Old Webster Business District Advisory Commission

Old Webster Special Business District Advisory Commission MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MEETING DATE: Tuesday, August 22, 2023 LOCATION: City Hall & Zoom CALLED TO ORDER: 8:05 AM MEETING ADJOURNED: 9:25 AM NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, September 26, 2023 NAME PRESENT ABSENT Ron Clipp, Chair X Tim Delanty X Stacie Swederska X Dan Warner X Karen Drexler X David Smith X Frank Romano X Emerson Smith, Council Liaison X Eric Peterson, City Liaison X Also, in attendance: Scott Davis – Director; Parks & Recreation Department Joe Rath – Former Commission Member Fran Sudekum – Administrative Support Approval of Minutes – A motion to approve the July 25th minutes was made by Karen Drexler, seconded by Tim Delanty, and unanimously approved. Parks Department/Staff Communication • City Council Work Session Agenda – Chair Ron Clipp’s Commission report to City Council has been scheduled for the October 3rd City Council regular meeting. As requested in last month’s meeting to discuss Commission’s concerns, the Commission has been put on the October 3rd City Council Work Session Agenda. • Commission Concerns – Mr. Clipp put forth that a lack of communication, or miscommunications have occurred and are of concern. Several decisions made by the Commission were not followed. Members recognize the commission is advisory, but historically decisions have not been changed. Going forward, the Commission would like to be brought into the conversation if a decision is to be changed. Discussion centered around changes made to the “Concrete Park” which now prevents the use of the area for events. The Concrete Park is located at the Lockwood entrance to the parking deck; it is a large pad of concrete with benches and flowerpots and is used as a staging area for several events. 1 of 4 Scott Davis shared that a $7K Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) Project Clear grant was used to remove concrete and put native plantings in the center of the Concrete Park. MSD is providing such grants to improve storm water management; replacing concrete with water absorbing plantings lessens stormwater runoff. As a city, Webster Groves is putting in native plantings wherever they can. Native perennials come back each year versus spending funds to buy annuals every year. In addition, native plants are easier to maintain as they require less water. Removing flowerpots that need to be planted and maintained each year lessens that cost burden and the staffing levels needed. Originally, the grant was to be used in the six-foot concrete area adjacent to the sidewalk next to 130 East Lockwood. That area had previously been identified as a location to enhance District landscaping east of Elm. Unfortunately, the property owner wanted $13,000 for an easement to use the area; as a result, an amenable agreement with the property owner was not reached and the Parks Department pivoted to the Concrete Park as an alternate District location. The crux of the problem, however, is the Commission had only agreed to a small area at the north end of the concrete pad to be used for plantings and the remainder would be available for events. Mr. Davis was not aware of the caveat the Commission had put in place. Eric Peterson took responsibility for the miscommunication. The events that use the pad are the two-day Walktober Fest event (uses a 10X20 tent) and the Holiday Open House (uses a 10X10 tent). In addition, the Commission has designated that location for a District Kiosk should one ever be put in place. Pros and cons for various possible options for an area to use for events were discussed: block off a couple of parking spots in front of McCaughen & Burr Fine Arts next to a bumpout, use the area and sidewalk at the Concrete Park in front of the new retaining wall (the two poles left over from the pedestrian sign would need to be removed; it could not accommodate a 10X20 tent), use other areas in the District which unfortunately are not centrally located, use the area next to the fountains and DD Mau on the parking deck (which is already used during events), rent or buy a stage to put over the plantings, block off the Lockwood entrance to the parking deck (vehicles would be directed to the Allen entrance), return the area back to a full concrete pad (which has the associated costs of returning the grant money and rebuilding the pad). Frustrations were expressed, disagreements occurred, contentiousness ensued. MOTION: A motion to pursue the option of putting the concrete pad back as it was or as close to it as possible was made by Tim Delanty, seconded by Stacie Swederska, the motion was not approved. Ms. Swederska resigned from the Walktober Fest and Holiday Open House and stated she will be “solely focused on Paisley” and left the meeting. The quorum was still maintained. 