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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutesDOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES March 15, 2016 PRESENT: Megan Lang, Kris Larson, David Krumplitsch, Jim Stapel, Andy Ratchman, Vicky Schroeder, Chanda Anderson, Sandy Prunty, Marlo Ambas and James Evans EXCUSED: Kay Bahr, David Sparr STAFF: Cassie Daniels – BID Manager, Jeffrey Nau - Associate Planner OTHERS: Jim Collins – Transportation Director, Sue van Houwelingen – Leadership Oshkosh/Oshkosh Housing Authority, Rob Kleman – Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce I - CALL TO ORDER Chair Lang called the meeting to order at 8:00am and a quorum was declared present. II – APPROVE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2016 MEETING There was no discussion on this item. Kris Larson moved to approve the minutes of the February 23, 2016 meeting as presented. Chanda Anderson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. III – POLICING/TRAFFIC/PARKING/ENFORCEMENT ISSUES No one from the Oshkosh Police Department was present. Transportation Director Collins informed the Board that City Staff will be recommending Walker Consultants to prepare Phase II – Implementation/Parking Policy Design for the Parking Study to the Common Council. Mr. Collins added there will be several stakeholder meetings, the BID being an important contributor, in the next several months. Chair Lang asked what the initial timeline is. Mr. Collins responded City Manager Rohloff will be making the recommendation to hire Walker Consulting at the next Council meeting and the study should be complete by early June at the latest. David Krumplitsch asked about the status of the repairs to the City Center ramp. Ms Anderson responded that the concrete repairs are curing and should be ready in the next week or so. Mr. Larson added that the media reports were blown way out of proportion and the damage was not that severe. Marlo Ambas arrives at 8:06am Ms. Lang wanted clarification on the Parking Study Implementation Study that there will be three meetings; a stakeholders meeting, a draft proposal and presentation to the Common Council. Mr. Collins confirmed that and added that it is very important that the BID have a presence. Ms. Lang concurred that sentiment. Ms. Anderson added she will be present at all of the meetings. Mr. Evans and Ms. Prunty said they will be there based on their availability. DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES March 15, 2016 Ms. Prunty asked if paid parking will be part of the proposal. Mr. Collins responded that paid parking will be proposed in some form as a combination of on-street and off-street parking fees. It is hoped that free parking will be available. Ms. Lang asked about the recommendation of a parking ramp. Mr. Collins responded that the existing parking inventory does not warrant a parking ramp. The plan will prove a strategy for better utilization of existing parking facilities, better marketing, changing the types of parking available and make the Parking Utility financially solvent. Ms. Daniels asked Mr. Collins the status of the parking signs at the 400 Block East Parking Lot stating no enforcement on Saturdays. Mr. Collins responded the signs have been changed. IV – MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT There was no discussion on this item. Jim Stapel moved to approve the monthly financial report as presented. Kris Larson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. V – SATURDAY DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH FARMERS MARKET FUNDING Mr. Larson informed the BID that the Farmers Market is researching alternate ways to fund the Market. The Market is in good financial shape for the 2016 season. Mr. Larson felt there should be some kind of affiliation between the Market and BID since the Market is located in the BID and several BID properties benefit from the Market. Ms. Lang commented she remembered a few years ago when the BID sponsored the Market and at one point the Market stated they were doing fine financially and no longer needed support. She feels if things have changed, the BID should be revisiting a partnership because no other event in the Downtown has as much positive impact as the Farmers Market. Ms. Prunty stated the BID should be supporting the Market. Jim Stapel concurred with Ms. Prunty, but was not as concerned about the BID being branded at the Market, as long as the visitors are shopping at the stores. Ms. Lang suggested that the BID could contribute by paying for promotion. Mr. Nau asked how funding looked for 2017 and beyond. Mr. Larson responded with the current fundraising efforts and sponsorships, they should be fine financially. Mr. Stapel suggested that if the