Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutesDOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES November 18, 2014 1 PRESENT: David Sparr, Megan Lang, Jim Stapel, Chanda Anderson, Andy Ratchman, David Krumplitsch, Kris Larson, Kay Bahr, Marlo Ambas, James Evans EXCUSED: Sandy Prunty, Vicky Schroeder STAFF: Cassie Daniels – BID Manager, Jeffrey Nau – Associate Planner OTHERS: Mark Rohloff – City Manager, Caroline Panske – Oshkosh Common Council, Jim Collins – Oshkosh Transportation Department Director, Sergeant Matt Kroening – Oshkosh Police Department, Sergeant Matt Harris – Oshkosh Police Department, Rob Kleman – Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce I - CALL TO ORDER Chair Sparr called the meeting to order at 8:02am and a quorum was declared present. II – APPROVE MINUTES OF OCTOBER 21, 2014 MEETING There was no discussion on this item. Kris Larson moved to approve the minutes of the October 21, 2014 meeting as presented. Chanda Anderson seconded the motion which passed unanimously. III – POLICING/TRAFFIC/PARKING/ENFORCEMENT ISSUES Sergeant Kroening introduced Sergeant Matt Harris to discuss any concerns with proposed 2015 events, more specifically, the Fourth of July parade route. Sergeant Kroening reported that Area 1 which includes the BID has been active, especially around the campus area including assaults, robberies and a weapons of mass destruction incident. He added in the Downtown area there have been reports of minor damage to property occurring during the third shift which is not uncommon. Mr. Krumplitsch stated there was a break-in at the Oshkosh Convention Center. Sergeant Kroening responded that suspects have been identified but was not sure if charges have been filed yet. Sergeant Harris stated he heard of concerns in regard to the Fourth of July parade and distributed maps of the proposed route which will run from Main Street to Algoma Boulevard to Division Street to W. Irving Avenue then back to N. Main Street to bypass the Farmers Market. He added that Mr. Stapel has concerns about access to the 400 Block West parking lot which he stated would still be open at Ivy Place. Mr. Stapel responded that the store would not be open due to the holiday so his concern has been resolved. Mr. Stapel questioned why the route cannot run to the east of N. Main Street. Sergeant Harris responded that was done in 2010 during the N. Main Street reconstruction and resulted in a low turnout. He added both routes have pros and cons but this was the route submitted to the City and the City is able to work with it. Mr. Evans asked what time the parade was going to be. Sergeant Harris responded the parade will begin at 9:00 am during the Farmers Market. IV – 2015 BID BUDGET/CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSION WITH CITY MANAGER Chair Sparr provided background information to the Board including that the BID Board approved the Budget and Operating Plan which was subsequently laid over twice by the Common Council to address concerns in regard to the Parking Utility payment and other issues. He added that he and Vice-Chair Lang met with the City Manager to resolve issues with the proposed purchase of parking permits. DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES November 18, 2014 2 City Manager Rohloff reiterated that the BID’s Operating plan included a $15,000 contribution to the Parking Utility which is currently operating in a deficit and voiced his appreciation. Mr. Rohloff added that this payment is a continuation of a previous agreement that the BID would assist in paying off debt obligation for parking lot construction which expired in 2014. He explained that the $15,000 in exchange for $15,000 worth of parking permits was discussed but the City never formally agreed to that proposal and he feared the influx of that many permits would undermine the system. Mr. Rohloff added other issues were raised to Council Members but he was most concerned with the parking permit issue and was looking for a short-term solution to fill the gap to assist the Parking Utility in 2015. He stated he was not opposed to giving permits in exchange for the Utility payment but would rather see a number similar to what the BID has purchased the last couple of years which Mr. Nau reported was 1,100 to 1,200 in 2013 and 580 so far in 2014. Chair Sparr asked how many permits were purchased other than what was purchased by the BID. Mr. Collins responded that about $15,000 in permits have been purchased through September of this year and averages $20,000 per year. Mr. Rohloff stated another issue is the use of the daily permits by employees which are utilizing prime parking spots. He added that businesses must do a better job directing their employees to park in outlying lots to free up the prime parking areas. He stated that he wanted the permits given by the City to be used solely for customers and that the BID must do a better job self-enforcing the abusers. Mr. Rohloff thanked the BID for its proposed $5,000 contribution to the upcoming parking study which he hopes will provide guidance to resolve some of the current parking issues. Ms. Anderson stated she heard an option to sell the City parking lots to interested adjoining businesses. She added the City selling the lots is unlikely, but compared it to other businesses that provide their own parking. Ms. Anderson also mentioned