Downtown Development Commission

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building Date: April 21, 2022 Time: 7:15 pm MEETING MINUTES 1) CALL TO ORDER: This meeting was called to order by Chair Suzy Whitehorn 7:17 pm. 2) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3) ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: J. Hoover, P. Teshima, C. Kosakowski, S. Tindall, J. Morris, P. Woolley, R. Stern, S. Whitehorn, Michael Pellessier MEMBERS ABSENT: R. Conley, J. Hollenbach, M. Tomaszewski, P. Flemming, D. Starker, R. Rocco ALSO PRESENT: Lisa Ellis, Director of Business Development Events MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: No members of the public were 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 2022. Copies of said notice were made available to members of the general public. 5) REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF MARCH 17, 2022 Motion to approve Regular Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2022 as presented Moved by: S. Tindall and Seconded by: P. Teshima Voice Vote: Unanimous 6) CHAIRMAN/EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORT a) May Day Art Contest – Winner Selection: The commission members voted and the drawing done by Lucia Reilly, a third grader at Central Avenue School was chosen. Her design will be on the front of the May Day volunteer T-Shirts and Lucia will be recognized at an upcoming Borough Council Meeting. 5) TREASURER REPORT: Peter Teshima gave the monthly financial report. 6) MAYOR REPORT: There was no report. 7) COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT: Council Member John Hoover reported on some of the recent issues before the Borough Council including the plan, in its early stages, for installing solar arrays in the parking lots at the Madison Community Pool and Madison Recreation Complex. He mentioned that road improvement contracts had been issued to Cifelli & Sons Contracting. The Borough Plastic Bag Ban has been rescinded as the New Jersey State Law banning plastic bags, which supersedes local ordinance, goes into effect on May 4. The MRC accessible trail bid has been awarded Vollers Excavating & Construction, Inc. John also mentioned that the Borough Council is working on a Medical Cannabis ordinance. An agreement for shared use of our recycling center with Chatham Borough has been reached. The Ukraine Flag will 1|P age  continue to fly in front of Hartley Dodge Memorial Building. 8) PLANNING BOARD REPORT: There was no report. 9) FOUNDATION REPORT: There was no report. 10) MADISON AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE REPORT: Chamber President John Morris reported on the upcoming Chamber Events. The taste of Madison takes place on Monday, April 25; there is still time to get your tickets. Easter Fun Fest, which coincided with the Madison Little Parade, was a great success. The Chamber will be holding a new event called ‘Cinco De Madison’ on Thursday, May 5. This will be a festive shopping and dining event. John also noted the award winners who will be honored at the Chamber Awards Dinner to be held on June 14. The list is as follows: • Outstanding Interior Renovation Award: Shanghai Jazz • Outstanding Expansion & Renovation Award: Madison Area YMCA • Innovation Award: Sola Salons • Cornerstone Award: Bagel Chateau • Community Service Award: Stop & Shop • Distinguished Service Award: Jerry Harmon • Sustainability Award: Dish Kitchen • Extra Mile Award – This award will be selected via consumer ballots 11) 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: d) For your information, all meeting information can be found through these links: • Zoning Board of Adjustment: https://www.rosenet.org/505/Zoning-Board-of- Adjustment • Planning Board: https://www.rosenet.org/457/Planning-Board e) New Business Report: • Commercial Property Worksheet f) New! Madison Marketplace Newsletter, Current Edition: https://conta.cc/3xOZfRM g) Misc. • Cook Avenue Parking Lot Reconstruction • Waverly Place Reconstruction (Project Webpage): https://www.rosenet.org/1410/Waverly-Place- Reconstruction 12) STANDING COMMITTEES: a) Sign & Façade: (2022 Membership: Jim Hollenbach, Barry Kroll, John Morris, Karen Giambra, Suzy Whitehorn) i) There have been two applications reviewed and referred to the Borough Zoning Officer since the March DDC meeting. (1) Fitness for Mankind, 127 Park Avenue (2) Princeton Speech-Language & Learning Center, 340 Main