Downtown Development Commission

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building Date: October 21, 2021 Time: 7:15 pm – Via Zoom MEETING MINUTES 1) CALL TO ORDER: This meeting was called to order by Chair Suzy Whitehorn at 7:18 pm. 2) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3) ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: R. Conley, , J. Hollenbach, P. Teshima, S. Whitehorn, M. Tomaszewski, T. Honohan, P. Flemming, S. Tindall, J. Morris, D. Starker, E. Range, R. Rocco, R. Stern, Michael Pellessier MEMBERS ABSENT: D. Coen, 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 SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 MINUTES Motion to approves September 16, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes as presented Moved by: E. Range and Seconded by: T. Honohan Voice Vote: Unanimous 6) CHAIRMAN/EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORT a) Idea Exchange & New Business: The Madison Holiday Arts Festival will return this year, live and in person. Though this event was unbudgeted, it was suggested that the DDC resume support of this event. MACA has estimated that the cost will be no higher than $6,000.00. This event takes place on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving and is a great way to kick off the holiday season by holding festive performances at various venues around the downtown, helping to draw early shoppers and holiday diners. The consensus was to proceed with support of this event and the following motion was made and passed. Motion to approve the expenditure of up to $6,000.00 to fund the Madison Holiday Arts festival that will be scheduled by the Madison Arts & Culture Alliance (MACA). Moved by: E. Range and Seconded by: R. Conley Voice Vote: Unanimous b) 2022 Budget Discussion (view the proposed 2022 budget information here): https://1drv.ms/x/s!AnwS_DqnT6nMoxV02_dntMKi9XyS?e=MCQ6Z1 There was substantive discussion on the budget as presented. The overall financial health has improved though not yet back to full pre-pandemic health. The 2022 budget is a balanced approach that reflects the potential for increased revenues while still taking a conservative  approach on budgeting expenses. The Borough will now be assuming full responsibility for the salary of the Arts & Events Director once a replacement is hired. This will help to facilitate the recovery of the budget. Motion to approve as presented the DDC 2022 Budget/MMSF Grant Request for 2022 and send it to the MMSF for forwarding to the Mayor and Borough Council. Moved by: E. Range and Seconded by: D. Starker Voice Vote: Unanimous 7) TREASURER REPORT: Tom Honohan gave an overview of the monthly revenues and expenses. 8) MAYOR REPORT: Mayor Conley reported on this experience at the inauguration of President Crosby at Saint Elizabeth University. The Mayor spoke at the event and spoke to President Crosby about incorporating SEU in the rebirth of the Chief Executive Council of Madison in 2022. He also commended everyone involved for the success of Bottle Hill Day, which he felt exceeded expectations. 9) COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT: There was no report. 10) PLANNING BOARD REPORT: Peter Flemming reported the board had recently approved the plan for the mosque to be built on Madison Avenue and a planned subdivision on Brooklake Road. The board has had a subcommittee working on a new approach to zoning at Giralda Farms. The final recommendations will be sent to the Borough Council shortly. The goal is to adopt the changes before the end of the year. 11) FOUNDATION REPORT: There was no report; the foundation will meet shortly to finalize the 2022 grant process. 12) MADISON AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE REPORT: John Morris reported on the success of the Car Show and the planned Scarecrows on Waverly Place, and Halloween Parade. 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: Lisa Ellis reported that the benches had been delivered and been installed in the downtown. Lisa continues to search for a new, appropriate and functional trash and recycling receptacle. ii) Cook Avenue Parking Lot Reconstruction: Some of the issues holding up the project have been resolved, the goal is still to have the reconstruction completed in summer of 2022 but there are still several steps to be completed before it can move forward to the bid stage. A town hall forum will need to be scheduled with the business and property owners. It was also mentioned that the Elmer Street Parking Lot is in very bad condition and should be targeted for reconstruction as soon as funding will allow. iii) Waverly Place Reconstruction: The Borough Council is still finalizing the plan and timeline for hiring a landscape architect for the project. This will not likely happen now until early 2022. 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 was one applications reviewed and referred to the Borough Zoning Officer since the September DDC meeting. (1) K9 Resorts, 22 Prospect Street b) PIC (Public Improvement): (2021 Membership: John Morris, Russell Stern, Suzy Whitehorn, Melanie Tomaszewski, Peter Flemming) i) 2021 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) 2021 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. (b) The committee met with Merje on Wednesday, October 6 at 7:00 pm via Zoom to review the concept designs created. The presentation can be accessed here: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AnwS_DqnT6nMoxQ5ITAD5qvReto-?e=Kx1lKo iii) Next Meeting – TBD 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) 2021 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.  Fall performances are ongoing for ticket information please click here: https://www.madisonartsnj.org/maca-events/ iii) Meeting Notes: The Arts & Events Committee will reconvene in November. 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 7, 2022) c) Farmers Market (Thursdays, May 20 – November 18, 2021 d) Bottle Hill Day (Saturday, October 2, 2021) i) Event Update & Beer Garden Discussion: Jim Hollenbach expressed his thoughts and concerns regarding the cancellation of the DDC Beer Garden Beer. While he understands, why the decision was made, he felt it should have been brought to the entire DDC rather than decided by the Executive Committee. He felt that the impact of cancellation is broader than many appreciate, affecting business owners who typically sponsor the event. He felt that the communication on something of this magnitude needs to m=be much better in the future and he offered to take a leading role in the organization of the Beer Garden in 2022. Bob Conley and several commissioners explained decision further. Stephen Tindall made a point of thanking the Madison Police Department for their great work on the overall safety and security provided for bottle Hill Day. e) Downtown Concert Series w/METC (2022 Dates TBD) 16) OLD BUSINESS: There was no old business. 17) INVITATION FOR DISCUSSION FROM THE PUBLIC: There were no members of the public present. 18) ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn at 8:49 pm. Moved by: E. Range and Seconded by: T. Honohan NEXT MEETING: Thursday, November 18 at 7:15 pm, via Zoom