Downtown Development Commission

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Committee Room - Hartley Dodge Memorial Building Date: October 27, 2022 Time: 7:15 pm 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, M. Tomaszewski, S. Tindall, J. Morris, P. Woolley, R. Stern, S. Whitehorn, Michael Pellessier MEMBERS ABSENT: J. Hoover, C. Kosakowski, 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 SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 (The August Regular Meeting was cancelled) Motion to approve Regular Meeting Minutes of September 15, 2022 as presented Moved by: B. Conley and Seconded by: J. Morris Voice Vote: Unanimous 6) CHAIRMAN/EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORT: There was no report. 7) TREASURER REPORT: Peter Teshima shared a in-depth analysis of the monthly financials: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AnwS_DqnT6nMpG4LHpAMc0zH-ukQ?e=GjR9Us 8) MAYOR REPORT: Mayor Conley reported on the success of Bottle Hill Day and it’s importance to the community. 9) COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT: There was no report. 10) PLANNING BOARD REPORT: Mayor Conley reported that there is a major redevelopment project planned for Central Avenue before the Planning Board. 11) FOUNDATION REPORT: There was no report. 12) MADISON AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE REPORT: John Morris reported on the upcoming Halloween Parade and Magic Show scheduled for Saturday, October 29. He noted that the Scarecrows on Waverly Place would be removed on November 1, if you haven’t had a chance to check them out plan on doing it soon. There was a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new business, A Dancers Den which is located at 2 Green Village Road on the 2nd floor. 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 1|P age  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: There was substantive discussion on some of the new development projects and some recent business transitions. i. Commercial Property Worksheet e) New! Madison Marketplace Newsletter, Current Edition: https://conta.cc/3SB0HOx f) Misc. i. Cook Avenue Parking Lot Reconstruction 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 no applications reviewed and referred to the Borough Zoning Officer since the September DDC meeting. 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. Next Meeting – TBD c) Marketing and Economic Development: (2022 Membership: Michael Pellessier, John Morris, 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: 1. All arts center programming can be found by following this link: 2|P age  https://www.madisonartsnj.org/mcac/ • The first Gallery Show, with paintings by Maria Lupo, is now on the walls, and the official opening date will be announced soon. • The Center will host a TEDx talk tomorrow, October 25, including Madison resident Andy Breckman. It is open to the public, and information is on the Madison Arts and Culture website. • Between today and the end of the year, the center will host nearly 45 separate public events that include comic improv, cabaret, theatre productions, play readings, classical music, and jazz. Information on all of these can be found on the Madison Arts and Culture Alliance website and by clicking on Arts Center on the menu bar. • On November 13, at 4 pm, the center will host a fundraiser for the Madison Arts and Culture Alliance, headlined by Jerry Vezza, Grover Kemble, and Brynn Stanley. Tickets are $75 and include wine, beer, soft drinks, and hors d’oeuvres. 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 (TBD 2023) b) May Day (May 7, 2022) c) Farmers Market (Thursdays, May 19 – November 17, 2021) d) Bottle Hill Day (Saturday, October 15, 2022): There was a full report on the financials for Bottle Hill Day. The event despite the rescheduling due to Hurricane Ian, was a success. e) Downtown Concert Series w/METC (TBD 2023) 16) OLD BUSINESS: There was none discussed. 17) IDEA EXCHANGE & NEW BUSINESS a) Garden Club Funding Request Motion to approve the Garden Club of Madison request for $500.00 for their annual maintenance of the Waverly Place planters. Moved by: B. Conley and Seconded by: J. Morris Voice Vote: Unanimous 18) INVITATION FOR DISCUSSION FROM THE PUBLIC: There were no members of the public present. 19) ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn at 8.54 pm. Moved by: J. Hollenbach and Seconded by: S. Tindall Voice Vote: Unanimous NEXT MEETING: Thursday, November 17 at 7:15 pm. 3|P age