Old Orchard Business District Advisory Commission

Old Orchard Special Business District Advisory Commission MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MEETING DATE: Tuesday, January 8, 2019 LOCATION: City Hall CALLED TO ORDER: 8:02 AM MEETING ADJOURNED: 9:10 AM NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, February 12, 2019 NAME PRESENT ABSENT Joe Fichter, Chair X Angel Venegoni X Claire Winkler X Mary Jane Armstrong X Holland Saltsman X Robert Weber X John Barr X Steve Zielinski X Vacancy Bud Bellomo, Council Liaison X Mara Perry, City Liaison X Also in attendance: Danny Jendusa – Planner, Webster Groves Planning & Development Department Detective Fred Bell – Community Engagement Officer, Webster Groves Police Department Fran Sudekum – Administrative Support APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion to approve the November minutes as was made by Claire Winkler, seconded by Angel Venegoni, motion was unanimously approved. ROOFTOP LIGHTING UPDATE The first phase of rooftop decorative lighting was completed in time for the holiday season. Letters explaining the project will need to be sent out to building owners for the next phase which will start in the spring. Letters to the first phase of building owners to pay their 50% need to be issued. STREETSCAPE UPDATE Continuing to finish up all the engineering drawings. Once all the drawings are completed the project will be ready to hit the ground running once the $250,000 federal grant funding comes in. The project should be completed by the holidays in 2020. The other side of the street will be the next streetscape project. Timing for this phase will be worked in with other projects in the City; can only pursue one federal grant per year. EVENTS Holiday Festival – The weather during the event this year was clear and mild. The event was small in scope and attendance. Commission members will discuss its future at the March meeting. Cookie Walk – The weather was very sunny and cold during the event this year. Eight businesses in Old Orchard participated and 16 in Old Webster. Fran Sudekum shared a handout with Commission members with a summary and feedback (see appendix A). Businesses were pleased at seeing new people come into the district that were not previously aware of their businesses. The use of the gift certificates resulted in immediate sales in some cases. BUDGET DISCUSSION Commission members reviewed two budget documents provided by Mara Perry to get a picture of where things stand currently and looking forward to the next budget year. Items of discussion included: a potential increase in recycling fees, stable revenue figures and their sources, vacancies, contribution to the BDC for holiday promotions and ongoing social media, new banners, lamppost décor, rooftop lighting project, and potential items to consider and look at for next month’s continued discussion. Next Month the following items will be reviewed: a breakdown of items covered in the #830 Advertising and the #971 Transfer Out categories, potential items/needs handled by the Parks Department, number of new decorative lampposts to include, NEW BUSINESS • Gazebo Series – Planning for this season’s Gazebo Series will be starting soon. Help is needed in acquiring sponsors. Sponsorship is open to all; no limits on sponsor ads, mentions from the stage are included. There is opportunity for District businesses to cross promote during the series; this opportunity needs to be encouraged with business owners. Members were interested in the process of booking the bands and would like to see piggy-backing with bands that are in town and performing at district establishments to take advantage of potential series performances. • District Dumpster Enclosure – The enclosure for the dumpster in the south public parking lot needs attention. Mara will refer it to Public Works to see what needs to be done to fix any issues and improve it visually. CITY UPDATE • Firenza Pizza in Old Webster should be open. • Layla in Old Webster should be open the end of January or early February. • The project at the former Gerber Chapel location has been approved at the Planning Commission and goes before the ARB next. • The project at Rolling Ridge has been held off until February. • The project at the former Auto Beauty location is at the ARB; still needs parking plan. • Balkan Treat Box should be open very soon. • The project at the former YMCA location should be moving to demolition in the next month or so. The neighbor’s lawsuit is gone. • A new dentist is going in next to Music Folk in Old Orchard. • Work on commercial group home types and daycare text amendments is moving forward to City Council. • Work on all commercial noise regulations continues. • CUP in Old Webster for a cell tower. NEXT MEETING Tuesday, February 12, 2019 at 8:00 AM – City Hall. ADJOURNED Meeting adjourned at 9:55 AM  APPENDIX A Webster Holiday Cookie Walk Sunday, December 9, 2018; 11AM – 2PM Weather: mid-30's, sunny 8 Old Orchard Participating Businesses 1 The Joel Svoboda Team at Circa Properties E. Lockwood Ave 2 Ellen Browne & Stephanie Fisher at Boulevard Hair Co. Big Bend Blvd 3 Naked Boot & Shoe (ticket sales location) Big Bend Blvd 4 Civil Alchemy Big Bend Blvd 5 Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream Big Bend Blvd 6 The Frisco Barroom Big Bend Blvd 7 Colonial Village Pharmacy 8 The Novel Neighbor (poster pick up location) Big Bend Blvd Facebook Comments: “Thanks for hosting! This was our first time and we loved it!” ~ Angie, Cookie Walk Patron “Thanks for a great time! This is our first time doing a cookie walk and our first December in Missouri. It was cold, but so neat to see all the shops and eat yummy cookies. We’ll be back to shop some more!” ~ Tara, Cookie Walk Patron “💖” ~ Dana, Cookie Walk Patron Old Orchard Feedback Received From: 1. The Frisco Barroom, John Barr 2. Civil Alchemy, Kelley Barr 3. Ellen Browne at The Boulevard Hair Salon 4. Stephanie Fisher at The Boulevard Hair Salon The Frisco Barroom • The Frisco made 100 cookies and gave out 90 cookies. “Yum” Civil Alchemy • Civil alchemy opened at 12 • We went through 120 cookies • It was a big crowd. • Many people had never been in our shop and seemed impressed with our selection of goods. • However, many were not buying today. • It has given people the opportunity to feel comfortable and see what’s in each local shop. Ellen Browne at The Boulevard Hair Salon • We had about 60 people and Santa running around out front. Stephanie Fisher at The Boulevard Hair Salon • Gave out about 12 cookies. • We had 2-3 people at a time. • They were families or single people; people who had never been in Boulevard before. Cookie Walk Ticket Sales # of Tickets/Gift Ticket Sales Location District Total $ Certificates Sold Main Booth on Lockwood Old Webster 162 $ 810.00 Never Enough (N. Gore) Old Webster 41 $ 205.00 Webster Garden Café (E. Lockwood) Old Webster 87 $ 435.00 Naked Boot & Shoe (Big Bend) Old Orchard 35 $ 175.00 325 $1,625.00 average attendees/wristband 2.6 estimated attendance 847