Old Webster Business District Advisory Commission

Old Webster Special Business District Advisory Commission MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MEETING DATE: Tuesday, September 27, 2022 LOCATION: City Hall & Zoom CALLED TO ORDER: 8:00 AM MEETING ADJOURNED: 8:56 AM NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, October 25, 2022 NAME PRESENT ABSENT Ron Clipp, Chair X Joe Rath X Tim Delanty X Margaret Stevens X Bill Newhouse X Stacie Swederska X Dan Warner X Karen Drexler X David Smith X Emerson Smith, Council Liaison X Eric Peterson, City Liaison X Also, in attendance: Officer Ahmar Rasool – WGPD Traffic Unit Fran Sudekum – Administrative Support Approval of Minutes – A motion to approve the August minutes was made by Joe Rath, seconded by David Smith, and was unanimously approved. OLD BUSINESS Decorative Lighting • Rooftop – Three building are out for quotes for decorative lights on their rooftops; 34 North Gore, 79 North Gore, and 220 West Lockwood. • Lights in Trees – Commission Members decided not to incur the expense of switching out the manual light switches on the strands in trees to hard wire switches. Switches should be set to dusk-to-dawn lighting; which will continue to be maintained manually. Parking • 15-Minute On-street Parking Spots – During the height of COVID-19 restaurants were allowed to use on-street parking spots at their locations for “carry-out” service under a temporary agreement. This arrangement will no longer be available; individual businesses can no longer claim on-street parking spots to be used exclusively for their business. There are 15-minute parking spots in strategic zones to be used by all and not specific to a particular establishment. Conversations have been taking place informing affected businesses of the change. Commission 1 of 3  Members discussed options to inform businesses and customers of the change going forward. Perhaps include “curbside” verbiage on the sign or a number to help identify each sign, or have the business educate their customers where to park for quick/curbside pickup. • Back-Patio Parking – The disposition of the parking spaces in the public parking lot being used as a dinning patio will be determined. • Employee Parking Lot – The City is negotiating with the Webster Groves Presbyterian Church renewing the lease of the Moody Employee Parking Lot. Events • Jazz & Blues Festival Feedback – An extremely successful event; likely record- setting in attendance. Many businesses and restaurants had a record sales day. The event brings thousands of visitors to Webster Groves from all over the region and beyond. Commission Members Dan Warner and Joe Rath are being recognized with a Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award from the Webster Arts Commission as the co-creators of the Festival for their work in organizing and producing the event every year since its inception in 2005. Mr. Warner expressed, that the support of the businesses in the District is what has made the event successful over the years. • Walktober Fest Update – The event is set; promotional materials will soon be delivered. NEW BUSINESS District Budget Performance Report FY ’23 – Property taxes have not yet been received but new assessed values have been set; the District should receive more than $43K. Business licenses so far have received $1,898. To date expenses are at 21% of budget. Parks Department Services – Going forward the District needs to start a conversation about what level of support is wanted from the Parks Department. To that end, Commission Members would like to have an inventory, costs, a map of landscaping items, a list and schedule of what service is currently being performed and items provided. Sign Replacement – The decorative 2-hour Old Webster parking signs are aging out and many need replacing. An inventory of the signs and cost to replace is needed to decide next steps. District Recycle Dumpster Signage – Revisited the need to add signage to the District’s recycling dumpster about its proper use. Waste Management – Waste Management has become lax in picking up the District’s trash and have not been adhering to their scheduled pickups. 2023 Meeting Schedule – The Commission meetings in 2023 will remain at 8:00 AM on the 4th Tuesday of the month except there will be no meeting in December. 2 of 3 Business Development Commission (BDC) Update • The “Work in Webster” job board is starting to see job openings posted. The job board can be found on the City’s website; https://www.webstergrovesmo.gov/673/Work-in-Webster-Groves. The next step is to develop a marketing strategy to get the word out. • QR Code Window Cling Idea – The BDC is pursuing the window cling QR code idea which would link to a map of businesses in Webster Groves. • Business Bingo – The event will take place on October 1st; it encourages folks to explore business districts and areas of Webster Groves. City/Council Update • The Charter Review Advisory Commission has been appointed; a meeting date has not yet been set. • The Sustainability Commission will present the “Forever Webster Groves” Sustainability Plan to City Council at the October 18th work session; there are implications for all sectors. • The Council will have a strategic planning on October 15th with more sessions in the future. • Eric Peterson has a meeting scheduled with the City attorney to determine what options the City has to hold Utility Companies to a timetable on their construction projects in rights-of-way. MEETINGS • Next Meeting is Tuesday, October 25, 2022, at 8:00 AM 3 of 3