Old Webster Business District Advisory Commission

Old Webster Special Business District Advisory Commission MEETING MINUTES DRAFT MEETING DATE: Tuesday, September 28, 2021 LOCATION: City Hall & Zoom CALLED TO ORDER: 8:01 AM MEETING ADJOURNED: 8:50 AM NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, October 26, 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 Eric Peterson, City Liaison X Also, in attendance: Mara Perry, Director of Planning and Development, City of Webster Groves Ceci Bartels – Business Development Commission Fran Sudekum – Administrative Support Approval of Minutes – A motion to approve the August minutes with one attendance correction was made by Joe Rath, seconded by Stacie Swederska, and unanimously approved. Visitor Comments – Ceci Bartels of the Business Development Commission is working on a possible scavenger hunt designed to expose people to the businesses in the three business districts. She is looking to gauge the interest level of the District Commissions for such an event. Commission Members liked the idea and are interested in hearing more when more details are worked out. TIF Commission Update – The public hearing will be held on October 27th at 6:00 PM at the Rec Center. Information is available on the City’s website. Rooftop Lighting Update – Olive + Oak is scheduled to have their rooftop lights installed by Streib. Streib will also be spot checking existing strands of lights that are exhibiting problems. Holiday Lighting in Trees – Bill Newhouse has reached out to Kenary Florist has agreed to connect electric to light the tree in front of their store. Mr. Newhouse will reach out to other building owners to identify additional trees to dress with holiday lights. 1 of 3 MOTION: Bill Newhouse made a motion to approve up to $3,000 to purchase LED holiday lights. Stacie Swederska seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. Commission Members discussed the need to revisit what the cost would be to add electrical outlets to some of the District lampposts. It has been discussed in the past. It requires changing out the wiring and tearing into sidewalks, so it’s not a low-cost endeavor. Members would like to know what that cost would be however so perhaps over time it could be addressed. Lamppost Decorations – The holiday garland is in good shape and ready to install. 2nd Story Window “Candles” – Businesses should still have the window candles they displayed last season. Eric Peterson has a supply of some batteries and a small supply of the candles. District Kiosk – Stacie Swederska is working with a new person at Werremeyer Creative about the District Kiosk and should have pricing information at next month’s meeting. Old Webster Walktober Fest – Ms. Swederska would like to add signage, decorations, and live bands to the event and requested additional funds to $1,000. MOTION: Tim Delanty made a motion to approve up to $1,000 for additional decorations and bands. Joe Rath seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. Old Webster Holiday Open House – The event will look a little different as the sub- committee strives to arrange activities to accommodate social distancing. Members discussed possible concerns about moving forward with events due to COVID-19. Members felt this season we now have vaccinations, and the focus is outdoors. Having more District events allows for dilution and spreading out the crowds. BDC Update – The BDC will host a Business Roundtable on November 4th from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM. The goal is to get information from businesses; a listening session. District Recycling Dumpster – Old Webster businesses need to be reminded to break down their boxes before putting them into the District recycling dumpster in order to allow it to accommodate more boxes and prevent overflowing. A suggestion was made to put a large reminder sticker on the dumpster. 2 of 3 City Update • Book Book Go will be going into 46 W. Lockwood in Old Webster. • Union Studio needed a bigger space and have moved a couple doors west of their location in Old Orchard. • Fourth & Home, a vintage furniture and housewares business will be moving into the space Union Studio just vacated. • Wingstop and Zushi Sushi in Yorkshire Plaza are still under construction. • Euro Trash is open in Old Webster. • Betty’s Books in Old Orchard is open. • Union Bagel is getting closer to opening in Crossroads. • Foundation work is being done at Total Access Urgent Care. • SMR Auto’s CUP to add repairs was approved. • Work has started on the office building next to Regions Bank in Old Webster. • The public hearing before City Council for the proposed Douglass Hill Redevelopment will be on October 5th with presentations only and public comment on a subsequent date. • Next month the Plan Commission has a text amendment updating the tree and preservation ordinance with a public hearing in November. • City Council will start their strategic planning sessions. • The Planning Department added another inspector to keep up with the demand as well as an administrative person. Next Meeting – Tuesday, October 26, 2021, at 8:00 AM in person at City Hall 2 nd Floor Conference Room and also available via Zoom. 3 of 3