BID does help the Market, they should have some kind of weekly presence to promote businesses or offer the stall for charities for fund raising opportunities. Ms. Lang asked if the BID is going to make a financial commitment, how soon the Market would need the money. Mr. Larson responded that if the BID wants to be included in the printed materials, March 18th is the deadline. Sandy Prunty motioned for the BID to contribute a $1,000 sponsorship in the form of a monetary contribution or for promotion and advertising to the Downtown Oshkosh Saturdays Farmers Market for the 2016 season. Jim Stapel seconded the motion which passed 9-0-1 (Larson abstained). Mr. Larson said he would abstain due to being on the Farmers Market Board of Directors. DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES March 15, 2016 Chair Lang instructed BID Manager Daniels to contact the Leathermans to see what type of sponsorship they would be interested in receiving. Mr. Nau asked which budget item the $1,000 sponsorship would come from. Mr. Larson responded that will be determined at a later date. VI – BIKE SHARING PROGRAM UPDATE BID Manager Daniels reported that she did some research and found that the cities of Eau Claire and LaCrosse prepared bicycle/pedestrian comprehensive plans which recommended bike sharing programs but determined they were not ready to move forward at this time. She added that the only two cities in Wisconsin with bike sharing programs are Madison and Milwaukee. Mr. Nau distributed copies of a map showing the existing bicycle facilities in Oshkosh. Ms. Lang stated that this item has been on the agenda for quite some time now. She added that recently the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee recommended against starting a bike sharing program until the City has more infrastructure in place. Ms. Schroeder said that 4-Imprint may start their own program for their employees to have access to bikes to use during lunch or before or after work. Mr. Stapel said that 4-Imprint's implementation may be a good test to see if the concept takes off. Ms. Lang suggested the BID partnering with Silver Star with a pilot program. VII – DOWNTOWN SECURITY CAMERA INVENTORY UPDATE Ms. Lang stated there was nothing to report with Sergeant Kroening’s absence. Mr. Stapel stated that Kitz & Pfeil was currently upgrading their security cameras. He added that some of the exterior cameras will need power from the street poles and asked who to contact with the City. He also said he would be willing to share video footage with the Police Department. Mr. Collins responded to contact Scooter with the Electric Division and they would probably be able to charge them for the electric usage. VIII – BID MANAGER AND SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS BID Manager Daniels presented a summary of her activities over the past month as outlined in the BID Manager’s report included in the BID packet. Highlights include: • The 2016 Downtown Directories have been printed and are being distributed. • The Downtown Website has been updated with individual business information • Working on kiosk map sheet update. • Updating the changeable copy sign. Still having problems with Jones Sign not resolving the issues with the sign. Jones Signs responded that fixing the sign will cost $3,300 and are asking the BID pay for $1,300 of the cost. Ms. Daniels said she will email the cost breakdown to the Board so they can review for next month. • Working on the Enjoy Local Event scheduled for May 21st. DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES March 15, 2016 • Sent out monthly newsletter. • Marketing Consortium – • Attended Chalk Walk meeting. • Peep promotion coming up. • Beautification – • Spring banners are up. • Currently going over designs for summer banners sponsored by the Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau. • Some boughs in the flower pots are still frozen. Ground Guys will try to have them all removed this week. • Retention Fund Grant • Contacted by a business which will be applying in the near future. • Working on Block Captain packets for this quarter. IX - IDENTIFICATION OF AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE APRIL 19, 2016 MEETING Wayne Lager, owner of 17 E. Parkway Avenue distributed a petition asking to be removed from the BID and be provided an updated tax bill showing removal of the BID special assessment. After a short conversation between the Board and Mr. Lager, Chair Lang asked Mr. Nau to include this topic on the April agenda for further discussion. X – ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Jim Stapel moved for the meeting to be adjourned at 9:10AM. Chanda Anderson seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Jeffrey Nau Associate Planner