Old Webster Business District Advisory Commission

Old Webster Special Business District Advisory Commission MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MEETING DATE: Tuesday, August 23, 2016 LOCATION: City Hall CALLED TO ORDER: 8:03 AM MEETING ADJOURNED: 9:15 AM NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, September 27, 2016 NAME PRESENT ABSENT Ron Clipp, Chair X Amanda Payne, Vice Chair X Chris Hite X Joe Rath X Keli Richards X Stacie Swederska X Morry Cole X Mark Hinkle X Tim Delanty X Matt Armstrong, Council Liaison X Mara Perry, City Liaison X Also in attendance: Council Member Bud Bellomo – City of Webster Groves Fran Sudekum – Administrative Support APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion to approve July minutes was made by Joe Rath, seconded by Chris Hite, unanimously approved. OLD BUSINESS  Parking Permits – Mara Perry provided handouts of maps showing the locations of the existing parking, a copy of the list of those that have purchased a permit, and a copy of the parking permit ordinance. There are two types of permits which carry different costs and different locations. Permits are renewed every year in December; all permits are sold out each year (they are over sell by approximately 10%). If a permit is not renewed, it’s available to someone else to purchase. There has been a few occurrences of permits being forged. The vast number of current permit “owners” belong to businesses with many employees and they usually renew their permits each year. If all the permits are renewed, then a new business owner opening a business in the Old Webster Business District doesn’t have an opportunity to purchase any. Ron Clipp stated that he feels a business located in the District should at least be able to buy a couple of permits. The District needs additional parking spaces to accommodate both employees and customers. Parking “history” and several options were discussed: rearranging the mix of yellow and orange and possibly their associated fee, physical rearrangement/striping, additional leasing from private lots if they have space available,  new possible locations that could be used, acquire property, vertical construction; all options carry pros and cons and financial implications. A long term solution needs to be actively pursued. The District does not want to take away permits from big users and their growing businesses; it’s important to keep those businesses in the District as well as encourage new businesses to the District. One of the new locations discussed and has been discussed in the past is the use of Frisco Avenue for parking. Geography and railroad restrictions are a major roadblock to this option. In the past there was talk of a pedestrian bridge over the tracks to connect to a parking garage; but that carries a huge price tag. The District doesn’t have the funds for a “big” solution; City Council needs to look at addressing it. Ron asked both Matt Armstrong and Bud Bellomo to bring up the District’s parking concerns at their Council business development “retreat” on August 24th. Matt will report back to the Commission at next month’s meeting with feedback from their “retreat.” In the short term, perhaps the renewal process could be changed to allow each business to acquire at least one permit and then the remaining permits are available to all. Mara stated if it’s a change in the process only and doesn’t require a change in the ordinance, then the change doesn’t have to go to the Council. Commission Members stated there is an immediate need for 100 more parking spots. If we had 100 more spots, we could get more large companies to move into the District. There is a high level of concern they are losing customer business and new businesses because there isn’t enough parking. A parking plan was done for Old Webster some time ago that could be looked at as a starting point of discussion.  Sidewalks – Ron stated repairs need to be completed and they need to look good. Currently they look like a patchwork. Ron brought Matt and Bud up to speed with the recent sidewalks discussion the Commission has been having and let them know the Commission will be coming to Council for help with the budget for a phased approach to eventually replacing all the sidewalks in the District.  Rooftop Building Lights – Mara has been in contact with Streib Electric to start the next phase of installing the rooftop lights in the District and turn them on. Joe stated they need to be on four weeks from last Saturday. NEW BUSINESS  Bike Rack Locations – The Sustainability Commission is looking to put five bike racks in the District and would like recommendations on where they should go. Once the locations are determined, they would come back to the District to discuss the design of the racks. Ron will take a look at potential locations and make a recommendation at next month’s meeting.  Lamppost Banners – The current banners are in “ok” condition, perhaps it’s time to start thinking ahead about replacements. The Parks & Rec Department says this year is the last year the red bows can be used during the holidays and are looking to next year purchases and wondering what the color scheme of the winter banners would be if they are replaced. Replacing banners would be part of the annual budget discussion. Possible new banners will be an agenda item for the November meeting.  Jazz Fest Update – The Jazz Fest has a new logo and has requested it be sent out to all businesses in the District for their use in promoting the event. Fran Sudekum will email it to all businesses in the District for which we have email addresses. Mara requested an event be created on the Jazz Fest Facebook page so that she may share it to the Explore Webster Facebook page. Joe Rath will have that taken care of.  Old Webster Trade Association (OWTA) – Joe requested permission for Fran to send out the monthly meeting notes of the OWTA to all businesses in the District so that all would have the information, both members and non-members of OWTA. Permission was granted. Matt asked to be included in that distribution as well.  One District – Bud suggested a topic of future discussion, combining the three business districts into one. Members remarked there are pros and cons to that arrangement. Some of the roadblocks are geography, different splits of retail vs. non- retail, each has its own unique character, and each has its own budget. A pro would be potential advantages to doing things on a wider scale; however, the Business Development Commission has already done some work on just that and continues to do so. In addition, the three Districts have already pooled some activities together such as trash can purchases. Bud stated if the businesses in the three districts were interested in pursuing a one-district concept, the process to do so is under their control based on his discussion with the city attorney. CITY UPDATE  Green Goose in Yorkshire Plaza is opening this week.  Work continues on the “Quonset Hut” location in Old Orchard for a new salon.  Staff continues the work on changes to the residential sections of the City Zoning Code.  The Planning and Development Department has hired a new Planner. SEPTEMBER AGENDA ITEMS  Bike Rack Locations NOVEMBER AGENDA ITEMS  District Lamppost Banners ADJOURNED Meeting adjourned at 9:15 AM. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 27, 2016 at 8:00 AM – City Hall.