Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutesDOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES December 16, 2014 1 PRESENT: Megan Lang, Sandy Prunty, Vicky Schroeder, Jim Stapel, Andy Ratchman, David Krumplitsch, Kris Larson, Kay Bahr, Marlo Ambas, James Evans EXCUSED: David Sparr, Chanda Anderson STAFF: Cassie Daniels – BID Manager, Jeffrey Nau – Associate Planner OTHERS: Steve Cummings – Oshkosh Common Council, David Buck – Principal Planner, Sergeant Matt Kroening – Oshkosh Police Department, Kurt Koeppler – City Center Associates, LLC. I - CALL TO ORDER Vice-Chair Lang called the meeting to order at 8:02am and a quorum was declared present. II – APPROVE MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 18, 2014 MEETING James Evans questioned the vote for item V – Approve Retention Fund Grant – Hot Dog Charlie’s for the Amount of $1,000.00 which was 9-0-1 with two regular members excused from the meeting. He stated the he believed alternate board members could not vote and only counted to achieve quorum. Mr. Nau responded that past practice for this and other city boards and commissions allowed voting privileges to alternate members in place of excused regular members. Mr. Nau added he would get clarification from the City Attorney and report back next month. There was no other discussion on this item. Kris Larson moved to approve the minutes of the November 18, 2014 meeting as presented. Vicky Schroeder seconded the motion which passed unanimously. III – POLICING/TRAFFIC/PARKING/ENFORCEMENT ISSUES Sergeant Kroening reported that property crimes are up the past month with the highest incidents occurring west of the Highway 41 corridor. He added there were burglaries in the downtown area including Ski’s Meat Market, 502 N. Main St., a strong-armed robbery at 571 N. Main St. (The Roxy) and three vehicle thefts. He stressed to the Board not to leave cash on the premises after-hours. Sergeant Kroening added the latest burglary attempts have been occurring between 4:30 and 5:30 in the morning and the perpetrator is looking for easy access cash. Ms. Lang asked what times the thefts at the Roxy and Ski’s occurred. Sergeant Kroening responded the Roxy robbery occurred between 6:30 and 7:00pm. Mr. Larson responded the Ski’s burglary occurred between 10:30 and 11:00pm. Ms. Lang asked if there is any kind of police presence in the early hours. Sergeant Kroening replied that there is including foot patrols on especially active nights. He added that an easy way to prevent a break-in with this particular perpetrator is to install a deadbolt as he has been gaining entry by breaking the locking mechanisms on the door handles. IV – DISCUSSION ON HISTORIC PLAQUE PROGRAM/FUNDING Vice-Chair Lang introduced Common Council Member Steve Cummings who will be serving as a Council liaison for the BID Board. DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES December 16, 2014 2 Council Member Cummings presented background information on the City’s Strategic Plan update which identified goals for economic development and healthy neighborhoods, and quality of life assets. He added that the City’s rich history and historical architecture is part of the quality of life assets, just as parks, golf courses and other amenities. Mr. Cummings stated that Oshkosh has an opportunity to celebrate its history for profit as historic tourism is a growing trend nationwide. He added that he recently met with representatives from the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Public Museum, BID Manager Daniels and city staff to discuss how Oshkosh can promote itself as a historic tourism destination. The group will be preparing an inventory of every historic structure in the city followed by a plan to promote tourism. Council Member Cummings added the city has initiated a historic plaque program, and begun to place historical signs along the river, with each sign providing historic information from some aspect from Oshkosh’s past. Mr. Cummings also stated that beginning in 2015, the City will be installing welcome signs at the gateways entering the City. Mr. Cummings informed the Board that to date, four properties have requested, purchased and installed historic plaques for their buildings; two along N. Main Street and two private residences. He added many communities in the south, east and within Wisconsin have similar programs and help promote tourism. Mr. Cummings said that interested property owners can contact Principal Planner David Buck for more information. Mr. Buck will research the building and prepare a certificate outlining the historic significance of the building. Mr. Buck provided more background information on the plaque program initiated by the Landmarks Commission and added he would like to come back to provide information on historic tax credits which can reimburse up to 40% of rehabilitation costs. Mr. Buck passed around a sample of a plaque made for City Hall. Mr. Buck added that Oshkosh is fortunate in that many of its historic structures are still intact and echoed Mr. Cummings statement that historic or cultural tourism is becoming very popular. Mr. Buck explained the application process and went over criteria to be eligible for a plaque. The cost of the plaque is $225.00. Mr. Buck stated he would like to see every building along Main and Oregon Streets have a plaque; Oshkosh is fortunate to have a vibrant downtown with rich historic architecture which adds to visitors’ experience. Mr. Cummings lastly added that the CVB has