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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1-19-21 Meeting Minutes Downtown Oshkosh BID Board Minutes January 19, 2021 Present: Marlo Ambas, Chanda Anderson, Aaron Armstrong, James Evans, David Krumplitsch. Megan Lang, Kris Larson, Sandra Prunty, Carrie Olson, James Stapel, and Andy Ratchman Excused: Dr. Jill Anderson Staff: Jessica Meidl – BID Manager, Jeffery Nau – Associate Planner, Kelly Nieforth – Economic Development Services Manager, Brian Wustmann – Economic Development Analyst Others: Amy Albright – Executive Director, Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau, Michael Cooney – Oshkosh Farmers Market, Sgt. Kari Pettit – Sargent - Oshkosh Police Department I. Call to Order Roll was called and Chair Lang called the meeting to order at 8:04a.m. and a quorum was declared present. II. Approve Minutes of the December 15, 2020 Meeting There was no discussion on this item. Kris Larson motioned to approve the minutes of the December 15th, 2020 meeting as presented. Jim Stapel seconded the motion which passed unanimously. III. Policing/Traffic/Parking/Enforcement Issues Sgt. Pettit stated that there was 164 calls in downtown area from November 18th, 2020 thru January 18th, 2021 with the majority of those being traffic related. Noise complaints were second. There has been no further issues regarding the graffiti. 19 calls have been at the Raulf Place during those two months. Chair Lang stated that she was pleased with the City’s fast response to removal and clearing of snow in the Downtown District. Kris Larson asked for clarity on the cutoff for downtown snow removal from the City. He stated that it is a hassle for business owners who need to know where and how snow is moved, picked up, and pushed back. Larson agreed with Chair Lang regarding the fast response to removal and clearing of snow in the Downtown District. IV. Approve January, 2021 Monthly Financial Report BID Manager Jessica Meidl highlighted that many of the charges are from Holiday 2020 items. Chair Lang asked Meidl if all bills for 2020 have been paid through the Beautification fund. Manager Meidl stated that everything is completely paid for and 2020 is closed off. Chair Lang asked Manager Meidl what the balance of the foundation fund is. Meidl stated that it was $8,000. Carrie Olson motioned to approve January, 2021 monthly financial report. Sandy Prunty seconded the motion which passed unanimously. V. Approve Transfers From the Reserve Fund  $10,000 to Recruitment & Retention  $15,000 to Advertising  $3,050 to Planter Maintenance  $15,000 to Parking Chair. Lang stated that the BID had carry over which has been explained on the Reconciliation of Accounts sheet. The BID is transferring $2,978.04 into the Reserve Account and will be making some transfers out to balance the 2021 budget. Sandy Prunty stated that MemberCo is collaborating with the Library and Museum for a Star Wars event in May. Prunty inquired about whether MemberCo could use the $3,420 that will be transferring into the rollover account could be used for seed money for the Star Wars Event. Manager Meidl stated that the goal for the Star Wars event would be to find sponsorships to help cover the costs. Chair Lang asked if the Star Wars event was part of the 2021 budget in which Manager Meidl confirmed. Sandy Prunty clarified, stating that she wanted to ask if she could earmark funds that MemberCo could ask for a transfer if those funds were needed. Chair Lang clarified that Prunty was asking if the leftover funds from 2020 could go back into the marketing consortium as opposed to the General Reserve fund. Chair Lang stated that Manager Meidl would cover this in her 2021 BID Marketing Plan, agenda item IX and asked Prunty if she wants the BID Board to vote on this or if she just wants to be put on record. Sandy Prunty stated that her question could just be put on record. Chair Lang asked for a motion to approve all four transfers from the Reserve Fund. Sandy Prunty motioned to approve all four transfers from the Reserve Fund. Carrie Olson seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Chair Lang inquired about making some changes on the financial spreadsheet. Under Leadership, changing the Chamber of Commerce language and under Beautification, Lang suggested that “planter maintenance” does not represent where all of that money is going. She stated that it should say “Planter and Bumpout Maintenance.” Lang also stated that $660 was not enough for the storage units. Lang asked Manager Meidl if that was correct. Meidl stated that it would not be enough as the BID is renting two units.Chair Lang clarified that the BID will have to make a transfer as the BID is renting the two storage units monthly and that the goal was to eventually consolidate into one unit. Meidl stated that there might be enough funds in office supplies budget to cover the