Downtown Development Commission

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building Date: September 21, 2017 Time: 8:00pm MEETING MINUTES 1) CALL TO ORDER: This meeting was called to order at 8:00 pm by Chair Mike Kopas 2) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3) ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: R. Conley, C. Brady, J. Hollenbach, J. Hoover, M. Kopas, L. Lajewski, R. Rocco, R. Stern, S. Whitehorn, M. Zimmerman MEMBERS ABSENT: M. Byrne, J. Burnet, B. Cramer, M. Fabyanski, P. Flemming, G. Herzog, L. Jasen, E. Range, B. Short, D. Starker 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 2017. Copies of said notice were made available to members of the general public. 5) APPROVAL OF JULY 2017 MINUTES (The August meeting was cancelled) Motion to approve July 2017 Minutes as presented Moved by: J. Hoover and Seconded by: M. Zimmerman Voice Vote: Unanimous 6) CHAIRMAN/EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORT: There was no formal report. 7) TREASURER’S REPORT: The monthly financial reports were distributed. 8) MAYOR’S REPORT: There was no report. 9) COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT: There was no formal report. 10) PLANNING BOARD REPORT: There was no formal report. 11) FOUNDATION REPORT: There was no report. 12) COMMITTEE REPORTS: a) Sign & Façade: John Hoover, Chair (Karen Giambra, Leslie Lajewski, Eric Range) i) Develop a welcome kit: key parameters to be followed; list of do's and don'ts; examples of “best” signage. Awaiting feedback from Committee on whether or not the information on rosenet.org is sufficient or if it should be further developed. ii) Photos being taken, by John Hoover, and forwarded to the committee. 1|Page  iii) Review and modify guidelines iv) Reconsider a matching grant program v) Applications from September 21th to September 21st: (1) 10-12 Elmer Street - Kumon Math & Reading Center - Submitted 8/09/17 - Sent to S & F 8/15/17: Approved 8/22/17 (2) 64 Main Street - Tons of Toys (Sandwich Board Only) - Submitted 8/01/17 - Sent to S & F 8/15/17: Approved 8/25/17 (3) 242 Main Street - R3 Lab - Submitted 7/20/17 - Sent to S & F 8/16/17: Approved 8/25/17 (4) At the request of Borough of Madison TCC/Zoning Board and Susan G. Blickstein, AICP/PP, PhD, ASA, Steven Azzolini, Esq. Azzolini & Benedetti, LLC and architect J. V. Allocca, AIA, provided the Sign & Façade Committee of the Madison Downtown Development Commission with documents for review regarding the façade proposed for the new development planned for 174 Main Street on 8/16/17. Comments from Sign & Façade were submitted to Fran Boardman for distribution to the Zoning Board on August 25, 2017. (5) 36 Main Street - Lenny’s Cocina de Abuelito - Submitted 8/30/17 - Sent to S & F 8/31/17: Approved 9/08/17 (6) 50-1/2 Main Street - Harvest Bistro (Name Change/On A Roll) - Submitted 9/04/17 - Sent to S & F 9/18/17: Approved 9/19/17 b) PIC (Public Improvement): Jim Hollenbach, Chair (Maureen Byrne, Brad Cramer Mark Fabyanski, John Hoover, Russell Stern, Suzy Whitehorn, Peter Flemming, Bob Rocco): PIC met on August 1st at the Nautilus Diner. Jim Hollenbach, Peter Flemming, Bob Rocco, John Hoover and Lisa Ellis were in attendance. The meeting included brief updates of projects in the pipeline. The September meeting was cancelled. In the interim, Lisa Ellis met with Superintendent of Public Works Ken O’Brien and Water Department Foreman Tom DeBiasse on Thursday, September 9th. This is what they shared regarding the proposed location on Main Street (near the mailbox, in front of Short Stories) and why they proposed the location near the Firehouse Apartments on Central Avenue instead: i) The closest water main there is on Green Village Road, which is a county road and thus will require going through a permitting process with them. There will be a $3,500.00 tapping charge from the county for which we would potentially be responsible for. The road will have to be closed for one day minimally. ii) The distance from this water main connection to the proposed location is longer than they would like typically and will involve opening the sidewalk and the unknown complications of other services