Old Webster Business District Advisory Commission

Old Webster Special Business District Advisory Commission MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MEETING DATE: Tuesday February 25, 2020 LOCATION: City Hall CALLED TO ORDER: 8:02 AM MEETING ADJOURNED: 8:20 AM NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, July 28, 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: Detective Fred Bell – WGPD Community Resource Officer Fran Sudekum – Administrative Support APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion to approve the January minutes was made by Tim Delanty, seconded by Joe Rath, and unanimously approved. BUDGET Commission Members reviewed and discussed updated budget sheets for 2020 (See Appendix A) and proposed 2021 (See Appendix B). Pictures and pricing for garland and lights were reviewed; garland samples were also available. Discussion included: • The pedestrian sign at Moody and Elm will be repaired. • The amount allocated for the Summer Night Street Dance will be increased to cover the additional expense of providing a sound system. • Adding additional components to holiday decorations (bows and garland) to improve the visual impact of the District will be added. Note: Live garland will be used to decorate the lamp posts; help will be needed to put it up and take it down. MOTION: Mark Hinkle made a motion to increase Category #971 by $2,200 for garland and bows. Tim Delanty seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved. • We need to “double down” and finish the rooftop lighting repair/maintenance and installation; be sure to include the new Regions Bank building and Olive + Oak’s new location. After the rooftop lighting is addressed, putting lights in the trees is next. Bill Newhouse offered to help with lighting. Note: Rooftop lighting is currently handled by Stribe Electric. Hanging lights in trees prior to the holiday season and taking them down afterward is handled by the Public Works Department; it is a time-consuming endeavor. It was suggested to leave the lights in the trees year-round as other cities do; less labor and opportunities for visual impact at other times/occasions during the year. Page 1 of 4 • Adding sidewalk recycling for pedestrians will help make the District “green.” Mark Hinkle offered to look into options. • Adding a second District recycling dumpster was tabled. • The addition of a static kiosk District directory is a near-future project. • Increasing the District’s use of social media is seen as important by many members. Changes to proposed 2021 budget = Budget Category #701 remains at $100 Budget Category #730 remains at $13,280 Budget Category #803 remains at $5,150 Budget Category #810 increases to $1,500 Budget Category #814 remains at $12,870 Budget Category #823 decreases to $1,500 Budget Category #830 increases to $24,400 Budget Category #971 increases to $14,800 MOTION: Tim Delanty made a motion to approve the proposed 2021 budget as discussed. Bill Newhouse seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved. NEW BUSINESS • The Jazz and Blues Festival will be on Friday as well as Saturday; Gore Avenue will close on parts of both days. • Bag Day – The Sustainability Commission is working on a reusable bag with the City logo on it; they have the funding. They are looking to having an awareness day and hope to get help from the business districts to promote it. BDC UPDATE • The BDC meets next week to continue discussion on a business profile project and they will also discuss their overall budget. • The URL for the Webster Groves interactive GIS restaurant locator is webstergroves.org/restaurantmap. CITY UPDATE • Old Webster - Olive + Oak moves to its new location the first week of April. • Old Webster - Construction on the second building on the same lot with Regions Bank will be starting. • Old Webster - Le Macaron hopes to open in late March. • Crossroads - Descendants, a women’s clothing store opened on February 22 and a new retail business will open in the former Porter Paints location. • Old Orchard is working on their streetscape project. • The Planning Department is working on non-conforming code amendments. Page 2 of 4 APPENDIX A Page 3 of 4 APPENDIX B Page 4 of 4