Old Webster Business District Advisory Commission

Old Webster Special Business District Advisory Commission MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MEETING DATE: Tuesday January 28, 2020 LOCATION: City Hall CALLED TO ORDER: 8:00 AM MEETING ADJOURNED: 9:15 AM NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, February 25, 2020 NAME PRESENT ABSENT Ron Clipp, Chair X Joe Rath X Mark Hinkle X Tim Delanty X Micki Hansel X Gary Schoenberger X Margaret Stevens X Bill Newhouse X Stacie Swederska X Emerson Smith, Council Liaison X Mara Perry, City Liaison X Also, in attendance: Robert Pohrer – Ambassador Valet Parking Denise Bulejski – Administrative Support APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion to approve the November minutes was made by Bill Newhouse, seconded by Mark Hinkle, and unanimously approved. VISITOR COMMENTS Robert Pohrer, Ambassador Valet Parking – Mr. Pohrer has been working with Mark Hinkle on a valet parking plan for the project at the former Auto Beauty location; they have secured 203 parking spaces in six private parking areas for the plan; valet parking would start at approximately 5:00 to 5:30 PM. Mark asked Robert to come and share valet parking information with Commission Members since there is an opportunity to do a district-wide valet parking plan for Old Webster. Mr. Pohrer’s company has been in business since 1984 and his sister company, St. Louis Parking, has been in business since 1933. Robert shared with Commission Members how a district-wide plan could work. Some of the items discussed included: • A centralized location for the valet desk, such as somewhere in the vicinity of the entrance to the public parking deck on Lockwood. • Develop a validation program which could be adjusted as needed. It could include varying percentages or allocations of payment amounts. He has found a consortium of stake holders has been successful in the past. • Based on his experience, he recommends charging customers from $0 to $5 to valet park; anything higher and the service won’t be used. • Ambassador Valet Parking carries their own insurance. Page 1 of 3 VALET PARKING Lack of parking is always an ongoing discussion in the District. It isn’t so much that parking spaces don’t exist; it’s that most of it is private parking, not public parking. There is a tremendous amount of private parking outside of the 203 spaces secured for the “Auto Beauty” Valet Plan that is a big opportunity for the District. A District-wide valet parking plan would help chip away at parking issues and is a positive step to helping businesses grow and not be restricted in their growth due to a lack of parking. BUDGET Mara Perry handed out two budget worksheets for Commission Members to continue the budget planning for next year. Members discussed several items that could potentially impact the budget, some of which included: • Costs for disposal services for the District recycling have increased. • The pedestrian sign at Moody and Elm was hit by a car and will need to be repaired. • There may be an increase in the cost for the Summer Night Street Dance to cover the sound system as long-time Street Dance band, Ticket to the Beatles who provided their own sound system, is not available this year and a new band may need the sound system provided. • Additional holiday decorations: bows and garland for the lamp posts, and additional lights for trees in another location. • The use of a rickshaw service and/or a street-worthy golf-cart type vehicle service during big events. • A District information kiosk. • Blinking Stop Signs at Lockwood and Gore. • Building-to-building cross-the-street accent lights. A list of associated costs and/or information will be gathered for the next meeting. NOTES: 1. Costs for the new spring and fall District banners comes out of this year’s budget. 2. Members felt strongly that District holiday decorations need leveling up and want to add more to the mix to make a visual impact. 3. This year’s Jazz & Blues Festival may add Friday night to the plans which would likely close Allen Avenue on Friday evening. BDC UPDATE • The interactive GIS restaurant locator mapping should go live in the next week or so. It will have Webster Groves restaurant locations, hours, types of cuisine, and more. After the restaurant application is complete, additional applications can be added, such as public art, historic walks, and other business applications. The application will be a link on the City’s website; it works well on smart phones. CITY UPDATE • Construction continues on The Elle at Lockwood apartment building. • Construction continues on the project at the former Auto Beauty location; parking plan still needed for review. Page 2 of 3 • Construction is completing on Regions Bank. The second building on the same lot for retail will have a different owner. • Guerilla Street Food opened on January 7th. • Crossroads is possibly getting a couple of new retail businesses, one in the former Porter Paints location and the other, a women’s clothing store a little further west of Porter Paints. • Le Macaron obtained their CUP and are under construction. • The Zeta Dell Business Neighborhood has a new building construction at 749 Marshall for Jennifer Silverberg Photography; a live-in/work studio space. • The Initial Design in the Old Webster Business District is under new ownership. • The Webster Wok in the Old Orchard Business District is under new ownership. • Valvoline Instant Oil Change has replaced Jiffy Lube at Laclede Station Road and Big Bend business area. • The Planning Department is working with potential new businesses at the former Porter Paints location in the Crossroads Business District as well as a potential business that is looking at multiple locations in the Old Orchard and Old Webster Business Districts. NEXT MEETING • Tuesday, February 25, 2020 from 8:00 AM at City Hall. Page 3 of 3