Old Webster Business District Advisory Commission

Old Webster Special Business District Advisory Commission MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MEETING DATE: Tuesday, June 26, 2018 LOCATION: City Hall CALLED TO ORDER: 7:59 AM MEETING ADJOURNED: 8:56 AM NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, July 24, 2018 , NAME PRESENT ABSENT Ron Clipp, Chair X Joe Rath X Mark Hinkle X Tim Delanty X Micki Hansel X Scott Kemper X Gary Schoenberger X Vacancy Vacancy Pam Bliss, Council Liaison X Mara Perry, City Liaison X Also, in attendance: Fran Sudekum – Administrative Support APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion to approve May minutes was made by Joe Rath, seconded by Tim Delanty, and unanimously approved. PARKING UPDATE • Moody Lot – Webster Groves Presbyterian Church has agreed to the three-year proposed lease arrangement for 30 parking spaces to be used for a District employee parking lot. There are three items they asked to be possibly corrected when the City repairs the parking lot; Public Works is taking a look at them: 1. A section of chain-link was damaged by a car and needs to be replaced. 2. The wheel stops may need to be repositioned so cars can’t damage the fence in the future. 3. There is a water drainage issue from the parking lot into the playground. • The formal agreement will be drawn up, signed, and a timeline will be established. • There will be signage added to the lot with designations and time frames. DISTRICT BANNERS • Tim Delanty presented five possible new summer banner designs for the District. The unanimously-picked design is based on the current winter banner with fireworks swapped out for the snowflakes. • A long discussion was held whether the new summer banners should say Old Webster or Webster Groves. • An informal polling of Commission Members found the majority want the banners to stay with saying Old Webster. • It was decided not to make a final decision on the wording on the banners at this time and to think further about it and make a final decision at a future meeting. • Views expressed during the discussion included the following: o What is the goal and the purpose of the District banners? Are they to promote the Old Webster District and place a focus on its identity and neighborhood or are they to promote a Webster Groves city-wide identity? o It was pointed out that the revenue to pay for the banners comes solely from the District and the use of that revenue is to promote the District. o The Old Webster name is a long-time established branding. It identifies and defines the historic neighborhood; it tells you where you are geographically. There is a specialness to it. That branding, tradition, history, and uniqueness are important and shouldn’t be lost. o The Old Orchard Business District plans to use the same design Old Webster picks and will put Webster Groves vs. Old Orchard on their summer banners as they did with their winter banners. Since they don’t have “Webster” in their district’s name, putting Webster Groves on their banners instead of Old Orchard may benefit them. o The Crossroads Business District is not considering purchasing new banners at this time. They are focused on their streetscape project. They will look at banners likely at a later time; a later budget year. o The majority of the Commission Members felt having the business districts use the same banner design accomplishes the goal of visually tying the districts together and unifying them. o Using the same design, but each using their own name on it, i.e. Old Webster, accomplishes two goals; it ties the districts together visually and helps with city-wide branding while at the same time recognizes the uniqueness and geographic difference of each. The design is the unifying piece and the words define the neighborhoods. o Each of the business areas is different. Each has their own identity. Each is geographically separate from the other, separate wording on each helps tell customers where you are within Webster Groves. o We all want Webster Groves businesses to do well. We all want to keep money spent in Webster overall whether it’s spent in Old Webster, Old Orchard, or some other Webster Groves business area. The banners are only a piece of the puzzle. They aren’t going to save the day. There are other ways to drive customers from outside Webster to our businesses that should be done. o There was also a discussion around the issue that Old Orchard was upset with Old Webster when they kept the Old Webster name on their new winter banners and didn’t change it to Webster Groves. Members didn’t understand this reaction and want to know what was behind it. Is there a problem between the two districts? Does Old Orchard feel slighted in some way? Are they looking for help to boost up their district? Their trade association fell apart several years ago, so there hasn’t been an organization in their district to work with the Old Webster Trade Association; one person came to one meeting quite some time ago, but nothing developed any further. New businesses have now opened up in Old Orchard with fresh people however, so things could change, there could be individuals to work with. What we do with the banners one way or the other however does not preclude us from working together on projects. Ron Clipp will attend Old Orchard’s July meeting to find out their perspective. ROOFTOP LIGHTING UPDATE • Ron spoke with Robert Peters’ gate keeper; Mr. Peters is aware and onboard, but processing the paperwork agreement is not a top priority for him. The building adjacent to his where Olympic Marine is located is owned by another property owner. CVC NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNER MEMBERSHIP • St. Louis Convention & Visitor Center, a.k.a. CVC’s annual renewal for businesses to renew or sign up for a Neighborhood Partner Membership of $150 is due July 27th. All the paperwork is turned into Mara Perry. • Webster Groves has again signed up again as the “parent” neighborhood membership and needs at least ten businesses to renew or sign up with individual partner memberships in order to keep the “Neighborhood” designation and online and print exposure in the various CVC platforms that comes with it. • The CVC has a new person handling the project and they are looking to add more focus on outdoor-related businesses and activities in addition to retail and dining. • Old Webster had the majority of businesses participate last year: CJ Muggs, Embroider the Occasion, Green Door Art Gallery, Kind Soap Company, Leopard Boutique, Llywelyn's Pub, My Shabby Cottage, Olive + Oak, Paisley Boutique, Robust, San Jose Mexican Restaurant, Sushi Station, The Initial Design, Yucandu Art Studio, and Zoey’s Attic. • At the June Old Webster Trade Association, Fran Sudekum talked about the CVC memberships and handed out renewal paperwork to Kind Soap Company, Leopard Boutique, Olive + Oak, Paisley Boutique, and Zoey’s Attic. COMMISSION VACANCIES • The commission now has two vacancies. Commission Members are encouraged to reach out to fellow business owners/managers/property owners in Old Webster to fill these positions. Possibly new businesses would be interested. CITY UPDATE • Anticipating a new proposal from a different developer for the former Gerber Chapel location has been received; this one will be a smaller scale proposal. The previous developer withdrew their proposal. • Webster Groves Bookshop is moving into the former Delve DIY location in Old Webster. • Permits are in for two new businesses in the former SanSai location in Old Webster, Firenza Pizza and Ziggy’s Gelato with a walk-up window. • Tuxedo Park STL Bed and Breakfast Inn is open and taking reservations. It’s located at the corner of Tuxedo and Bompart. • The Frisco Barroom in Old Orchard has their occupancy permits and should be open very soon. • Maypop Coffee and Garden Shop is open in the Marshall/Summit business area. They are having small events and plant-related classes. Their building was built in the 1890’s as a single-family house and it has been zoned for commercial since the 1930’s. • Lark Skin Company, a new business is going in the Crossroads Business District • The Crossroads Business District is in the process of seeking a federal grant to do a streetscape project in their district. • Text code amendment changes continue. • Nathan Nickolaus is the new City attorney. • The parking deck is Old Webster is undergoing major repairs this summer. • New houses continue to pop up all over the city. ADJOURNED Meeting adjourned at 8:56 AM. NEXT MEETING • Agenda Item: Updated revenue figures for the District. • The next meeting will be held at City Hall on Tuesday, July 24, 2018 from 8:00 AM.