budgeted to prepare literature to promote historic Oshkosh which will focus on the Central City since that is where the bulk of historic structures are located. Mr. Evans asked if the city could conduct research on a building to determine if it is worthy of a plaque. Mr. Buck responded they could but research is time consuming and citizens purchasing actual plaques would take precedence. Ms. Lang stated she is in favor of the plaque program and that the BID should do its part in promoting it. Mr. Stapel said that in his travels he has seen communities use color-coordinated historic information signs using brighter colors so that they are easier to find. Mr. Buck informed the Board that funds have also been budgeted to install a sign/kiosk to provide information on the North Main Street Historic District. City staff is still working on the design and where it will be placed. Ms. Prunty asked if N. Main Street is part of a historic district. Mr. Buck replied that it is. In addition to the North Main Street Historic District, the Landmarks Commission is working on adopting an additional Neoclassical-based Historic District along Washington Avenue, east of N. Main Street. DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES December 16, 2014 3 Mr. Buck restated he would like to come back to discuss misconceptions, criteria and process for historic tax credits. Mr. Cummings added reroofing, painting, and window replacement are some of the types of projects eligible for credits. Ms. Lang asked Mr. Buck if he could work with BID Manager Daniels to get the plaque program information on the Downtown Website. Mr. Buck replied he could. Mr. Cummings added if anyone has historic information on their building to please pass it on to Mr. Buck. V – MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT There was no discussion on this item. Jim Stapel motioned for approval of the monthly financial report as presented. Sandy Prunty seconded the motion which passed unanimously. VI – 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: • Working on 2015 Downtown Directory. Ms. Daniels stated she has received a lot of interest in advertising opportunities. She added as a result of last year’s advertising, the BID broke even for printing costs. • Preparing 2015 Contracts for downtown maintenance and banners. Ms. Lang asked the Board if there were any issues with beautification and added that the flower pots never looked better. No one responded. Ms. Daniels added there are openings on the Beautification Committee if anyone was interested. • Marketing Consortium o Sending out invoices for 2015 o Holiday Passport program is going very well. Ms. Daniels hopes to make this an annual program. • Recruitment Fund Grants o Finalizing agreements with Dreams by Thimke Jewelers o Two interested clients for 2015. • Retention Grant Program o Hot Dog Charlie’s has received their grant for their new sign • Sent out Yes/No responses for Request for Proposals for 2015 • BID Operating Plan and Budget has been approved by the Common Council • Was a guest on the radio show, Taking Care of Business • Holding an end of year social on January 28th at the Algoma Club from 5:00-7:00pm BID Manager Daniels asked the Board how they want her to proceed with the invitations. Ms. Lang responded the city historically would mail invitations to the property owners. Ms. Lang also suggested sending e-invites to all the tenants Ms. Daniels has email addresses for. Ms. Lang asked if Ms. Daniels could contact the City Electric Division to see if there are any opportunities in the BID to use the snowflakes purchased a few years ago. Ms. Daniels replied she would contact them. DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES December 16, 2014 4 VII – DISCUSSION ON ALTERNATE BID PROPERTY ASSESSMENT METHODS Mr. Nau explained that the Board had asked the City to research assessment methods used by other BIDs throughout the state. He added that he has provided in this month’s packet, examples used by other BIDs and applied them to Oshkosh to demonstrate how the alternate methods would impact each assessed property. Mr. Nau provided background information on the current method used by the BID which dates back to its inception in 1987. Mr. Nau went over several hypothetical scenarios utilizing the Cities of Neenah, Appleton and separate modifications of those methods. Mr. Nau stated today is the beginning of revamping the assessment method and would like to form a committee to help design a new method for implementation in 2016. He added that the BID will have to do a lot of public relations prior to any approvals as many properties may see significant increases to their assessment. Mr. Larson stated the BID is at a point where there needs to be a change as there are many constituents that are unhappy with the current method and the BID in general which has been voiced to the Common Council. Mr. Larson asked what needs to be done to change the assessment method. Mr. Nau responded the change can be made in the operating plan for 2016. Mr. Larson responded if that is the case, the BID would not necessarily need to do any public relations. Mr. Nau responded that is true but that would not be the right thing to do ethically. Kurt Koeppler introduced himself as a partner of City Center Associates and Bayshore Development representing the owners of their properties. Mr. Koeppler added that he and his partners have been assessed $38,000 or 38% of the BID assessment and feel they do not get anything for it