Old Orchard Business District Advisory Commission

Old Orchard Special Business District Advisory Commission MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MEETING DATE: Tuesday, July 13, 2021 LOCATION: Zoom CALLED TO ORDER 8:000 AM MEETING ADJOURNED: 8:24 AM NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, August 10, 2021 NAME PRESENT ABSENT Bob Weber, Chair X Holland Saltsman, Vice Chair X Angel Venegoni X John Barr X Steve Zielinski X Abby Culleton X Ken Creehan X Vacancy Vacancy Emerson Smith, Council Liaison X Eric Peterson, City Liaison X Also in attendance: Jenny Donaldson, Executive Director, Webster Arts Dave Sanders – Board Member, Webster Arts Mara Perry – Director of Planning and Development, City of Webster Groves Fran Sudekum – Administrative Support Approval of Minutes Motion to approve the June minutes was made by Angel Venegoni, seconded by Holland Saltsman, and was unanimously approved. Visitor Comments Jenny Donaldson and Dave Sanders of Webster Arts have submitted a Special Activities Permit for the use of Gazebo Park for a Gazebo Artist Market on August 14, 21, and 28. It’s a mini version of their big Art Fair that has been canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID restrictions. Particulars for this mini market in August include: • It will take place from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM; live music will be in the 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM portion of the market. • The section of E. Lockwood from Big Bend to S. Old Orchard will be closed during the market; it will close at 3:00 PM and reopen after 9:00 PM. • They will have an information tent at the market and Old Orchard businesses are invited to display their flyers, brochures, etc. about their business. Commission Members did not see any issues with the Gazebo Artist Market permit request. Streetscape Update Still waiting on the delivery of materials for the new lamp posts; the construction start date is pushed out to August. Page 1 of 3 Gazebo Series Update Fran Sudekum shared a status update for the Old Orchard Gazebo Series which kicks off on August 20th and runs on Friday evenings thru September 24th. Reactions thus far are everyone is very happy to see the series return. • The Special Activities Permitted has been submitted. • The new over-the-street banner has been ordered. • Sponsor solicitations have started in earnest, so far approximately $3,500 have been committed far with four major sponsors, 1 medium sponsor, and 2 small sponsors. One of the first sponsorships received was from Red LaMore Body Co. in Old Webster. • Face-to-face solicitations start this week. • Bob Weber has submitted the paperwork to re-register the Merchant and Business Association of Old Orchard with the state of Missouri; once completed a PayPal account can be created to offer an online method of payment for sponsors. BDC Update The BDC continues to work on ways to bring the business districts together; ideas from Commission Members are welcome. Old Orchard no longer has a representative on the BDC; Holland Saltsman shared that one of her staff is interested in serving. City Update • Le Macaron in Old Webster is open. • Construction work continues on the following business: o Wingstop and Zushi, two restaurants in Yorkshire Plaza. o Betty’s Books in a portion of the former Gymboree location in Old Orchard. o DD Mau Vietnamese Eatery in Old Webster. o Union Bagels in Crossroads. o Total Access Urgent Care at Big Bend and Laclede Station. • A CUP for Play Daze daycare center for a new space in the Zeta Dell business neighborhood was continued due to questions on parking. • A CUP was received for a used car lot on Watson. • Text amendments in C and D Commercial zones to address multi-family as a permitted use with a specific set of regulations, such as setbacks, height, intensity of use, required parking, and landscaping moves forward to City Council. • The Douglass Hill Project (a.k.a. North Old Webster Redevelopment Proposed Project) continues at Plan Commission; SG Collaborative made a presentation. The process continues with public input at the August 9th meeting. • Nerinx Hall is reconfiguring and expanding their parking in the front of their location. • Proposition #1 whether to repel or keep the changes in the A4 residential zones related to two-family structures will be on the August ballot. There is information on the City’s website. • The City budget has been approved so everything submitted in the Old Orchard District portion was approved. Page 2 of 3 • Events are happening and moving forward: o The Old Webster Summer Night Street Dance was successful even with a weather delay in the middle. o The 4th of July Parade, Fireworks, and Carnival all successfully took place. o The Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival is on track; their Special Activities Permit has been approved. o Webster Arts is putting on a Chalk Festival in Old Webster on August 7th. • City Council, Board, and Commission meetings will all return to in person meetings in August. There will be a Zoom option available as well. • City Manager Dr. Marie Peoples and Assistant City Manager Eric Peterson will start conducting live “City Chats” on the City’s Facebook page; the first one is set for July 14 at 10:00 AM. • Eric Peterson is now the staff liaison for the Old Orchard Special Business District Advisory Commission as well as the Old Webster, Crossroads, and the Business Development Commissions. Mara Perry will still be available to the Commissions as needed. Mr. Peterson has done business development work in Milwaukee County and Coconino County Arizona and has worked a great deal with the downtown association in Flagstaff, Arizona. He stated in Webster Groves, the “downtown” experience with exchange of commerce and ideas is the Old Orchard and Old Webster areas. Mr. Peterson believes the gathering of people for both the exchange of ideas and how we help businesses move money is critical to the economic viability of Webster Groves. Strong businesses and utilized storefronts are a critical component for Webster Groves moving forward. Eric is looking forward to working with Commission Members on this and is also interested in identifying items that need to be worked on that may not have been previously discussed, such as workforce issues and development. He is here to help. Commission Member Opportunity Holland Saltsman shared two events Commission Members might be interested in on August 19th. Both are an opportunity to hear author Danny Caine speak. Mr. Caine is the owner of the Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kansas, and author of How to Resist Amazon and Why: The Fight for Local Economics, Data Privacy, Fair Labor, Independent Bookstores, and a People-Powered Future! One event will be at the Webster Groves et al. luncheon. The other event is at The Novel Neighbor in the evening. Adjournment – Meeting adjourned at 8:24 AM. Page 3 of 3