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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.21.2022 Business Improvement District Minutes Downtown Oshkosh BID Board Minutes June 21, 2022 Present: James Evans, Sandra Prunty, Chanda Anderson, Megan Lang, Marlo Ambas, Jill Anderson, Carrie Olson, Derek Mulloy, Andy Ratchman and Barb Nelson. Excused: James Stapel, Aaron Armstrong, Autumn Urban and Kris Larson. Staff: Jessica Meidl – BID Manager, Sean Fitzgerald – Economic Development Specialist, Jason Pausma – Economic Development Services Specialist, and Jeff Nau – Associate Planner. Others: Amy Albright – Oshkosh Convention & Visitors Bureau, Jessica Graf and Mike Nelson. I. Call to Order Chairperson Lang called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. A quorum was declared present. II. Approve Minutes of the May 17, 2022 Meeting Prunty moved to approve the minutes of the May 17, 2022 meeting, second by Olson. Motion passed unanimously. III. Approve June 2022 Monthly Financial Report BID Manager Meidl provided the financial report as presented in the packet. Prunty moved to accept the financial report as presented, second by Jill Anderson. Motion passed unanimously. IV. Policing/Traffic/Parking/Enforcement Issues No representative from the police department attended the meeting and no update was provided. V. Annual Election of Board Officers Fitzgerald opened the floor to nominations for the board chair for the one-year term from June 2022 to June 2023. Prunty nominated Megan Lang for board chair. No other names came forward and nominations were closed. Ten board members voted for Megan Lang for chair, with no other votes cast otherwise. Megan Lang is re-elected chair for the board. Fitzgerald opened the floor to nominations for the board vice chair for the one-year term from June 2022 to June 2023. Jill Anderson nominated Kris Larson for vice chair. No other names came forward and nominations were closed. Ten board members voted for Kris Larson for vice chair, with no other votes cast otherwise. Kris Larson is re-elected vice chair for the board. VI. Approve Beautification Grant for $1,000 to Tara Rudy Photography, 558 N. Main St. Meidl introduced the grant request as presented in the packet. Motion by Jill Anderson to approve the grant request, second by Chanda Anderson. Motion passed unanimously. VII. Discuss and Approve Funding $15,000 for Proposed Greetings Tour Mural for 2023 Meidl explained the plans to contract with Chicago-based mural artist Molly Z. to paint a mural on the south wall of the Richards School of Dance building at 219 State Street later in the summer of 2022. While a final design has not been determined at this time, the organization needs to provide a 25 percent down payment in order to secure dates on the artist’s schedule. Initial cost estimates are coming in at roughly $30,000, which would make the required down payment an estimated $7,500. Oshkosh Convention & Visitor’s Bureau is considering a $15,000 grant toward the cost of this mural, and other community partners have been approached for financial support as well. Meidl explained she is seeking approval from the board to provide the $7,500 down payment from the organization’s financial reserves, with plans to reinstate the funds as donations are secured for the full financial balance of this mural project. Lang indicated she wanted to ensure the board supports Meidl’s efforts to bring murals and other public art into the downtown. Lang indicated the community foundation is providing $2,000 toward the project, and the building owner has also been asked to contribute $3,000 toward the overall cost. Albright explained the CVB’s support for public art initiatives and why her board perceives these efforts to ultimately serve visitor attraction to the community and to the downtown in particular. Motion by Jill Anderson to approve $7,500 toward the cost of the proposed Molly Z. mural, second by Chanda Anderson. Motion passed unanimously. Nau asked if there are any guarantees built in with these mural projects to ensure the current or any subsequent building owner would preserve the artwork for a delineated period of time. Lang indicated there is not, but said it would be a good idea to investigate some manner of an “art easement” that could possibly be recorded with the property. Meidl will reach out to a local attorney as well as check with other downtown organizations about any protective measures they take with public art projects. VIII. Discuss and Approve Funding $7,500 Toward Proposed Molly Z. Mural for 2022 Meidl explained plans to contract with a highly sought after West Coast-based artist known for creating postcard-style murals to paint an official greetings tour image in Oshkosh. The artist is currently booking out into late 2023, but will not secure dates with any clients until receiving a 50 percent down payment. Initial cost estimates for this mural are coming in at roughly $30,000 as well. A location for this proposed mural has not been determined at this time, and either has a design for the mural. Both will be determined at a later date. Lang