concerns with selling the permits back to the BID members can be viewed as double dipping. Mr. Collins responded that Council Member Herman shared that concern that BID members already pay their assessment and should not be paying again for the permits. Ms. Lang added that could be said for a lot of the things the BID does, they pay taxes plus the BID assessment on top of that. Mr. Stapel shared Mr. Rohloff‘s concerns with flooding the market with too many daily parking permits. He added his business relies on quick parking turnover and like the idea of making the permits for customers only. Ms. Anderson stated she did not believe most business owners are purchasing permits for employees to park in prime areas. Mr. Larson stated he agrees that the BID should have an investment with the City for Downtown parking but has a problem with that the agreement has expired and the eight highest BID contributors do not need public parking and are being assessed for their own parking as well as the value of their property. He added that the Council has parking as an issue as does the BID and City in addition to other issues. Mr. Larson stated that he would like to see the method of assessment changed. Mr. Rohloff agreed that the BID assessment method is unusual in that it uses street frontages and asked Mr. Nau to research methods used by other BIDs. Mr. Rohloff added that public parking needs vary greatly in the BID; some able to provide their own, some relying solely on public lots or a combination of the two. In addition to the parking issue, Mr. Rohloff stated that the other issues including trash cans and assessment method should be addressed but all he was looking for is short-term assistance with the Parking Utility. Mr. Sparr agreed that the BID should assist with parking for next year and revisit the issue once the parking study is completed. He added he is not proposing the amount originally committed but the Board has not decided how the permits would be distributed and how to restrict them to customers only. Mr. Rohloff DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES November 18, 2014 3 responded that he was not concerned with how the BID distributed the permits and offered that the City would sell additional permits on a one-to-one basis. Ms. Lang asked Ms. Daniels who is buying permits. Ms. Daniels responded that Camera Casino and Gardina’s purchase the most, usually 40-50 at a time. Ms. Daniels added she suspected based on emails that half of Gardina’s permits were used for customers while the others were used by employees. Council Member Panske stated Oaks Candy uses them for employees but they park in lots farther away. She asked if the permits could be a different color for employees versus customers and sell at reduced prices for customer permits. Mr. Collins responded that permits have already been purchased for 2015. Mr. Collins stated that enforcement would be difficult because technically no code is being violated. Mr. Collins added that the University self-polices through observation and will issue citations if they see students utilizing parking not intended for students. Ms. Lang stated that the BID did not budget money for permits in 2015. Ms. Anderson responded they could purchase them through money received from the sale of the permits that will be given by the City. Mr. Sparr asked if 2,000 permits for the utility permit would be acceptable. Ms. Anderson responded that 1,000 permits may work and they could always buy more from the sale of the permits. Mr. Collins stated that the City is continuing its investment by budgeting $500,000 for 2015. Part of that will be used for conducting a pavement study to determine which lots are in the worse shape. He added that the study may offer some guidance but probably will not have all of the solutions. Mr. Sparr asked Ms. Panske if she had any concerns other than the parking issue. Ms. Panske responded that many of them have been resolved by discussions with BID Manager Daniels but would like to see more Council interaction with the BID. Mr. Sparr responded that there used to be a Council representative and would like to see that reinstated. Ms. Panske offered to serve but that would be dependent by appointment by the Mayor. With no further discussion on this item, Jim Stapel motioned for approval to budget $5,000 for the Parking Study and $15,000 for the Parking Utility to include 1,000 daily parking permits from the City. Chanda Anderson seconded the motion. Mr. Larson stated that this action is continuing to dig a hole which may get pushback. He added that this resolution is not even addressing Mr. Rohloff’s concerns completely but cannot offer his own solution. Mr. Stapel responded that the BID was created on the notion to provide free parking and feels Oshkosh has a viable downtown because of the free parking. Ms. Anderson added that the Board should get through this year and hopefully the parking study will provide ideas on how to solve some of the problems. Mr. Larson asked Mr. Nau if the assessment method can be changed. Mr. Nau responded that it can and was going to start Board discussion at next month’s meeting. Mr. Larson responded he wanted the motion out before moving forward to change the assessment now because he feels they cannot make it through next year without being asked to disband the BID. Mr. Sparr asked for a vote on the