Downtown Development Commission

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building Date: December 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 7:19 pm. 2) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3) ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: R. Conley, J. Hollenbach, P. Teshima, S. Whitehorn, M. Tomaszewski, T. Honohan, S. Tindall, J. Morris, E. Range, R. Stern MEMBERS ABSENT: D. Coen, P. Flemming, D. Starker, R. Rocco, M. Fabyanski, Michael Pellessier ALSO PRESENT: Lisa Ellis, Director of Business Development Events MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: Alesia Bani, TAPinto Madison 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 NOVEMBER 18, 2021 MINUTES Motion to approve November 18, 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: Chair Suzy Whitehorn shared thanks to all those who participated in the Christmas Parade on Friday, November 26. She also spoke about Secret Santa, thanking those who have participated in the ongoing Saturday event. b) 2022 Membership i) Appreciation for Service – Departing Commissioners: Chair Suzy Whitehorn noted that this was the last meeting for Eric Range, as he will be sworn in as a Borough Council member on January 3. She thanked him for his many years of service and his unfailing dedication to making Madison a better place. Gratitude for Tom Honohan’s service was also expressed. Tom will also be leaving the DDC after a few years as a dedicated volunteer. c) Nominations for Officers 2022: There were no nominations made at this meeting. Lisa serves as the election officer; nominations can be made prior to the January meeting via email. i) At the December meeting of each year, the ex-officio member, who will be the election officer, will then accept nominations for the position of Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, 1|Page  Treasurer and Member-At-Large. ii) All nominations, whether oral or written, must be made, seconded and then accepted by the individual nominated. At the beginning of the January meeting, the election officer will accept any nominations from the floor and call the roll to determine those eligible to receive ballots and cast votes. The election officer will prepare the ballots indicating the officers' title and a space in which the eligible voters can write in their choice for each officer's position. The election officer will distribute the ballots to those eligible to vote. Upon completion of the actual vote, the election officer will collect the ballots and will then tabulate the results. The results will be verified by the Council liaison and by any member of the Commission who is not running for election and who has been appointed by the election officer. The results for each office will also be posted so all present may view the final count. 7) TREASURER REPORT: Tom Honohan shared the monthly financial update. 8) MAYOR REPORT: Mayor Conley thanked all those who participated in the Christmas Parade and other holiday events. He also noted the coverage of downtown businesses by John Elliot of CBS News on Small Business Saturday, November 27. 9) COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT: There was no report. 10) PLANNING BOARD REPORT: There was no report. 8) FOUNDATION REPORT: The foundation held their last meeting of 2021 on November 29 to approve the Grant Request for 2022 and send it to Mayor and Council for approval. 9) MADISON AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE REPORT: Chamber President John Morris reported on the Chamber’s holiday activities including the Holiday Window painting and Rosie the Rose City Reindeer Scavenger Hunt. Both projects were great successes again this year. The Chamber also awarded certificates to those businesses with exceptional holiday décor. 10) 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: Lisa reported on the updates to the worksheet and the new businesses that are in progress. It was also noted by Eric Range that Starbucks had received final Zoning Board approval for their relocation across the street to the Heller Plaza. i) Commercial Property Worksheet e) Misc. i) Cook Avenue Parking Lot Reconstruction: There is no update; this will be addressed in early 2022. ii) Waverly Place Reconstruction: There is no update; this will be addressed in early 2022. 11) STANDING COMMITTEES: a) Sign & Façade: (2021 Membership: Eric Range, Tom Honohan, Suzy Whitehorn, Peter Flemming, John Morris, Jim Hollenbach, Barry Kroll, Karen Giambra) i) The following applications were reviewed and referred to the Borough Zoning Officer since the November DDC meeting. 2|Page  (1) Stop & Shop Store # 2805, 133 Main Street (2) Pelvic Health LLC., 78 Main Street, Unit #3 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: The committee met on Wednesday, November 10 at 5:30 pm via Zoom. There was substantive discussion regarding next steps on both the METC Art Walk and the Adopt A Space program. It was decided that due to the delay in the American rescue plan funding and other logistical issues, both projects would be put on hold until early next year. That current schematic plan for the METC Art Walk 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 (1) 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. (2) The committee met with Merje on Tuesday, December 14 at 6:00 pm via Zoom to review the final concept design. Merje will be making final tweaks and sending back to the committee for final sign off before moving forward in their work, which include development of site-specific plans, placement and quantity of signs, and project phasing. Final plans will be presented to the Borough Council in early 2022. 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/ 3|Page  iii) Meeting Notes: The Arts & Events Committee will reconvene once the new Director of Arts & Events in early 2022. John Pietrowski was officially hired as the new director by the Borough as of December 1, 2021. iv) Next Meeting – TBD 12) 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 (March 21, 2022) b) May Day (May 7, 2022) c) Farmers Market (Thursdays, May 19 – November 17, 2021 d) Bottle Hill Day (Saturday, October 1, 2022) e) Downtown Concert Series w/METC (2022 Dates TBD) 13) OLD BUSINESS: There was no old business discussed. 15) INVITATION FOR DISCUSSION FROM THE PUBLIC: There was no discussion. 16) ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn at 7:43 pm. Moved by: E. Range and Seconded by: P. Teshima NEXT MEETING: Tentatively, the 2022 Reorganization Meeting is planned for Thursday, January 20, at 7:15 pm, via Zoom. 4|Page