Old Webster Business District Advisory Commission

Old Webster Special Business District Advisory Commission MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MEETING DATE: Tuesday, October 25, 2022 LOCATION: City Hall & Zoom CALLED TO ORDER: 8:00 AM MEETING ADJOURNED: 9:13 AM NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, November 29, 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: Fran Sudekum – Administrative Support Approval of Minutes – A motion to approve the September minutes was made by Joe Rath, seconded by Tim Delanty, and was unanimously approved. OLD BUSINESS Decorative Rooftop Lighting – The next set of properties to have decorative rooftop lighting installed have been contacted but have not yet responded; 34 North Gore, 79 North Gore, and 220 West Lockwood. In addition to Streib Electric other companies will be approached to do the electrical work in an effort to get a better response turn around. Decorative Lights in Trees – A suggestion was made to add lights to the tree next to San Jose Mexican Restaurant and the tree next to the Old Firehouse Building. All in attendance would like to add lights to as many trees as possible to light up the District and keep them on year-round. MOTON: Tim Delanty made a motion to string lights in as many trees in the District that’s possible to be lit until we run out of our supply of lights. Stacie seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. On-Street and Public Lot Parking – An email will go out to all businesses in Webster Groves informing them the City will resume its regular enforcement of its parking regulations (See Appendix A). Back-Patio Parking – The disposition of the parking spaces in the public parking lot being used as a dinning patio will be worked out with interested parties. 1 of 2 Moody Employee Parking Lot – The City is negotiating with the Webster Groves Presbyterian Church to renew the lease for the Moody Employee Parking Lot. A suggestion was made to look into the feasibility of a possible parking fee based on employees associated with business licenses to offset the cost of leasing the employee parking lots. District Parking Strategy – Developing a parking strategy for the District would be of value going forward. Parks Department Services – The Parks Department is putting together an inventory of the services they provide to the District. Sign Replacement – The Public Works Department is putting together an inventory of the decorative 2-hour Old Webster parking signs, what they would cost to replace, and also what the cost would be for standard non-decorative 2-hour parking sings would cost. District Recycle Dumpster Signage – The Public Works Department is making a sign for the recycle dumpster that says, break down boxes and no trash. Trash Cans – The additional metal trash cans ordered in FY21 have arrived and been distributed; the old “concrete” trash cans have been removed. Holiday Decorations – The Public Works Department will put up the winter banners and lamppost holiday decorations in time for the Holiday Open House. The garland and bows that was ordered in March have not yet arrived, so they will use last year’s; when the new decorations arrive, they will take down the old and put up the new. Walktober Fest Feedback – This was the third year for the event, and it was well attended. It was a very good day for many of the businesses. Sidewalk activities and music seemed to cease early. It was suggested to shift the start and stop times to later in the day. There is a lot of competition for patrons over the third weekend in October with lots of events taking place nearby. It was suggested to move the even to the first week of October which would also give a bigger break between it and the Open House in November. NEW BUSINESS District Security – Several Commission Members expressed concern regarding security and safety concerns in the District and the need for increased police presence due to the increase in burglary, stolen vehicles, and speeding. Chief Curtis or Captain Perks will be invited to the next Commission meeting. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (BDC) UPDATE Job Board – The “Work in Webster” job board is seeing more job openings posted; up to 30 on just free word of mouth. Postcards to businesses should be arriving this week. Digital advertising will start next week. The job board can be found on the City’s website; https://www.webstergrovesmo.gov/673/Work-in-Webster-Groves CITY/COUNCIL UPDATE • The Council continues to work on their Strategic Planning; core values and goals for the City. • The Charter Review Advisory Commission has had its second meeting. They are finishing their organizational phase and will soon start looking at the charter. • The Council has a subcommittee to solidify making it easier for onboarding of new members to boards and commissions. NEXT MEETING – Tuesday, November 29, 2022, at 8:00 AM 2 of 2