Old Webster Business District Advisory Commission

Old Webster Special Business District Advisory Commission MEETING MINUTES DRAFT MEETING DATE: Tuesday, May 25, 2021 LOCATION: Zoom CALLED TO ORDER: 8:02 AM MEETING ADJOURNED: 8:43 AM NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, June 22, 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: Eric Peterson – Assistant City Manager/Director of Finance and Administration, City of Webster Groves Jenny Starkey – Director of Public Affairs & Engagement, City of Webster Groves Fran Sudekum – Administrative Support Approval of Minutes Motion to approve the April minutes was made by Joe Rath, seconded by Tim Delanty, and unanimously approved. Visitor Comments • Eric Peterson, the new Assistant City Manager/Director of Finance and Administration, introduced himself to the Commission. • Jenny Donaldson, Executive Director of Webster Arts, thanked the Commission for their support of the recent Paint Webster event. Ms. Donaldson has submitted a special activities permit for a Chalk Festival Event in Old Webster on August 7th from 8AM to 5PM. They are looking at locations in Old Webster. One is the street in front of Yucandu; the street would be closed to traffic. She has spoken with Yucandu and is in the process of contacting KIND soap company, Leopard Boutique, and Novus. The plan is to have a professional artist create a piece on the street in chalk and have others join in by doing a section of the street as well. Commission members suggested additional areas that could be used as well; Mark Hinkle is open to discussing using the area near his place at 216 W. Lockwood and Ron Clipp suggested possibly using various on-street parking spots by various businesses. 1 of 3 Event Updates • Old Webster Summer Night Street Dance – Now that COVID restrictions on events have been dropped, the Old Webster Summer Night Street Dance organized by the Old Webster Trade Association on June 19th is a go. Bake Symes will play James Taylor favorites from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm and Ticket to the Beatles will play the music of the Beatles from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Fran Sudekum will engage several food trucks for the event, she will reach out to the three associated with business in the Old Orchard Business District. Day-of volunteers will be needed. • Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival – The Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival on September 18th is also a go. Last year would have been the 20th year for the event if it hadn’t been cancelled. This year, the event will follow the same format as in previous; two stages, one on Gore and one on Allen; Noon until 11:00 PM. The lineup will be announced in the next couple of weeks. Budget Update Mara Perry shared an updated budget sheet and reviewed revenues and expenses to date. On the revenue side, at this point both property taxes and business licenses are slow coming in. City Council is set to vote on the 2022 budget in June. Rooftop Lighting Stribe Electric is redoing their bid for installation of the rooftop lights on the Olive+Oak building as it is more complex due to its rooftop solar panels. Bill Newhouse suggested having a couple of quotes from other electric companies going forward to ensure Stribe is still competitive would be a good. BDC Update Members of the BDC have attended business district meetings in an effort to reach out, make connections, and share with district commission members what the BDC is currently focused on. For the next couple of months the BDC will be working on and determining next steps for the recommendations their working group sub-committee had put together to strengthen the cohesiveness, communication, and coordination both within each district and between all the districts and then later webster-wide as a whole. They are looking for any input from Commission Members to help support this activity. City Update • La Macaron in Old Webster will open soon; current delays are contractor related. • DD Mau in Old Webster will open any day. • Union Bagel in Crossroads is under construction. • WingStop in Yorkshire Plaza is under construction. • Zushi in Yorkshire Plaza is under construction. • Amy’s Cake Pop and Boozy Bites in Old Orchard is open. • Lona’s Lil Eats in Old Orchard might not happen due to their personal issues. • Total Access Urgent Care at Laclede Station Road and Big Bend has started the demolition of the two structures. They’ve also been working with MSD and St. Louis County for items. 2 of 3 • The Old Orchard Streetscape Project construction should be starting next month. They will start at Dale and Big Bend and work their way west to Murdoch. Missouri American Water has completed their work on putting in a new water main. All the utilities have finished moving their poles. The construction start has been delayed due to supply issues; the new streetlamps posts are the current issue. • Construction on Fire Station #2 continues. • Hixson Middle School’s construction continues. • Security and ADA accessibility construction in various schools in the Webster Groves School District is finishing up. • Code amendment changes related to two-family and single-family moved forward to City Council and was approved. Information is available on the City’s website. • Plan Commission’s work continues on changes in C and D Commercial Districts to allow multi-family as a permitted use as long as it meets a set of regulations and does not require a Conditional Use Permit (CUP). • A CUP for a music school to use classroom space at Webster Groves Presbyterian Church will be at Plan Commission. • The Rolling Ridge CUP to use some of their existing space for during the off season or in the evenings for events, wedding receptions, meetings, birthday parties, etc. has moved forward to City Council. • The opening public hearing for the Douglas Hill CUP (a.k.a. N. Old Webster Proposed Redevelopment) will take place at the Plan Commission. The first meeting will review the process. Public comments will be on the agenda; there are multiple avenues to submit comments or speak. There will be multiple public hearings held at Plan Commission as well at City Council. • The budget hearing opens at City Council next Tuesday and the final vote will be the following meeting. A budget deficit is projected. • Construction on many roads is taking place: MSD construction work on the west end of Lockwood and construction on Big Bend, Elm, and Glendale are Missouri American Water. • 4th of July Celebration: The Lions have a permit in to have their carnival at Eden Seminary. The parade will take place on Saturday, July 3rd. Fireworks haven’t yet been solidified. Next Meeting Tuesday, June 22, 2021 at 8:00 AM via Zoom. 3 of 3