other than a few bike racks and flower pots and is not an equitable assessment. Mr. Koeppler stated he likes the BID and likes what it does, but has been approached by his partners to potentially petition to dissolve the BID and believes has the support to do so. Mr. Koeppler agreed that they should pay their fair share but felt they should not be supplementing the rest of the downtown. He added that they do not benefit from downtown parking as they provide space needed for their tenants’ employees. He proposed he would rather spend that money on promoting their own businesses or possibly create a waterfront BID. Ms. Prunty responded to Mr. Larsen’s comment that there are unhappy BID constituents in that there are many more constituents happy with the BID. Mr. Larson responded that during his short time on the Board, it appears there are unhappy pockets of constituents popping up. Ms. Prunty disagreed with Mr. Koeppler’s comment that they receive no benefit from being in the BID. Mr. Koeppler responded that he did not say they do not get any benefit, but they do not use any downtown parking and feels that $38,000 is exorbitant for the benefits they receive. Ms. Prunty stated that the assessment method should be looked at and will be a huge undertaking by the Board. Mr. Nau responded that he is suggesting a subcommittee be formed consisting of several key players to evaluate alternate methods. Mr. Nau invited Mr. Koeppler to serve on this committee. Mr. Koeppler agreed to serve. Ms. Lang appreciated the spreadsheet with the example methods and liked how there is a lot of freedom to accomplish what they need to accomplish. She agreed that there are a lot of people happy with the BID but understands those who question what some of the property owners are being assessed. Ms. Lang stated there has been talk of creation of a riverfront BID and an Oregon Street BID and must be mindful of that. She added that now is probably not the time for a riverfront BID until redevelopment occurs on the south side of the river. She agrees that the Board should be listening to City Center’s concerns. DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES December 16, 2014 5 Mr. Stapel stated he likes looking at this over the long-term but should be looking at this wider. He fears that there could be upset property owners who may see their assessment go up with many factors based on the current budget. He added that this committee should be looking at where does the BID go from here? Mr. Stapel suggested this may be a time to investigate possibly expanding the BID. Ms. Lang added she agreed, commenting that based on the scenarios, her assessments would go up significantly. Ms. Lang asked what kind of talk has there been on a riverfront BID and how big it would be. Mr. Larson responded that he is meeting with a potential stakeholder at the end of January with assistance from Council Member Steve Herman to discuss a possible riverfront BID. Ms. Lang asked Mr. Koeppler if he really wanted to proceed with this process if he may be trying to use this as a way to get out and form his own BID. Mr. Koeppler responded that City Center and the Hotel already act as an informal BID in that they do stuff together already. Mr. Koeppler added that his partners are just looking not to pay an inordinate share of the BID assessment. He restated that it would take little effort to come up with a petition with 51% of the BID’s value to dissolve the BID but does not want to go there. Mr. Koeppler also stated that he does not want to sit around for five years while this is hashed around. If there is no progression, he would proceed to the next step. Ms. Prunty agreed with Mr. Stapel that this is an opportunity to take a look at the BID and investigate an expansion. Ms. Lang responded to Mr. Koeppler’s comment that City Center does not need any public parking. She was under the impression that City Center was desperate for more parking and was a factor for the BID pushing so hard for a downtown parking study. Mr. Koeppler responded that they do not need parking right now. In the future they will need additional parking to accommodate a 4-Imprint expansion and have offered to pay for it. Mr. Koeppler added that there are parking shortages throughout downtown and feels a ramp should be constructed. Ms. Lang stated that there is a lack of dialog between the BID and City Center, as well as the rest of the BID for the benefits they receive. Mr. Koeppler restated that he and his partners do not want to get out of paying anything but just want to pay a fair share. Mr. Larson added that the trick will be finding what an equitable assessment is for each property owner. Mr. Nau asked the Board who would like to serve on the subcommittee. James Evans, Sandy Prunty, Jim Stapel, Dave Sparr, Megan Lang, Kris Larson and Kurt Koeppler offered to serve. Mr. Nau stated he will schedule a meeting early next year and plans to hold meetings monthly. Ms. Lang thanked Mr. Koeppler for attending and sharing his input. VIII – BIKE SHARING PROGRAM UPDATE There was no discussion on this item. IX – IDENTIFICATION OF AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE JANUARY 20, 2015 MEETING - BID Assessment evaluation update DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES December 16, 2014 6 X – ADJOURNMENT With there being no further business, Jim Stapel moved for the meeting to be adjourned at 9:17am. The motion passed unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Jeffrey Nau Associate Planner