storage unit rental costs. Meidl stated that the BID may need to keep two units due to the amount of things the BID needed to store. VI. Lights in Opera House Square Park Kelly Nieforth stated that the City is in the process of setting up a meeting regarding how to keep the lights on the trees year around except when the trees need to be pruned. As of now, the lights are still on and will stay on until mid to end of March. Nieforth stated that one item that will be discussed at the meeting will be that the BID would be required to pay for the electric bill for the lights as it comes out of the Electrical Divisions budget. While it is not a large amount of money, a precedence needs to be set. Nieforth stated that the lights cost around $3 per day. Discussions will also be had for expanding the lights for 2022. Chair Lang asked if the $3 per day estimate was for the new LED lights that the BID is currently using or if that estimate was for the older lights that the BID is no longer using. Lang asked if that number could be broken down. Nieforth stated that the $3 per month estimate was for the new LED lights. Chair Lang inquired about the lights on the bridges and asked who is paying for those. Nieforth stated that she believed it was a private group. Kris Larson stated that it was a private group that was still paying for the bridge lights. He stated that it was never really brought up who is responsible for paying for the lights, however, when he offed to pay for the Jackson Street lights, he never received a response. He stated that Kelly Nieforth should inquire about it. Kelly Nieforth stated that this will be discussed with the City to get a final decision on the costs and who will be responsible to pay. Chair Lang stated that she would like to add additional string of lights on the top portions of the trees on Market and High Street as currently the lights do not illuminate the top portion of the trees. Lang stated that the BID is getting a quote from Grounds Guys to see what that would cost. She also stated that the BID is also looking to lighting the trees along the terrace on Main Street. Carrie Olson inquired on whether the BID has enough light strings to put on the trees along Main Street or if the BID will have to purchase more. Chair Lang stated that the BID has plenty of extra lights. Jim Stapel stated that if the City would not allow additional power usage for additional lights along Main Street, would they allow the BID to string cable along the light poles so the lights can be hung on it? Jeff Nau stated that the City is open to using the electrical on the light posts along Main Street. Kelly Nieforth stated that the City would allow it, however, it would come down to cost and who would pay for the additional cost. Kelly stated that stringing cable in between the posts would have to follow the right-of-way requirements and all ADA rules. Kris Larson stated that in previous conversations with the City, the answer was 2 feet from any light post and not connected to any light post. Jeff Nau stated that the conversation regarding stringing lights across Main Street should also be part of this future meeting with the City. Kris Larson stated that they have been working on this for the last 18 months with the City. . Chanda Anderson inquired about how far along is the BID and City on stringing lights across Main Street. She stated that she would be willing to assist in any way she can to help progress it. Chair Lang stated that it comes down to A) moving the project forward and B) funding the project as the BID does not know what the costs would be. Kris Larson stated that he hopes the City would see the benefit of this project and be equitable on the electrical costs. VII. BID Board Appointments Kelly Nieforth stated that Mayor Palmari was making three appointments on the Common Council on January 26th. The Mayor is looking to appoint Autum Urban for the BID Board member Seat, Derek Mulloy from Satori Imports for the BID alternate seat and Barb Nelson for the other BID alternate seat. VIII. BID Contract Renewals BID Manager Meidl stated that most contracts from 2020 will be renewed for 2021 including flowerpot and bump out contract, planter maintenance contract while the banner contract should be less as the BID is not doing a holiday banner in 2021. Meidl stated that the BID will be renewing the Houck bus advertising. The only contract not being renewed is the Lamar Billboard contract. IX. 2021 BID Marketing Plan and Advertising Budget BID Manager Meidl showed the BID Meeting attendees her 2021 marketing plan. The plan included the BID’s Mission, Vision, Marketing Goals, Monthly events including a new event idea called “Story Walk” which will be an interactive story book that takes you on a journey through Downtown Oshkosh. The (tentative) story will be “A Jedi You Will Be” to tie to the other Star Wars themed events happening throughout