Old Webster Business District Advisory Commission

Old Webster Special Business District Advisory Commission MEETING MINUTES MEETING DATE: Tuesday February 23, 2021 LOCATION: City Hall CALLED TO ORDER: 8:00 AM MEETING ADJOURNED: 9:11 AM NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 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 David Franklin, Council Liaison X Mara Perry, City Liaison X Also, in attendance: Fran Sudekum – Administrative Support APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion to approve the January minutes was made by Joe Rath, seconded by Tim Delanty, and unanimously approved. VISITOR COMMENTS Five visitors together in a conference room were interested in listening to any SG Collaborative discussion. Mara Perry explained SG Collaborative was not on today’s agenda. No comments were then put forth by the visitors. THE ROCKWOOD SENIOR LIVING PARKING REQUEST The Rockwood has requested the time restrictions for the on-street parking spaces on Lockwood directly in front of their building be removed so it’s employees and resident care givers who need to be parked there longer than two hours could use them without getting a parking ticket. Commission Members discussed a lack of employee parking at the west end of the District could be resolved for not only employees of The Rockwood but for other employees of the District as well if the City were able to lease parking spaces in the private parking lot immediately east of and adjacent to The Rockwood; this lot is constrained by its Conditional 1 of 4 Use Permit (CUP) on the number of parking spaces it must maintain for their use and leasing or sharing spaces would necessitate changes to their CUP; Mara will reach out to the owner of the lot. Alternatively, The Rockwood could negotiate leasing parking spaces directly from owners of private lots in the District, such as the close-by Straub’s private lot, as other Old Webster businesses have done. The Rockwood could also purchase several parking permits and use them for their employees. On-street parking spots are not assigned to specific businesses. Commission Members were concerned about setting a precedent of eliminating time limits on individual parking spots in front of individual businesses in the District and thought increasing the time limit on the spots in question to allow for a longer period of time would be a better option to address The Rockwood’s request. MOTION: Ron Clipp made a motion to change the time limit restriction for the four parking spaces on Lockwood directly in front of The Rockwood from two hours to three hours, the motion was unanimously approved. ROOFTOP LIGHTING Rolling Ridge was the only new building completed this year so there are still funds in the budget to be used. Repairs were done on several locations. A supply of light bulbs was purchased. There are several buildings that can be done next. BUDGET Commission Members reviewed budget revenue and expense items, as well as potential projects and adjustments for next year’s budget. Financial Institution Revenue – Mara Perry noted an increase in financial institution revenue that started in 2017 and has continued each year since and was significant in 2020 at $17K+ offsetting a potential shortfall that year. Commission Members would like to know the source of the Financial Institution revenue in order to determine if this will continue going forward; Mara Perry will reach out to Joan Jadali for additional information. Streetscape Landscaping – The Parks Department submitted projects for consideration: • Hanging Baskets: Switch out the plantings in pots on the sidewalks to new water saver hanging baskets. This would involve the purchase of 102 baskets for $7,500 with a 10-year warranty, a one-time purchase of the brackets to hang the baskets from for $6,400. Plants and materials for the baskets would be approximately $3,162 per year which is less than the annual cost for the pots on the sidewalk. Overall labor hours to do the plantings in baskets compared to the sidewalk pots would also be reduced. In addition the water saver two-gallon reservoir reduces the need to water as often thus also reducing labor costs. Commission Response: Commission Members like the pots on the sidewalk, they make a big visual impact and generate positive patron feedback. Members felt a combination of hanging baskets and pots would be a good approach. They decided to keep the pots but would like the Parks Department to make a recommendation on where to add some of the hanging baskets while also keeping sidewalk pots; especially looking at areas that currently 2 of 4  have scant plantings or narrower sidewalks knowing we can only put the hanging baskets on the lampposts and aren’t able to put them on the utility poles. • Bradford Pear Trees: Remove the Bradford pear trees in front of Straub’s, create a narrow planting bed along the sidewalk using the splitting of existing perennials from other areas, move the tree wells away from the curb and replace trees using the City tree fund, Public Works would do the demolition work. If all department heads agree there would basically be no cost to the District for this project, it just needs the Commission’s approval. Commission Response: Members felt this was a good project and the change would help with the walkability of that section of sidewalk. • New Perennial Bed: Remove the section of asphalt in between the sidewalk and parking lot next to Dewey’s Pizza and make it a perennial planting bed. Commission Response: Members felt this was a worthwhile project. • Commission-Added Project - Commission Members suggested an additional project for the Parks Department to work on is the bedding area next to the sidewalk in between Straub’s and Robust where the evergreen tree and other dying items were removed but nothing was planted in its place; funding for the project would be included in the budget. Mara will get costs from the Parks Department and will have it available at next month’s meeting for a quick approval. Additional Budget Discussion Items Included: • COVID impact on revenue for this year is unknown; currently approximately 40% of what is normally received from property taxes and 30% of business licenses has been received; nothing has come in yet from financial institutions. • Recycle disposal services costs may increase. • Costs of lights should decrease since they are LED lights. • Three of the District’s trash cans need to be replaced at an estimated cost of $6,000. • Continue the match for the 50/50 rooftop lighting program and finish doing the buildings in the District. In addition, ongoing maintenance and repair need to be factored in; may be able to negotiate a set labor cost. • Add approximately 3% to the Parks Department for labor costs. • Increase the Jazz Fest allotment to $4,500 from $3,000 to cover unknown COVID impacts to sponsors. • Street Dance may be able to take place this year, so keep it in the budget. Mara updated the working draft spreadsheet with figures discussed. Quick changes could be made at next month’s meeting if necessary. MOTION: Tim Delanty made a motion to approve the 2022 working draft budget as discussed, Mark Hinkle seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. 3 of 4 CITY UPDATE • Coming possibly in April, the Plan Commission will be bringing forward work on changing the multi-family residential codes in C and D districts as an allowed use as long as they meet the parking requirements and setbacks. • Currently lots of new businesses and restaurants are coming in. • N. Old Webster Proposed Redevelopment information is available on the City’s website. NEXT MEETING Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at 9:11 AM via Zoom. 4 of 4