Street b) PIC (Public Improvement): (2022 Membership: Russell Stern, John Morris, John Hoover, Paul Daly Suzy Whitehorn) i) 2022 Potential Goals/Projects: • METC Park Design 2|P age  • Adopt A Space Program • Action Items: TBD ii) Meeting – Tuesday, April 19: The Committee met and reviewed the following items: • METC Park Design – Square Acre Studio Perspective Render Package • Adopt-A-Space Program • Trash Cans • Cook Avenue Alleyway Lighting Replacement c) Marketing and Economic Development: (2022 Membership: Michael Pellessier, John Morris, Laura Sokol, Karen Giambra, Russell Stern, Deb Starker, Bob Rocco, Melanie Tomaszewski, Suzy Whitehorn, Christine Kosakowski, Peter Teshima) i) 2022 Potential Goals/Projects: • Gateway & Wayfinding Signage • Creation of Marketing Materials ii) Action Items: TBD iii) Next Meeting – TBD d) Arts & Events: (2022 Membership: Barry Kroll, John Morris, Stephen Tindall, Karen Giambra, Deb Starker, John Hoover, Bob Rocco, Melanie Tomaszewski, Suzy Whitehorn, Peter Teshima) i) 2022 Potential Goals/Projects: • Sidewalk Art Gallery analysis and reinvention • Support of Madison Community Arts Center programming and fundraising • Explore public art projects ii) Action Items: TBD iii) Next Meeting – TBD iv) Update from Director of Arts & Events John Pietrowski: • The first phase of the lighting grid installation began today, April 20 and minimal disruption is expected. The initial installation of the grid will take two days. The second phase, the electrical hookup and ceiling tile replacement, will take an additional 3-5 days. These two phases can happen independently, the second phase is in the process of being scheduled. • An art gallery system for the space has been purchased and delivered. It will be installed as part of the second phase of the grid installation. • A specific event page for the center has been added to the Madison Arts and Culture website. It can be accessed from the menu bar at the top of the page. It features events at the space and has both a weekly and monthly schedule. • John Pietrowski and Caroline Romanelli have instituted weekly open mics at the center on Wednesdays. The First Wednesday is a literary open mic presented in partnership with Arts by the People, second Wednesday is a music open mic, the third Wednesday is a comedy open mic, and the fourth Wednesday will be called Open Projector, where anyone can bring 5-7 minute short films to share. The Comedy and Film presentations will begin in July. • Pietrowski has also scheduled two evenings of play readings per month starting in May. • Caroline Romanelli has scheduled monthly music showcases on Friday evenings. • Both the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey and the New Jersey Jazz Society have scheduled four concerts each at the center between now and the end of the calendar year. • In partnership with Don Jay Smith, the center is putting together a weeklong Dance 3|P age  Festival that will occur the first week of December, and will feature, among others, Carolyn Dorfman Dance and an evening of films about dance presented by the Thomas Edison Film Festival (formerly Black Maria Film Festival). • Pietrowski projects that by the end of the calendar year, there will be at least 625 individual events in the space totaling, at this point, 1500 hours. This is roughly 33% of total time available. There are only 52 days this calendar year that the space is not in use half of these are Sundays. From today through the end of the year, there are only 23 days without scheduled events. 13) 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 (April 25, 2022) b) May Day (May 7, 2022) b) Farmers Market (Thursdays, May 19 – November 17, 2021) c) Bottle Hill Day (Saturday, October 1, 2022) d) Downtown Concert Series w/METC (June 24, July 8, July 22, August 5, August 19, September 2) i) Volunteers Needed ii) Concert Lineup (1) June 24 - Jumping the Gun (2) July 8 - Zaire (3) July 22 - Best of Broadway (4) August 5 - The Thorns (5) August 19 - Peter and the Master Keys (6) September 2 - Rosewood 14) OLD BUSINESS: There was no old business discussed. 15) IDEA EXCHANGE & NEW BUSINESS: There was no new business discussed. 16) INVITATION FOR DISCUSSION FROM THE PUBLIC: There were no members of the public present. 17) ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn at 8:27 pm. Moved by: J. Hoover and Seconded by: S. Tindall NEXT MEETING: Thursday, May 19 at 7:15 pm. 4|P age