Old Orchard Business District Advisory Commission

Old Orchard Special Business District Advisory Commission MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MEETING DATE: Tuesday, July 11, 2023 LOCATION: City Hall & Zoom CALLED TO ORDER 8:00 AM MEETING ADJOURNED: 8:53 AM NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, August 8, 2023 NAME PRESENT ABSENT Bob Weber, Chair X Holland Saltsman, Vice Chair X Angel Venegoni X John Barr X Steve Zielinski X Abby Culleton X Rick Gerger X Emerson Smith, Council Liaison X Eric Peterson, City Liaison X Also in attendance: Peter Sutton; Fire and Faucet Studios Officer Ahmar Rasool – Webster Groves Police Department Fran Sudekum – Administrative Support Approval of Minutes – A motion to approve the June minutes was made by Abby Culleton, seconded by Steve Zielinski, and unanimously approved. Visitor Comments – Peter Sutton; Fire and Faucet Studios, presented an idea to add to the holiday activities on December 2nd. Mr. Sutton has a long family history of over 70 years with the carnival business. His idea is two-fold. First, close Summit Avenue in the section in front of the businesses and have a Ferris wheel. Second, close E. Lockwood adjacent to Gazebo Park and have small carnival rides. In conjunction, also have a food/donation drive for Operation Food Search. Commission Members liked the idea and requested Mr. Sutton look into pricing and ride options. Welcome New Council Liaison – Emerson Smith will now be the Council Liaison to the Old Orchard Commission. OLD BUSINESS Traffic Calming/Pedestrian Safety Features – St. Louis County project webpage shows of map of the project in Old Orchard (as well as others). The URL is https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county- departments/transportation-and-public-works/active-construction-projects/big-bend-boulevard-resurfacing- ar-1794/ In addition, discussions are occurring to put in place temporary calming features prior to the project. Rooftop Lighting – No update at this time. Decorative Holiday Lighting – Members decided to add lighting to the mix to decorate Gazebo Park and the ten new lampposts on Big Bend east of Murdoch with holiday lighting. Members also discussed the possibility of over-the-street lighting (skyline lights) at the entrances to the District. Members liked the seasonal/winter style and holiday style. Members will submit their top three choices to Eric Peterson. Since there is no holiday tree to light anymore, lite ground displays (perhaps in the shape of a tree) could Page 1 of 2 be used and/or the Gazebo could be the focus with extra lights as well as wrapping the trunks of the trees in the park with lights. District Events • 2023 Gazebo Series – Sponsorships have been slow coming in and most are at the “Roadie” level which is the lowest level at $150. As of yet, there are only a few at the “Rock Star” level which is the highest level at $500. There are several new businesses that are sponsoring this year, however, that haven’t done so in the past. Sponsorships will be closing very soon, so promotional materials can be printed. Lastly, the time to fully close E. Lockwood adjacent to Gazebo Park will perhaps be 5:30PM in order to allow Nerinx Hall exiting vehicles prior to that. • Holiday Event – December 2nd was chosen as the date for a District Holiday Event. o Activities thus far include availability of Santa’s mailbox, Santa and Mrs. Claus from Noon to 2PM, candy canes for the kids, and a performance of the Show Starters youth group (Gateway Center for Performing Arts). o Potential activities to add: Toys for Tots, food drive for Operation Food Search, small carnival rides on E. Lockwood, a Ferris wheel on Summit, hit the switch to light up a decorated Gazebo Park, retailers/restaurants/store fronts holiday stroll, and co-brand with the Summit Avenue synchronized light show block party known as “Miracle on Summit.” o Possibly label the event a Holiday Stroll through Candy Cane Lane; an all-day event. Include encouraging businesses to decorate with holiday lighting. o NOTE: The live reindeer were not available on December 2nd. NEW BUSINESS Chess in the Park - Commission Member Steve Zielinski suggested putting chess tables in our parks. The Commission could write a letter supporting the idea of starting with Gazebo Park and send it to the Parks and Recreation Department. Steve and Eric will work on a draft letter for Commission Members to approve. Fitness in the Park – Commission Member Abby Culleton suggested having a week-long fitness event in Gazebo Park. The Commission could write a letter supporting the idea and send it to the Parks and Recreation Department. Eric will draft a letter for Commission Members to approve. Business Development Commission (BDC) Update • BDC Business Coffee – The Coffee was held on May 17th at the Rec Center. The event was very well attended. Many Old Orchard businesses in attendance were interested in learning how to resuscitate the Old Orchard Merchant & Business Association; the BDC is interested in supporting that in some manner. The next Coffee will take place in August. • Work in Webster Groves Job Board - The job board is still operating; Members were encouraged to continue posting their open positions. City/Council Update • Old Orchard’s FY 2023 Budget Performance Report shows revenue came in at 328% of budget; both property taxes and business licenses came in higher than estimated and the Parks Department budget was 50% of its estimate so the Transfer Out figure will be reduced as a result. Expenses were 43% of budget. • Old Orchard continues to have a Façade Improvement grant funded by the District. • The Charter Review Commission continues their work. • FY2024 is projected to end in the black. • City Council continues to work on the Strategic Plan. • An Empowering Women in Entrepreneurship webinar series will take place in July and August; funded by a grant. Next Meeting – August 8, 2023 Adjournment – Meeting adjourned at 8:52 AM. Page 2 of 2