Downtown Development Commission

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building Date: September 16, 2021 Time: 7:15 pm – Via Zoom MEETING MINUTES 1) CALL TO ORDER: This meeting was called to order by Chair Suzy Whitehorn at 7:17 pm. 2) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3) ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: R. Conley, D. Coen, J. Hollenbach, P. Teshima, S. Whitehorn, T. Honohan, S. Tindall, J. Morris, D. Starker, E. Range, R. Stern, Michael Pellessier MEMBERS ABSENT: M. Tomaszewski, P. Flemming, R. Rocco, M. Fabyanski ALSO PRESENT: Lisa Ellis, Director of Business Development Events 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 2021. Copies of said notice were made available to members of the general public. 5) APPROVAL OF JULY 15, 2021 MINUTES Motion to approve July 15, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes as presented Moved by: E. Range and Seconded by: D. Coen Voice Vote: Unanimous 6) CHAIRMAN/EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORT a) Idea Exchange b) American Rescue Plan Funds for Economic Development Draft Wish List $100-150,000: Actual deliverables driven by the Merje Gateway & Wayfinding Project: This would include physical signage and digital tools including walking tour. $50,000: Small Facade Grant Program (Modeled on the Millburn one here: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AnwS_DqnT6nMolJ1hwMIkpDdm_Ky?e=o398w8) Additional information on Façade Grant Programs can be found here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AnwS_DqnT6nMolNgvpdqbxuNmoP-?e=gHA5yd $25,000: Digital Marketing Brochure, Promotional Video, etc. There was substantive discussion on the above breakdown and it was shared that the actual total would be $318,000. After discussion, it was decided that the following breakdown of the funding request should be moved by the commission and forwarded to the Borough Administration and Council. $168,000: Actual deliverables driven by the Merje Gateway & Wayfinding Project: This would include physical signage and digital tools including walking tour $75,000: METC Art Walk Project  $50,000: Small Facade Grant Program $25,000: Digital Marketing Brochure, Promotional Video, etc. Motion to approve the above as the DDC recommendation to Borough Administration and Council as the template for disbursement of the American Rescue Plan Funds slated for Economic Development: Moved by: E. Range and Seconded by: D. Coen Voice Vote: Unanimous 7) TREASURER REPORT: Tom Honohan reported on the financial statements. 8) MAYOR REPORT. Mayor Conley Spoke about the tremendous loss felt by the community at the passing of Carmine Toto. He expressed thankfulness for all Carmine has done for the Borough over his many years of volunteer service. 9) COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT: There was no report. 10) PLANNING BOARD REPORT: There was no report. 11) FOUNDATION REPORT: The foundation will meet on Wednesday, September 22. 12) MADISON AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE REPORT: John Morris shared that the Chamber is planning for Ladies Night on September 23 and all the customary fall events will be returning this year. 13) DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT REPORT: Here are the websites for two organizations to which the Borough belongs. The offer a lot of different resources that I thought you may find of interest: a) Downtown New Jersey: https://www.downtownnj.com/ b) Main Street America: https://www.mainstreet.org/home c) Downtown Redevelopment Pipeline: i) For your information, all meeting information can be found through these links: (1) Zoning Board of Adjustment: https://www.rosenet.org/505/Zoning-Board-of- Adjustment (2) Planning Board: https://www.rosenet.org/457/Planning-Board d) New Business Report: i) Commercial Property Worksheet e) Misc. i) Downtown Bench Replacement: The benches should be delivered shortly. ii) Cook Avenue Parking Lot Reconstruction: There is no update on the Cook Avenue parking lot at this time. Still waiting on the relocation of utilities (internet and cable, primarily) to be completed. iii) Waverly Place Reconstruction: There is nothing new to report. The Borough is still working on the selection process for a landscape architect for the project. 