2 of 4 Community Cost-Share Grant-Straub’s Block Streetscape Redesign – The Commission had previously discussed changing the section of sidewalk and trees in front of Straub’s. The City has applied for a Missouri Department of Conservation Community Cost-Share Grant to accomplish this project and presented it to the Commission for their review and to ensure the proposed project is on target with the previous discussion. The project will remove the five diseased and invasive Bradford Pear trees and replace them with native trees and native understory plantings as well. The sidewalk will be moved next to the curb and the new trees will be on the north side of the sidewalk instead of the south side and thus will be out of the way of opening car doors from parked cars (see Appendix A). There is a small section of landscaping currently on the north side of the existing sidewalk that is owned and maintained by Straub’s. Possible options of incorporating that landscaping in some manner could be looked at in order to be an overall comprehensive landscaping bed; Straub’s will be approached. Decorative Parking Signs Update – No report on a new design to replace the existing signs that need repair. The brackets for the signs can be moved higher on the lampposts so as not to be obscured from the plants in the flower baskets. Rooftop Lighting Update – An additional bid has been received; a full package will be available for next month’s meeting. District Appearance • Sidewalks – Tim Delanty looked into the cost of power washing sidewalks in the District; it is “way too expensive.” Sidewalks in the District are very dirty and in need of cleaning. Members were encouraged to look at the sidewalks in the District. A discussion to add annual or bi-annual cleaning of the sidewalks may need to be addressed. The Parks Department blows off the sidewalks a couple times of the year; they coordinate with the Public Works Department when they use the street cleaning vehicles in the District. Staffing issues in the Parks Department prevent them from taking on more. Several Commission Members stated they are taking on cleaning sidewalks/alleys themselves; not all businesses in the District do so, however. • Flowerpots – In 2022 there were 71 pots. In 2023 there are 67 pots and baskets. The 9 pots that were at the Concrete Park and the 7 pots that were in the concrete area by 130 E. Lockwood have all been removed. In addition the 2 pots that were at the former Acme Printing location have been removed and 4 from other areas. The 28 new baskets require less soil and plants than the large pots, which saves on costs. They are also water-conserving baskets (they have a water reservoir) and as such are less labor intensive and thus save on maintenance costs. 3 of 4  Mr. Clipp shared with Mr. Davis the reasoning behind the Commission’s past decision to keep using pots west of Elm and baskets east of Elm. The streetscape west of Elm has a large number of trees that obscure the visual impact of the hanging baskets. They don’t “pop” like they do in areas with no trees such as in the Old Orchard Business District. • Sidewalk Closure – There will be a sidewalk closure next to several buildings west of Dewey’s Pizza; the buildings involved will be undergoing demolition or major reconstruction (waiting on permits). • Pacific Avenue – Union Pacific Railroad will trim the vegetation on their property that runs along the south side of Pacific Avenue from Gore to Rock Hill. • Benches – Ron Clipp is experimenting with replacing slates on the “wooden” benches to determine the difficulty in continued use of the wooden benches. Individual slates can be purchased. BDC Update – The BDC Coffee will take place on August 30th at the Rec Center from 8:30-10:00 AM. The Chairs of the three special business district commissions have been asked to attend; Crossroads, Old Orchard, and Old Webster. City Update • Special Activities Permits for the Jazz Fest and the Old Webster Trade Association are pending with the Police Department; Jazz Fest review with Chairs of the event will take place next week. • Charter Review Commission is voting soon on their recommendations to amend the City Charter to City Council. The Council will then decide whether/what to put on next year’s April ’24 ballot. • City Council is moving forward with putting a bond issue on the April ’24 ballot for a general replacement of the aquatic center; three bodies of water and features with a potential to add a covering for indoor swimming at some time in the future. If the bond issue is approved, construction would likely start in August of ’25 and hopefully be open in time for summer of ‘26. Next Meeting – September 26 at 8:00 AM Adjournment – Meeting adjourned at 9:25 AM 4 of 4 APPENDIX A