Development Authority/Main Street Board of Directors

Tybee Island Development Authority/Main Street Meeting Minutes, March 24, 2021 Location: Zoom Video Call (recording available) Attendance: Present: Sarah Bernzott, Cate Campbell, Bill Garbett, Susan Kelleher, Beth Martin, Charissa Murray, Michelle Owens, Kelly Swope Absent: Jay Burke, Michael Flores, Maria Lancaster, Beth Martin Guest: Carol Nathan, Forever Tybee; Virginia Ward, The Crab Shack Next meeting: April 21, 2021, 4:00 p.m., Zoom Call Call to Order Meeting called to order at 4:03 PM Approval of Minutes Minutes of March 4 Special Meeting: Kelly Swope moved to approve the March 4 minutes. Cate Campbell seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Minutes of February 17: Cate Campbell moved to approve the Feb. 17 minutes. Kelly Swope seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Old Business a. GEMS Update. Michelle Owens informed the board that the state Main Street office has decided not to award GEMS (Georgia Exceptional Main Street) status. They cited three main reasons. 1) Succession Plan is weak. If director leaves, there is concern about how the program would fare. Many Main Street programs, including some equal to or smaller in size than Tybee have at least two people dedicated to the Main Street program so that one can keep the program going. 2) All board members must complete Main Street 101 and Downtown Development Authority 101 online training. Some of our board members have not completed both trainings. 3) They would like to see our program better leverage its partnerships with Visit Tybee, the local destination marketing agency. b. Board Vacancies. Michelle Owens introduced Virginia Ward, owner of the Crab Shack restaurant and Board President for the Tybee Post Theater. Virginia shared that she would like to join the Main Street Board as an ex-officio member. Kelly Swope moved to nominate Virginia for an ex-officio seat. Cate Campbell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.  c. Board Officers. Board Chair Sarah Bernzott reminded the board that we still need a vice chair. Kelly Swope volunteered. Cate Campbell moved to appoint Kelly Swope as vice chair of the board. Cate Campbell moved to appoint Kelly Swope as vice chair. Susan Kelleher seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. d. Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Bank Account. Cate Campbell moved to appoint new Board Chair Sarah Bernzott and new Vice Chair Kelly Swope as financial representatives with signing authority on the DDA bank account at Synovus Bank. Susan Kelleher seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. New Business a. Mural Projects. Michelle informed the board that the “mural” painted on the fence at the city lift station on Jones Avenue was not intentional. Someone tagged the fence with street art, but they did such a good job, residents think it was a planned project. City council will decide what to do about the mural. Michelle will also work on a text amendment to the city code that will allow murals in C-1 zoned areas including Tybrisa Street. b. Tybrisa Street Improvements. Michelle shared a prioritized spreadsheet showing all the improvements the board discussed with the city manager on the walking tour of Tybrisa Street. She is working on adding cost estimates for some of the projects and will share the spreadsheet with the board once complete. Some improvements are already in progress. Tybrisa Street was pressure washed this week, and Public Works is getting price quotes for the electrical repairs on Tybrisa. c. City Council Update. Michelle is targeting April 1 for a Main Street update to the city council. She would like as many board members in attendance as possible. Financial Report Michelle reviewed program expenditures from February 2020. The board discussed last month allocate advertising funds to a billboard advertising the new website. There are no billboards presently available on the island, so the board will consider other ideas. Charissa Murray will price out promotional items to create a Main Street swag bag. The bags will be given out to familiarize people with the Main Street program. Committee Updates Promotions. Michelle announced that the YMCA would like to partner with Main Street for a Healthy Kids Day in May. The board was supportive of the idea and will support as needed. The board discussed hosting a story walk event. Cate Campbell will reach out to the authors of Pete the Cat to see if we can use one of his books since he has a local connection. The tentative event date is March 26, 2022 to coincide with local Spring break holidays. Design. Michelle shared concerns from Public Works that trash compactors on Atlantic Avenue and Lovell Avenue are being misused by the businesses. The city wants find a solution and is considering holding meeting and training with the businesses to avoid eliminating the service. If the service is eliminated, businesses would be responsible for contracting their own service privately. The board discussed the challenges with the trash compactors, and agreed that meeting with the city needs to occur. Economic Vitality The Beach Business Bootcamp training is now full. Adjournment: Kelly Swope moved to adjourn. Sarah Bernzott seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m.