PBIA Advisory Board

City Hall Meeting Minutes 601 4th Avenue E Olympia WA 98501 PBIA Advisory Board Contact: Brian Wilson 360.570.3798 Thursday, March 12, 2015 6:00 PM 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Corso called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. 1.A ROLL CALL Present: 10 - Chair Mary Corso, Vice Chair Connie Phegley, Boardmember Sarah Adams, Boardmember Ken Adney, Boardmember Nancy Grace Campbell, Boardmember Janis Dean, Boardmember Sheila Irish, Boardmember David Rauh, Boardmember Phil Rollins, and Boardmember Jeffrey Trinin 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 15-0265 Approval of February 12, 2015 PBIA Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT - None 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS Downtown Liaison Brian Wilson announced he will be moving to Alaska when a position opens. The PBIA plans to produce a straw man letter to show appreciation for him that will be sent to Council. 6. BUSINESS ITEMS 15-0270 Downtown Ambassador Program and Welcome Center Update Downtown Ambassador Rob Richards presented an annual report on the Welcome Center. Over the last year they have changed staff, moved into a storefront, hosted fundraisers and events, formed partnerships, reached their 3rd anniversary, facilitated a clean team, engaged youth with cleaning/basketball programs, done data collection, published Facebook updates, and performed informative radio spots. Much of the budget is spent on payroll, with minimal funding going elsewhere due to the support of City of Olympia Page 1 PBIA Advisory Board Meeting Minutes March 12, 2015 the community. Recent efforts have included checking in with people not participating in existing programs to see what activities they want to be doing to contribute/engage. Concerns were expressed about the fence going up around the Artesian Well, being an issue with accessibility to the actual water itself. The barrier is necessary for enforcement reasons, but at the same time, cannot restrict access to the water. The two levels to the current argument are the park itself being improved versus dealing with the issues there, which could be bandaged, but should be addressed. The discussion was completed. 7. COMMITTEE REPORTS The Steering Committee has been discussing Welcome Center space and how it will work with all of the services that will be offered. A memorandum of understanding has been presented to include participation from organizations including working with the Steering Committee, project review, informative materials, and promotional events. A parking space designated for Welcome Center guests is being considered. Boardmember Trinin moved, seconded by Boardmember Rauh, to approve the MOU. The motion carried by unanimous vote. APPROVAL OF CLEAN AND SAFE TEAM WORK PLAN The Clean and Safe Work Plan was presented by Boardmember Adams. Plans include working with OPD, attending Artesian Leadership meetings, 24-hour bathrooms, de-escalation training, a mural project, creating a cleaning/power washing schedule with the City, and installing butterfly cigarette butt collectors. The work plan was approved. APPROVAL OF MARKETING TEAM WORK PLAN The Marketing Work Plan was presented. The plan includes redistribution of the downtown walking map, new flower baskets, a mobile app, value-added membership for VCB rate payers, a comprehensive plan for advertising media, cross-promotion for downtown businesses, marketing the butterfly cigarette butt collectors, improved freeway signage, a parallel parking contest, a holiday decorating contest, event advertisement, anecdotal stories about Olympia, a catalog of businesses and services, increased historical visibility, and increasing foot traffic. An agenda item has been added to the April meeting to discuss information gathered from the "It's Your Olympia" site runner. The work plan was approved. 8. OTHER TOPICS The realtor’s Day of Caring is coming up in May on the Thursday before Memorial Day, where there will be twenty to thirty people available to do a project. Several City of Olympia Page 2 PBIA Advisory Board Meeting Minutes March 12, 2015 buildings need painting or other work. Discussion returned to concerns about the Artesian Well fence. What is wanted out of this is a well-designed space, not designed out of fear, and not sending the wrong message. This could be an opportunity to communicate with the community. An option is to come up with an alternative to the fence that would work. Considerations include how to keep youth safe, how to enforce it, how to shut it down for cleaning, how to keep budget reduced, and what options we have that are quicker/lighter/cheaper. There is currently no rapid response for human waste cleanup of public spaces. Desire was expressed to write a letter to City Council to ask that some agency be appointed to do this. It may be requested of the Downtown Ambassador’s clean team, but it will require expensive equipment and training, so they are not equipped to deal with it at this time. Chair Corso asked the Downtown Ambassadors team to come up with a budget to know what it would take. Mr. Wilson suggested a letter to Council to raise awareness, but also to communicate with the Public Health Department. Boardmembers asked about the possibility of the PBIA meeting with City Council. Mr. Wilson suggested asking for a Study Session and communications will be made. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:43 p.m. City of Olympia Page 3