Downtown Development Commission

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building Date: July 21, 2016 Time: 7:15pm 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 B. Cramer D. Starker A. Baillie P. Flemming S. Whitehorn C. Brady J. Hoover M. Zimmerman M. Byrne M. Kopas MEMBERS ABSENT: J. Burnet, G. Herzog, J. Hollenbach, M. Fabyanski, L. Jasen, L. Lajewski, E. Range, B. Short, R. Stern ALSO PRESENT: Lisa Ellis, DDC Program Director MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: Michael Pellessier 4) 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. 5) APPROVAL OF THE MAY 2016 MINUTES Motion to approve May 2016 Meeting Minutes as presented Moved by: P. Flemming and Seconded by: D. Starker Voice Vote: Unanimous 6) CHAIRMAN/EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORT: Mike Kopas gave a brief update on the status of the Downtown Study. Three finalists are currently in the process of making their presentations to the selection committee. 7) TREASURER’S REPORT: The monthly financial report was distributed. 8) MAYOR’S REPORT: There was no report. 9) COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT: Astri Baillie requested that a representative from the PIC join her in a meeting with representatives from the Madison Police Department to get an overview of current parking issues. Sue Whitehorn volunteered. 10) PLANNING BOARD REPORT: Peter Flemming gave a brief report which mentioned that both Drew  and FDU have been making small improvements on their respective campuses. He also reported that the Planning Board was able to reach a compromise with the developer that will save the historic home at 173 Ridgedale Avenue. 11) FOUNDATION REPORT: There was no report. 12) COMMITTEE REPORTS a) Sign & Façade: John Hoover, Chair (Karen Giambra, Leslie Lajewski, Eric Range) The Committee committed to the following activities. i) Form and Addendum: John and Lisa will craft a revision and share it with the committee within the next two weeks. ii) It was agreed that a "welcome kit" of some type should be developed with: (1) Key parameters to be followed (2) A list of do's and don'ts extracted from the Code (3) Examples of best signs iii) Review and modify our Guidelines as needed iv) Reconsider a matching grant program v) Applications May 19 - July 21st: These applications were all reviewed and approved. a. Received 3/11/206 - The Learning Laboratory b. Received 6/22/16 - Midwives of New Jersey c. Received 6/3/16 - METC d. Received 6/3/16 - Short Stories 6/3/2016 e. Received 6/20/16 - The Loft Salon by Sheriene f. Received 6/21/16 - Madison Body & Soul b) PIC (Public Improvement): Jim Hollenbach, Chair (Maureen Byrne, Brad Cramer Mark Fabyanski, John Hoover, Russell Stern, Suzy Whitehorn). The Committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 28th at 8:30 am at the Nautilus. Jim Hollenbach will not be back from his vacation until July 29th. The letter from HPC in response to the request for review of the purchase of water fountains and benches was shared. Chairman Mike Kopas will contact the leadership of HPC to see how to best engage in further dialogue. c) University Relations: Carla Brady, Chair (Mark Fabyanski, Mike Kopas, Larry Jasen, Eric Range, Deb Starker, Marsha Ann Zimmerman). Carla talked about the Drew Town Tour and the great success of the Outdoor Movie screening of Star War: the Force Awakens held on the Drew Campus at the Mead Hall lawn. d) Marketing and Economic Development Eric Range Chair (Barb Short, Leslie Lajewski, Russell Stern, Michael Pellessier, Karen Giambra, John Morris). The Committee will meet again on Friday, August 5th. Discussion items will include review of quote from Stewart-Morris for flag replacement and next steps for potentially contracting with market firms. 13) AD HOC COMMITTEE AND PROJECT UPDATES a) Taste of Madison (Monday, March 7, 2016): The check for $12,000.00 has been deposited. The date for 2017 is Monday, March 20th. b) May Day (Saturday, May 7, 2016): There is no report. c) DDC/MACA Sidewalk Art Gallery & Gala: The banners have been installed thanks to Mike Marano and Russell Boardman of the DPW. They look terrific and the increase in size this year has made increased their impact. The Gala has been set for Saturday, November 5th. d) Farmers’ Market (Thursdays, June 2 – October 13): The Market continues to thrive and calls keep coming in from vendors who would like to join but at this point we are at comfortable capacity. Gary’s is working to partner with a New Jersey winery in the coming weeks. Last week’s sudden, severe weather thankfully only caused minimal damage. It did highlight some internal communication weaknesses which have been addressed. e) Drew University Town Tour (Saturday, August 27, 2016): Carla Brady needs to know who will be participating as tour guides (see letter included with agenda). f) Bottle Hill Day (Saturday, October 1, 2016): Application and Sponsorship Packets have been sent and are available on rosenet. Over 30 have already been received. Planning is well underway. Stages are being scheduled.  g) Sidewalk Sounds: Weekly performances continue at the Farmers’ Market. We have been able to include a few “double headers”, featuring two different musicians/bands. h) Friday Night Concert Series w/METC (The dates for this summer are June 24th, July 15th, July 29th, August 12th, August 26th and September 9th)The schedule for the remaining concerts is as follows:  July 29 - Rosewood  August 12 - Barba Roja Latin Band  August 26 - Jumping the Gun Band  September 9 - Sunnyside Jazz i) Madison Storytellers Festival (Saturday, June 11th): There will be a full report which will include an overview of this year’s event and a look forward to next year. 14) OLD BUSINESS 15) NEW BUSINESS a) Madison History Tour Proposal - Scott Spelker (document attached): After discussion it was decided that the DDC would happily promote this event but would not entertain being a financial sponsor. 16) INVITATION FOR DISCUSSION FROM THE PUBLIC 17) ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn at 8:23pm Moved by: B. Cramer and Seconded by: S. Whitehorn Voice Vote: Unanimous NEXT MEETING: Thursday, August 18th, 2016 at 7:15pm, Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building. Executive Board Meeting will be held on Thursday, August 11th, 2016 at 8:15am.