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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-16-21 Meeting Minutes Downtown Oshkosh BID Board Minutes March 16, 2021 Present: Marlo Ambas, James Evans, David Krumplitsch, Sandra Prunty, Carrie Olson, James Stapel, Dr. Jill Anderson, Chanda Anderson, Kris Larson, Autumn Urban, David Krumplitsch, Barb Nelson, Derek Mulloy Excused: Aaron Armstrong, Megan Lang, Andy Ratchman, 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, Michelle Schmid-Schultz – Oshkosh Farmers Market I. Call to Order Mr. Larson called the meeting to order at 8:00a.m. A quorum was declared present. II. Welcome New BID Board Members The BID welcomed Autumn Urban, Derek Mulloy, and Barb Nelson. The new board members introduced themselves and shared information about their businesses. III. Approve Minutes of the February 16, 2021 Meeting Ms. Prunty motioned to approve the minutes of the February 16, 2021 meeting as presented. Ms. Olson seconded the motion which passed unanimously. IV. Policing/Traffic/Parking/Enforcement Issues Sgt. Pettit stated that they have been updating their key holder list. If board members have not been contacted already, they can contact her directly with their business name and key holder information. This information is used for emergencies. It can be a struggle when there is an incident at a business and they do not have updated information. Mr. Larson replied that Ms. Meidl can distribute a reminder to the BID. Ms. Meidl stated that there was an issue at Planet Perk not long ago related to the homelessness issue that BID has discussed. She is wondering if the issue needs to be re-visited. She thinks there is some frustration from people who own businesses in the City Center area. Sgt. Pettit replied that she would be happy to look into it. V. Approve March 2021 Monthly Financial Report Ms. Prunty asked about the holiday parade expense. Ms. Meidl replied that it was for the mailbox from last year. Ms. Prunty motioned to approve financial report. Ms. Olson seconded the motion which passed unanimously. VI. Seagull Update Ms. Prunty stated that a contract will be sent to Ms. Meidl and they will start going around next week. A verbal roll call was taken so that business owners could grant permission for the service. VII. BID Assessments This item was postponed until the April 20, 2021 meeting. VIII. Wine Walk Event Discussion Ms. Meidl stated that she is looking for feedback on whether to have the Wine Walk in the spring given that things are not quite back to normal yet. The general consensus from the MemberCO group was to postpone the event until fall. Mr. Evans replied that he feels really strange discussing a public event when the BID is meeting virtually. He agrees that things are starting to improve, but if the City isn’t allowing in-person meetings, then they shouldn’t be having a Wine Walk. Ms. Olson stated that she agrees with Mr. Evans, adding that putting increased effort into fall would be better than risking bad publicity for spring. Given that there were no additional comments, the Wine Walk was postponed until fall. IX. BID Manager Evaluation Mr. Larson stated that they completed Ms. Meidl’s evaluation and it went well. Ms. Nieforth stated that she, Ms. Albright, Mr. Larson, and Ms. Lang were present for the evaluation. Ms. Meidl came in at a difficult time and has handled the challenge well. She was given an increase for performance and to account for her change in benefits associated with moving to the CVB. Ms. Albright stated that it was a great process and that they love having Ms. Meidl there. They are ready for the next year. \ X. BID Manager and BID Committee Reports  Events  MemberCO  Beautification  Marketing & Communications Ms. Meidl provided an overview of her monthly tasks for the new members. She shared that Beautification is working on a lot of projects. They met with the Parks Department regarding additional seating in Opera House Square and they are working on tree lights with the City as well. They are working on a new mural project. First Friday went very well. Copper Hall tracked their attendance and had 80 people come through for their photography exhibit. Ms. Prunty stated that at MemberCO they had discussed putting together a small video to showcase some retail businesses. It would be a nice addition for some of their Facebook pages. XI. Other Business (Must address items not listed on the BID Board meeting agenda) Ms. Prunty stated that they are doing a May 8th Star Wars event downtown. They are doing something similar to the First Friday walkthrough. American Blackbelt will be doing two