer Voice Vote: Unanimous NEXT MEETING: Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 7:15 pm, Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building. Executive Board Meeting will be held on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 8:15 am. 5|Page