Downtown Development Commission

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building Date: June 18, 2020 Time: 7:15 pm – Via Zoom MEETING MINUTES 1) CALL TO ORDER: This meeting was called to order by Chair Suzy Whitehorn at 7:15 pm. 2) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3) ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: R. Conley, J. Hoover, B. Cramer, , S. Whitehorn, M. Tomaszewski, T. Honohan, P. Flemming, J. Regan, J. Morris, D. Starker, E. Range, R. Stern, R. Rocco, C. Brady, Michael Pellessier MEMBERS ABSENT: J. Hollenbach, R. Landrigan, M. Fabyanski, G. Herzog ALSO PRESENT: Lisa Ellis, Director of Business Development; Madison Director of Arts & Events, Eric Hafen MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: None Present 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 2020. Copies of said notice were made available to members of the general public. 5) APPROVAL OF MAY 21, 2020 MINUTES Motion to approve May 2020 Minutes as presented Moved by: E. Range and Seconded by: P. Flemming Voice Vote: Unanimous 6) CHAIRMAN/EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORT: There was no formal report 7) TREASURER REPORT: The financial reports were shared. 8) MAYOR REPORT: Mayor Conley spoke about the reopening of businesses on June 15 and the new accommodations for outdoor dining. 9) COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT: Council Member John Hoover echoed Mayor Conley’s comments on outdoor dining. 10) PLANNING BOARD REPORT: Peter Flemming noted that the redevelopment plan for 16 Waverly Place was approved by the Planning Board. 11) FOUNDATION REPORT a) Madison, NJ Small Business Recovery Grant Program: Foundation Chair Carla Brady gave an update on the Small Business Recovery Grant Program and the work of the Ad Hoc Grant Steering Committee. 12) MADISON AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE REPORT: John Morris reported on that Chamber Executive Director Karen Giambra was working with businesses to see what type of support they needed in their reopening efforts. 13) DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT REPORT: There was no formal report. 1|Page  a) Council Presentations i) “May Day & Farmers Market – Update” – May 27 https://1drv.ms/p/s!AnwS_DqnT6nMikPWHG0gN9zi3nR4?e=1hk7gZ ii) “Outdoor Dining Strategies” – June 8 https://1drv.ms/p/s!AnwS_DqnT6nMikG75y1lXi00Ow1u?e=3UihTh 14) STANDING COMMITTEES: a) Sign & Façade: (2020 Membership: Suzy Whitehorn, Eric Range, Peter Flemming, Tom Honohan, Karen Giambra) i) There has been one application reviewed and referred to the Borough Zoning Officer since the May DDC meeting. (1) Revolution Shave, 81 Main Street b) PIC (Public Improvement): (2020 Membership: Suzy Whitehorn, Chair; Russell Stern, Bob Rocco, Peter Flemming, Brad Cramer, John Morris, John Hoover) i) PIC met via Zoom on Tuesday, June 16 at 8:00 am ii) Action Items:  Follow up with three landscape architecture firms regarding request for proposal sent for METC Park.  Speak with Parks Advisory Committee Chair Tom Salaki regarding process for moving ahead jointly with a formalized Adopt A Space program.  Committee members to identify possible locations for this program. iii) Next Meeting – Thursday, July 9 at 10:00 am iv) Potential Goals/Projects:  METC Park Design  Adopt A Space Program a) Marketing and Economic Development: (2020 Membership: Suzy Whitehorn, Eric Range, Bob Conley, Russell Stern, Deb Starker, Carla Brady, Melanie Tomaszewski, Jim Hollenbach, John Morris, Michael Pellessier, Karen Giambra) i) Marketing and Economic Development met via Zoom on Wednesday, June 3 at 7:00 pm ii) Action Items:  Finalize RFP for Gateway & Wayfinding Signage  Formalize plan for new DDC logo and tagline, to work with new Borough branding  Move forward with new marketing project developed by Carla, Eric and Jim H. to be focused on post Covid-19 reopening and recovery. The program will be titled Madison NJ Strong and will be managed by a small subcommittee. iii) Next Meeting – July 1 at 7:00 pm iv) Potential Goals/Projects:  Gateway & Wayfinding Signage  Creation of Marketing Materials b) Arts & Events: (2020 Membership: Suzy Whitehorn, Deb Starker, Melanie Tomaszewski, Carla Brady, Bob Rocco, John Regan, Tom Honohan, John Morris, John Pietrowski, Jerry Vezza, Karen Giambra, Michael Pellessier, Eric Hafen) i) Arts & Events met via Zoom on Wednesday, June 10 at 11:00 am ii) Action Items:  Decisions need to be reached at the DDC meeting on upcoming events iii) Next Meeting – September 30 at 11:00 am 2|Page  iv) Potential Goals/Projects:  Sidewalk Art Gallery analysis and reinvention  Support of Madison Community Arts Center programming and fundraising  Explore public art projects 15) AD HOC COMMITTEE AND PROJECT UPDATES: a) Taste of Madison (Monday, March 23, 2020): No date for 2021 has yet been selected; most of the sponsors have agreed to carry their commitment to 2021. b) May Day (May 2, 2020): The May Day in June event was held on June 11. There were approximately 50 people signed up for various projects in the downtown. The weather was perfect and the work was done quickly and efficiently. In addition, another group will be working at the Pomeroy Path tonight. It was not a typical May Day but the work done was needed and the volunteers did an amazing job beautifying the scheduled areas around town. c) Farmers Market (Thursdays, June 11– November 19, 2020): The Market has been going very well at Dodge Field so far this season. d) Bottle Hill Day (Saturday, October 3, 2020): i) Discussion and final decision on how to proceed: There was a substantive discussion regarding the challenges surrounding the ability to hold Bottle Hill Day considering the health and safety concerns and the state restrictions on large gatherings due to the COVD- 19 pandemic. The consensus was that it would be impossible to hold the event as it has been in the past. If restrictions are relaxed and the health situation improves, consideration will be given to holding a smaller scale Madison centric celebration perhaps in September. Motion to officially cancel Bottle Hill Day for 2020 Moved by: E. Range and Seconded by: J. Hoover Voice Vote: Unanimous e) Downtown Concert Series w/METC (June 22 cancelled, July 10 and 24, August 7 and 21, September 4, 2020) i) Discussion and final decision on how to proceed: It was decided that the concert series would go on as planned with the following modifications. Patrons will be asked to bring their own chairs, wear masks, and abide by social distancing guidelines. The METC will not be open for restroom use. 16) OLD BUSINESS: There was none discussed. 17) NEW BUSINESS: Eric Hafen spoke about the possibility of holding Drive-In Concerts at the MRC. In order to make this viable a special transmitter will need to be purchased. Motion to approve the purchase of a transmitter for the purpose noted at an amount not to exceed $500.00. Moved by: D. Starker and Seconded by: M. Tomaszewski Voice Vote: Unanimous Abstention: B. Cramer 18) INVITATION FOR DISCUSSION FROM THE PUBLIC: There were no members of the public present. 19) ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn at 8:18 pm Moved by: J. Hoover and Seconded by: T. Honohan Voice Vote: Unanimous 3|Page  NEXT MEETING: Thursday, July 16 at 7:15pm, format and location TBD 4|Page