light saber demonstrations in the park. They are working with Scott from House of Heroes on getting stormtroopers and mandalorians. The Time will be showing a Star Wars movie for free and they are working on a sponsor for that. There will also be a scavenger hunt to find baby Yoda aka Grogu with a gift-card prize. Stores can do whatever they’d like. If anyone has any Star Wars ideas, they should send Ms. Meidl an e-mail. Ms. Schmid-Schulz provided an update on the Wednesday market. If there is enough interest, they can probably fit 20-30 vendors in the parking lot between Gibson Hall and The Roxy. For more than 50 vendors, they would move to the 500 block and shut down the street. She talked with the City and they are on board with it if the BID is on board with it. They market would run from July 21st through September 8th from 4p.m.-7p.m. and the street would be closed from 1p.m.-9p.m. Ms. Prunty asked if Jazz in the Square is also on Wednesday because it would be a great addition to the market. Ms. Meidl replied that it is typically over by then. She would need to check with the Chamber to see what live music they have planned and also see if they have enough funds to expand Jazz in the Square into other months. Ms. Anderson asked why the 500 block was chosen instead of the 400 block. Ms. Schmid-Schulz replied that they would have 20-30 vendors in the Gibson parking lot and expand out into the street if they have more vendor interest. Ms. Anderson replied that she thinks it should be held in the square. Ms. Meidl stated that she likes the Gibson parking lot idea, but she doesn’t know how she feels about the street. Either it is in the parking lot and stays there or it’s in the square because she doesn’t know how she feels about closing the street on a Wednesday. Ms. Schmid Schulz replied that they are in the planning stages and looking for feedback. Mr. Larson stated the parking lot might be difficult in July due to the proximity to the Roxy and EAA. Brews on the Bay will be taking place at Menominee Park on Wednesdays and this is different enough that it won’t be competition. He also thinks the square would be a better location. Ms. Olson stated that moving things out of the square is a great idea. People are already going to walk down to the 400 block because of all of the stores and having it in the lesser travelled part of downtown is great to get more attraction for businesses there. Ms. Nelson asked Ms. Schmid-Schulz if she has talked with vendors already and if she has a sense that this will happen. Ms. Schmid Schulz replied that they’re going to send out a vendor survey at the end of the month. She has a lot of artisan vendors looking for extra events. She is confident they will have at least 20-30. It is difficult to have participation from vendors who work if it is held on a week night. Ms. Nelson asked if the hope was to have the businesses open during the market. Ms. Schmid Schulz replied that it is up to the businesses. Ms. Nelson asked if open businesses would be marketed as such to move the crowd from the 500 block to the 400 block. Ms. Schmid Shulz replied affirmatively. She always shares posts to the Farmer’s Market Facebook page anytime BID members tag them in a post. Ms. Urban stated that she likes the idea, but does not like the idea of closing the road. She thinks the Wednesday market should be different from the market on Saturday. If they’re the same, then they lose the authenticity of the Saturday market. Mr. Ambas asked if they would be having events similar to Into the Night in the future. Ms. Anderson replied that she had hoped to, but right now she’s having trouble finding volunteers. She could partner with the Farmer’s Market on a few nights because the events are very similar. Into the Night would have to fade away if there is a Wednesday market because she could not do a stand- alone event that is so similar to the Wednesday market. Ms. Schmid Schulz stated that she appreciated the feedback and will keep the BID updated. XII. Identification of Agenda Items for the March 16, 2021 Meeting Ms. Anderson requested a Holiday Wine Walk agenda item. Ms. Meidl requested a Farmer’s Market agenda item. Ms. Prunty requested a Seagull agenda item. XIII. Adjournment With there being no further business, Mr. Ambas moved for the meeting to be adjourned at 8:50a.m. Ms. Prunty seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Kelly Nieforth Economic Development Division Economic Development Services Manager IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND THIS MEETING, PLEASE CALL THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION AT 236- 5055.