explained the intention of this request is to secure a commitment from the artist for next year before they are booked out to 2024 and beyond. Meidl explained the BID applied for a $15,000 grant from the CVB for this proposed mural as well. Albright explained the grant is likely to be approved by her board and would allow half of the grant amount – or $7,500 – to be paid to the BID upfront to cover the down payment to the artist. Chanda Anderson made a motion to transfer $15,000 out of the BID’s reserve fund to cover the down payment to secure a contract for this mural, with $7,500 going back into the reserve fund after grant funds are received from the CVB. Prunty asked approximately how much is currently in the reserve account. Meidl answered there is approximately $60,000 at present. The motion received a second from Olson. Motion passed unanimously. IX. Discussion of Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) Concept Meidl provided an update on the initiative to create a proposed Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, or DORA, which would enable downtown patrons to carry open intoxicants within a specified container outside of the establishment from where it was purchased. She provided a recap of the DORA discussion from the May 2022 meeting, and explained that she and Kris Larson presented the concept to the city council at its May 24 meeting. The council and city administration discussed the DORA concept further at its June 14 meeting. Meidl said remaining discussions aim to finalize the geographic boundaries of the DORA. There is tentatively a plan from city administration to draft an ordinance for a pilot DORA program and bring it forward to the city council for approval at its June 28 meeting. Lang said the earliest the proposed DORA could go into effect would be early July. Lang said while the current form of the DORA is not quite as the BID board originally proposed it to city officials, she’s hopeful a successful pilot program through the remainder of the summer and fall seasons will usher in the possibility for greater flexibility with this initiative in future years. Evans commented there seems to be a perception from council members opposed to the DORA concept that it will invite an extreme case where everyone downtown will be falling over drunk and creating various disturbances. He’s frustrated this has become the default reaction from many. Chanda Anderson indicated many people appear to be concerned the proposed DORA will turn into a pub crawl every Thursday through Saturday, which she feels is an unrealistic reaction. X. BID Manager and BID Committee Reports  Events  MemberCO  Beautification Meidl provided her management and committee report as presented in the packet and offered an update of her activities during the past month. She said Oshkosh Art Collective will be involved in organizing an Art Walk for the First Friday event on August 4. Music in the Square is planned for August and September. It’s still tentatively planned for early Thursday evenings, though there’s some hesitation for that evening from the musicians helping to book the performers. Meidl said they’ll continue planning for Thursdays in the meantime. Meidl indicated she set the date for the BID annual meeting to Wednesday, August 24 at Peabody’s. She said more information will be forthcoming. The Craft Beer Walk is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, September 17, though there remains some logistical issues related to how the event is administered. Meidl reported the “Meet Me Downtown” campaign has started advertising on city busses. She is also working on window banner campaign in vacant storefronts downtown promoting the state’s Main Street Bounceback program grant. She will begin placing these banners within vacant storefronts on the 500 Block of North Main Street once they have been printed. The horticulturist with the city Parks Department has started in recent weeks and has been maintaining and watering the plantings throughout downtown. The BID has also entered into a partnership with C.O.T.S. to empty refuse containers throughout the downtown beginning July 1. Prunty provided an update on the final round of seagull mitigation efforts downtown. For the full year of 2022, the contractor removed 209 nests and 523 eggs from buildings across the downtown. Lastly, Meidl reported she visited Green Bay last Friday and learned about the management and administration of the On Broadway Inc. and Downtown Green Bay Inc. organizations and how they work alongside their respective business improvement districts to deliver programming. XI. Other Business (Items not listed on the BID Board meeting agenda) No other business was introduced by board members. XII. Identification of Agenda Items for the July 19, 2022 Meeting Lang asked for further conversation regarding the DORA proposal to be placed on the agenda. XIII. Adjournment Motion to adjourn by Jill Anderson, second by Olson. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 9:20 a.m. Respectfully Submitted, Sean Fitzgerald Economic Development Division Economic Development Specialist