Downtown Development Commission

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building Date: May 19, 2022 Time: 7:15 pm MEETING MINUTES 1) CALL TO ORDER: This meeting was called to order by Chair Suzy Whitehorn 7:16 pm. 2) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3) ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: R. Conley, J. Hoover, P. Teshima, C. Kosakowski, M. Tomaszewski, S. Tindall, J. Morris, P. Woolley, R. Rocco, S. Whitehorn, Michael Pellessier MEMBERS ABSENT: J. Hollenbach, P. Flemming, D. Starker, R. Stern, 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 APRIL 21, 2022 Motion to approve Regular Meeting Minutes of April 21, 2022 as presented Moved by: P. Woolley and Seconded by: P. Teshima Voice Vote: Unanimous 6) CHAIRMAN/EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORT: Suzy Whitehorn reported that opening day of the Farmers Market went well. 7) TREASURER REPORT: Peter Teshima gave an update on the monthly financial statements. 8) MAYOR REPORT: There was no report. 9) COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT: John Hoover did not have an official report but noted that June 3 is National Gun Violence Awareness Day and everyone should plan to where orange in support. 10) PLANNING BOARD REPORT: There was no report. 11) FOUNDATION REPORT: There was no report. 12) MADISON AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE REPORT: Chamber President John Morris reported on the success of Cinco de Madison and noted that this will become an annual event. He also noted the Chamber activities coming up including the Annual Awards Dinner and Fire Extinguishers Program. Loyalty Rewards Cards are available for purchase and Pedego is planning an event at their location on Main Street. 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: 1|P age  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. New! Madison Marketplace Newsletter, Current Edition: https://conta.cc/3ltjE7z f. Misc. i. Cook Avenue Parking Lot Reconstruction: There were no updates at this meeting. ii. Waverly Place Reconstruction (Project Webpage): https://www.rosenet.org/1410/Waverly-Place- Reconstruction 14) STANDING COMMITTEES: a. Sign & Façade: (2022 Membership: Jim Hollenbach, Barry Kroll, John Morris, Karen Giambra, Suzy Whitehorn) i. There have been four applications reviewed and referred to the Borough Zoning Officer since the April DDC meeting. 1. Bagel Nosh, 306 Main Street 2. DAQ Madison, 258 Main Street 3. Madison Plaza Shopping Center, 306 Main Street 4. Herrigel Bolan & Poy, 78 Main Street, Unit 4 b. PIC (Public Improvement): (2022 Membership: Russell Stern, John Morris, John Hoover, Paul Daly Suzy Whitehorn) i. 2022 Potential Goals/Projects: • METC Park Design • Adopt A Space Program ii. Action Items: TBD iii. 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 2|P age  • 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 lighting grid project has been completed, save for some painting touch ups. This includes the installation of black ceiling tiles, and painting of the support rails for those tiles. Once the touch-ups are completed on Tuesday, May 10, we will be putting up all 45 of our lighting instruments into a repertory plot, which will allow us to quickly accommodate all events with professional lighting. • We tested out the new grid this past Saturday with a cabaret fundraiser for the Madison- based foundation The Support Network, attended by over 125 people and featuring 20 musicians and actors. • This coming Wednesday from 7:30-10:00 pm, we will be holding the second of our monthly music open mics, produced by Caroline Romanelli. Last month’s performance attracted over 50 people and featured seven performers. • For those interested, Spotlight Kids will be presenting an original musical this coming weekend, Outside the Box, written by Madison HS Senior Erin Peters. Performances will be at 3 and 7 this Saturday and Sunday, tickets available on the Spotlight Kids website. • On May 21 and 22, we will be hosting a double-header music showcase event with four acts on Saturday at 7:30 and three on Sunday at 7:00. The Sunday showcase is headlined by Afro-Peruvian Jazz Artist Alejandro Ataucusi. This event is also produced by Caroline Romanelli. • The Madison Hidden Figures Project will be in residence at the Center from June 1-10. Gallery hours, which will vary, are posted on the Arts Center website, and there will be events associated with the Gallery on Wednesday, June 1, and Friday and Saturday, June 3 and 4. Full details are available on the Hidden Figures website: hiddenfiguresmadison.org 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 (April 25, 2022): The Taste was well attended and the budget numbers should be met or exceeded. More details will follow. b) May Day (May 7, 2022, postponed to May 14): May Day was more of a challenge than in pre- pandemic years. Having to delay a week due to storms on the weekend of the 7th did not help. Volunteers are becoming harder and harder to engage. There were not enough to help with the Train Station and as a result, Lisa will be contracting with Antonio Rega Estate Landscaping to complete the work. The process with the MHS students will need to be reevaluated for next year as they all arrived at the same time without an understanding of the process and overwhelmed the check-in desk. c) Farmers Market (Thursdays, May 19 – November 17, 2021): Today was opening day. This is the 30th anniversary season of the market and the hope is to return the event to the pre-pandemic atmosphere. There will be weekly live music again and more involvement from community groups. d) Bottle Hill Day (Saturday, October 1, 2022) e) 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|P age  (3) July 22 - Best of Broadway (4) August 5 - The Thorns (5) August 19 - Peter and the Master Keys (6) September 2 - Rosewood 16) OLD BUSINESS: There was no old business discussed. 17) IDEA EXCHANGE & NEW BUSINESS: There was nothing discussed. 18) INVITATION FOR DISCUSSION FROM THE PUBLIC: There were no members of the public present. 19) ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn at 8:19 pm. Moved by: J. Hoover and Seconded by: P. Teshima NEXT MEETING: Thursday, June 16 at 7:15 pm. 4|P age