14) STANDING COMMITTEES: a) Sign & Façade: (2021 Membership: Eric Range, Tom Honohan, Suzy Whitehorn, Peter Flemming, John Morris, Jim Hollenbach, Barry Kroll, Karen Giambra) i) There were three applications reviewed and referred to the Borough Zoning Officer since the July DDC meeting. (1) Wish, 36 Main Street (2) Pedego, 82 Main Street (3) Madison Memorial Home, 159 Main Street b) PIC (Public Improvement): (2021 Membership: John Morris, Russell Stern, Suzy Whitehorn, Melanie Tomaszewski, Peter Flemming) i) 2020 Potential Goals/Projects:  METC Park Design   Adopt A Space Program ii) Action Items: TBD iii) Meeting Notes: Walkthrough at the METC Park was held on Monday, August 2 at 5:00 pm and a final concept plan sent. That plan can be viewed here: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AnwS_DqnT6nMolFiEuUMOCLYfg1j?e=puHL4y iv) Next Meeting – TBD c) Marketing and Economic Development: (2021 Membership: Eric Range, Deb Coen, John Morris, Russell Stern, Peter Teshima, Suzy Whitehorn, Jim Hollenbach, Bob Rocco, Melanie Tomaszewski, Deb Starker, Karen Giambra) i) 2020 Potential Goals/Projects:  Gateway & Wayfinding Signage  Creation of Marketing Materials ii) Action Items:  Gateway And Wayfinding Signage System Evaluation Project (a) Kick-off meeting was held May 10 at 5:00 pm via Zoom. Stakeholder meetings were held on June 15. Currently a survey is in progress. The survey was sent to the stakeholder groups, via direct email (600+ addresses) and was circulated on social media. It will remain live until July 20. An in-person tour with, Lisa and Suzy serving as guides was completed on July 23. A preliminary meeting with Merje was held on August 24 at 4:00 pm. iii) Next Meeting – Wednesday, September 29 at 7:00 pm via Zoom d) Arts & Events: (2021 Membership: Stephen Tindall, Deb Coen, John Morris, Peter Teshima Tom Honohan, Suzy Whitehorn, Bob Rocco, Melanie Tomaszewski, Deb Starker, John Pietrowski, Jerry Vezza, Karen Giambra) i) 2020 Potential Goals/Projects:  Sidewalk Art Gallery analysis and reinvention  Support of Madison Community Arts Center programming and fundraising  Explore public art projects ii) Updates:  A vendor has been identified for the lighting grid installation. The next steps are proceeding.  There was a Red Cross Blood Drive at the Arts Center on Wednesday, September 15 from 1pm to 7pm.  Fall performance schedule will include four (4) series of entertainment: Intimate Artist Series, Monday Jazz Showcase, New Plays Series, and Stand-Up Madison. The season will begin on September 20, 2021. More information to follow. iii) Meeting Notes: The Arts & Events Committee met on Wednesday, May 12 at 5:00 pm via Zoom. In addition to updates on programming, the committee further discussed making a Public Arts Plan the primary focus this year. More related materials were shared; a draft template of the plan should be completed before the end of the summer. iv) Next Meeting – TBD 15) AD HOC COMMITTEE AND PROJECT UPDATES: There are no planned reports for these items at this meeting except for those highlighted. a) Taste of Madison b) May Day (May 1, 2021) c) Farmers Market (Thursdays, May 20– November 18, 2021 d) Bottle Hill Day (Saturday, October 2, 2021) i) Event Update: All planning for the event is on track. Sponsors have been secured and vendors  are still signing up. The DDC Executive Committee met on Monday, September 13 via Zoom and in consultation with the Mayor and Borough Council decided not to host the Beer Garden this year due to concerns about COVID-19 and the resulting challenges of recruiting volunteers to staff it. e) Downtown Concert Series w/METC (2022 Dates TBD) 16) OLD BUSINESS 17) INVITATION FOR DISCUSSION FROM THE PUBLIC 18) ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn at 8:26 pm. Moved by: E. Range and Seconded by: T. Honohan NEXT MEETING: Thursday, October 21 at 7:15pm, via Zoom