Oshkosh during the month of May. The walk will kick off on May 4th. Manager Meidl explained another new event happening in 2021 called “First Fridays” which will take place the First Friday of each month from 4pm-9pm. First Friday is a marketing campaign that’s mission is to draw people downtown through the promotion of local artwork, music, cultural dining experiences and supporting local businesses. Manager Meidl stated that the 2021 advertising budget is $15,000 total with the funds being broken down: - Oshkosh Herald ads - $5,000 - Houck Bus ads - $1,500 (after reimbursements) - Monthly Blogs - $1,200 - Paid Social Media ads - $2,000 - Directory/Inserts - $1,000 – 3,000 - Misc. Advertising/Graphic Design - $2.300 - Manager Meidl described additional marketing including email marketing, social media marketing (Facebook and Instagram), and additional print advertising. Carrie Olson stated that the directory should be changed to implement something else that is more effective. Aaron Armstrong stated that he liked the idea of a guide. Amy Albright stated that the downtown directory is not set up for visitors and consumers. She stated that creating a group to come up with better ideas on guides and not simply an advertising bit. Chair Lang stated that the BID has been able to cover the costs of the directory however she agrees with changing the directory to something else. Lang stated that the BID should hold off on printing 2021 directories and come up with a more effective solution. Sandy Prunty stated that Marketing & Communication Committee could assist in creating a new handouts. Carrie Olson agreed with having the Marketing & Communication Committee looking into better solutions. Chanda Anderson stated that the Park across the street from the Library is being used frequently and is a great idea. She stated that having something similar to this in Opera House Square would be great. Kelly Nieforth stated that the park Chanda Anderson is referring to is called William Waters Plaza and that a neighborhood association maintains it. She stated that that might be something to look into for Opera House Square. Sandy Prunty, Aaron Armstrong, and Chanda Anderson all stated that the 2021 BID Marketing plan that Manager Meidl created was impressive and a great way to keep the BID on track for 2021. X. BID Manager and BID Committee Reports BID Manager Meidl recapped the 2020 Holiday Events. The Sponsors for some of the Holiday Events were Oshkosh Corp with $5,000, Oshkosh Area Community Foundation with $1,000 for the letters to Santa mailbox, City Center with $1,000 as the coloring book sponsor, and the JEK Foundation and other private donations of $22,000 for the lights. - Light Up Downtown event reached 17,323 people on Facebook with 3,300 views on the Virtual Tree Lighting Live Video. - Small Business Saturday campaign reached 11,023 on Facebook with 558 people responding as interested or going. - The Holiday Virtual Shop Hop had a reach of 20,711 people on Facebook with 382 people responding as interested or going. - Letters to Seniors Week had 838 letters written and sent to seniors throughout Oshkosh. - The Shop Local Rewards Weekend saw 11 people submit receipts online. - Ornament Scavenger Hunt had 25 ballots submitted - Letters to Santa had 150 letters sent to Santa which Santa wrote back. - Holiday Coloring Book had 1000 coloring books printed and handed out with 30 coloring books submitted for coloring contest. - Santa Sightings was a success with many social media posts mentioning it. Sandy Prunty stated that she received many great things from people you really appreciated the Holiday events. Manager Meidl stated that she is working on the new marketing things for 2021. Meidl set up the first Events Committee and Marketing and Communications Committee and stated that there was not too many people who signed up for either committee and asked if anyone wanted to join either committee. XI. Other Business (Must address items not listed on the BID Board meeting agenda) Chair Lang asked if there was any other business to discuss. No one brought up any additional items. XII. Identification of Agenda Items for the February 16, 2021 Meeting Chair Lang stated that the BID Board will have the 3 new members at the next meeting, so there will probably have some introductions. Chanda Anderson stated that she has talked with Kathy Snell regarding finding a way to have Oshkosh Into the Night in 2021. Jeff Nau inquired with Kelly Nieforth regarding future Virtual Meetings and if the BID Meetings will continue to be virtual. Nieforth stated that she understood it would continue through February 2021. XIII. Adjournment With there being no further business, Sandy Prunty moved for the meeting to be adjourned at 9:14 a.m. Carrie Olson seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Brian Wustmann Economic Development Analyst Economic Development Division