below. The electric lines run through there and include lamppost and traffic light connections. This will require the closure of the sidewalk in that area for one day minimally. iii) Both the road and sidewalk closures will require that police are hired at the cost of $80.00 per hour, $1,280.00 for two days. iv) They also questioned why we would want to add another fountain less than 100 feet from the one at the Columbus Memorial but that’s of lesser concern. There was substantive discussion regarding the installation of the two remaining water fountains. It was decided that the DDC would like to pursue installing the one remaining water fountain in the previously chosen location between the lamppost and banner pole 2-3 feet off the curb line on Main Street outside of Short Stories despite the potential difficulties and expense involved. The other unit is confirmed for installation near Walgreens as DPW suggested. Mayor Conley 2|Page  suggested that there might be a requested entered with the county to waive the talking fee. Lisa will communicate this to Ken O’Brien and ask for a report on any potential costs that the DDC may need to absorb. c) University Relations: Carla Brady, Chair (Mark Fabyanski, Mike Kopas, Larry Jasen, Eric Range, Deb Starker, Marsha Ann Zimmerman): Carla Brady reported on the success of the Drew Town Tour and the Drew University Fireworks which were held on September 9th. The consensus was that moving them away from Bottle Hill Day was a good idea for all. It creates another community event night that can be more readily enjoyed without the happy exhaustion that Bottle Hill Day brings. d) Marketing and Economic Development: Eric Range Chair (Barb Short, Leslie Lajewski, Russell Stern, Michael Pellessier, Karen Giambra, John Morris): There was no report. 13) AD HOC COMMITTEE AND PROJECT UPDATES: a) Taste of Madison (Monday, March 19, 2018): The 2018 event will be held at Brooklake Country Club in Florham Park. b) May Day (TBD): There was a brief discussion about how the timing of this event precludes both Drew and Madison High School students. The first due to final exams and the latter due to the fact that it is typically the day that the SAT’s are held at MHS. c) DDC/MACA Sidewalk Art Gallery & Gala (Inactive) d) Farmers’ Market (Thursdays, June 1 - October 26): The Market continues to attract crowds. The music has been outstanding. The fall has brought staffing challenges but the while the numbers of student interns has gone down, those that do help out are very pleasant and helpful. e) Drew University Town Tour (Saturday, August 26, 2017): See University Relations above. The total spent for this event this year was $3,012.50. f) Bottle Hill Day (Saturday, October 7, 2017): All the planning has been done and over the next two plus weeks the focus will be on day of logistics and vendor management. g) Sidewalk Sounds (Incorporated into Madison Farmers’ Market) h) Downtown Concert Series w/METC (June 22, July 13, July 27, August 10, August 24, August 31 & September 7th): the concert series was again a huge success. Attendance was reported at over 1,200 in total. The dates listed here are for 2018. i) Madison Storytellers Festival (September 16, 2017): It was reported that the event was a success. The change in hours and format, greatly improved the flow and enjoyment of the day. The financials will be available at the October meeting. 14) OLD BUSINESS: There was none discussed. 15) NEW BUSINESS: There was none introduced. a) Festival for June of 2018, Scheduled for Saturday, June 16th. This festival needs a name, these are the two choices so far but feel free to be creative and come up with your own:  Rose City Summerfest  Rose City Rhythm and Brews It was decided that this June event would be called “Rose City Summerfest” 16) INVITATION FOR DISCUSSION FROM THE PUBLIC: There was no discussion. 17) ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn at 9:19 pm Moved by: L. Lajewski and Seconded by: R. Stern 3|Page  Voice Vote: Unanimous NEXT MEETING: Thursday, October 19th, 2017 at 8:00pm, Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building. Executive Board Meeting, Thursday, October 12 h at 8:00pm. 4|Page