motion on the floor. The motion passed 9-1 (nays – Larson). Mr. Sparr informed Mr. Larson that the BID will look at other assessments methods for the 2016 budget. Mr. Rohloff added there are a lot of methods BIDs use to assess themselves, many of them placing minimum and maximum assessments on properties. DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES November 18, 2014 4 Ms. Anderson asked when the parking study will be completed. Mr. Nau responded it should be completed by June of next year. Mr. Sparr asked Mr. Nau to place BID assessment methods on the December agenda. Ms. Lang added that she would like to see examples included in the next BID packet. Mr. Nau responded he would provide a lot of different scenarios. V – APPROVE RETENTION FUND GRANT – HOT DOG CHARLIE’S FOR THE AMOUNT OF $1,000.00 BID Manager Daniels provided background information on the grant request by Hot Dog Charlie’s for new signage. Ms. Daniels asked Mr. Stapel if he had any concerns with the signage as he is the owner of the building. Mr. Stapel responded he did not as long as it meets City requirements. Mr. Stapel added since his tenant is the applicant he would be abstaining from the vote. Ms. Daniels stated the proposed signage will cost $2,213.00 and the grant is good for a 50/50 match up to $1,000.00. Kris Larson motioned for approval of the Retention Fund Grant for Hot Dog Charlie’s for the amount of $1,000.00. Megan Lang seconded the motion which passed 9-0-1 (abstain – Stapel). VI – APPROVE RECRUITMENT FUND GRANT – DREAM BY THIMKE JEWELERS, 200 CITY CENTER FOR THE AMOUNT OF $5,000.00 BID Manager Daniels presented information and referred to the Recruitment Fund Grant minutes included in the BID packet. She added that the applicant will be purchasing Thimke Jewelers and renaming it Dream By Thimke Jewelers to retain the name recognition. The applicant will be investing $88,500.00 into the business. Mr. Kleman stated that it is pretty much a new start-up business; very little of Thimke’s furnishings, fixtures, or displays will remain. Megan Lang motioned for approval of the Recruitment Fund Grant for Dream By Thimke Jewelers for the amount of $5,000.00. Kris Larson seconded the motion which passed unanimously. VII – MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT There was no discussion on this item. Jim Stapel motioned for approval of the monthly financial report as presented. Kris Larson seconded the motion which passed unanimously. VIII – BID MANAGER AND SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS Ms. Daniels presented a summary of her activities over the past month as outlined in her report included in the BID packet. Highlights include: • Holiday preparation went well; decorations were placed and light bulbs of the garland were switched to match the wreaths DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES November 18, 2014 5 • Worked on the 2015 Budget and Operating Plan • Working on entering holiday programs and events on Downtown website, also planning on updating photos on website • Marketing Consortium o Attending holiday event meetings o Implementing new Holiday Passport program, idea derived from Downtown Detroit, 25 businesses will be participating. • Beautification o Still working on trash cans o Purchased 18 boxes of light for trees around Opera House Square due to their growth • Recruitment Fund Grants o One more applicant for 2014 o Two interested parties for 2015 • Gift Card Participants – added two new participants, Hot Dog Charlie’s and Main Street Awakenings • Beginning to work on 2015 Downtown Directory • Starting to work on Downtown Banner replacement Ms. Anderson asked Ms. Daniels where the snowflakes are. Ms. Daniels responded that they are in storage at the Parks Department. Ms. Anderson stated they would look nice along the riverwalk. Ms. Daniels responded the light poles do not have receptacles on either the riverwalk light poles or the parking lot light poles. Mr. Stapel suggested they could go on the bridges. Ms. Daniels informed the BID that she received an email from Brenda Hicks-Sorensen from GO-EDC asking for two to three representatives from the BID Board to attend an economic development focus group on Thursday, November 20th at the UW Oshkosh Alumni Center. Ms. Lang responded she may be able to attend. Ms. Lang asked how many businesses participate with the gift card program. Ms. Daniels responded 21 businesses. Ms. Lang responded that there are problems with using the card. Ms. Anderson stated her business stopped using the card because of problems with processing transactions. Board discussion followed on other issues customers and businesses have had with the card and possible solutions. IX – LEADERSHIP OSHKOSH MENTOR VOLUNTEER Ms. Daniels reported that Sandy Prunty will be serving as the Leadership Oshkosh mentor volunteer. X – BIKE SHARING PROGRAM UPDATE There was no discussion on this item. XI – IDENTIFICATION OF AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE DECEMBER 16, 2014 MEETING - BID assessment methodology - Discussion on hosting a BID Annual Meeting DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES November 18, 2014 6 XII – ADJOURNMENT With there being no further business, Jim Stapel moved for the meeting to be adjourned at 9:38am. The motion passed unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Jeffrey Nau Associate Planner