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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutesDOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES November 15, 2016 PRESENT: Megan Lang, Kris Larson, Kay Bahr, David Sparr, David Krumplitsch, Andy Ratchman, Chanda Anderson, Marlo Ambas, James Evans and Benjamin Rennert EXCUSED: Jim Stapel, Sandy Prunty STAFF: Cassie Daniels – BID Manager, Jeffrey Nau - Associate Planner OTHERS: Sergeant Matt Kroening – Oshkosh Police Department, Jim Collins – Transportation Director, Corey Mikkelson-Leadership Oshkosh/Choice Bank I - CALL TO ORDER Chair Lang called the meeting to order at 8:02 a.m. and a quorum was declared present. II – INTRODUCTION OF NEW ALTERNATE BOARD MEMBER BENJAMIN RENNERT Chair Lang introduced new Alternate Board Member Benjamin Rennert, owner of Winnebago Bicycle, 501 N. Main Street and new Leadership Oshkosh adjunct member Corey Mikkelson of Choice Bank. Ms. Lang asked Mr. Nau what the changes were for Board Membership. Mr. Nau replied Mr. Ambas is now a regular member, Mr. Evans is Alternate #1 and Mr. Rennert is Alternate #2. III – APPROVE MINUTES OF OCTOBER 18, 2016 MEETING There was no discussion on this item. David Sparr moved to approve the minutes of the October 18, 2016 meeting as presented. Kris Larson seconded the motion which passed unanimously. IV – POLICING/TRAFFIC/PARKING ENFORCEMENT ISSUES Sergeant Kroening reported that the Pub Crawl recently took place and the number of participants was much lower. There were five ordinance citations issued compared to 16 citations last spring and seven last fall. He added that the event has migrated to the campus area where 69 citations were issued. Sergeant Kroening said on October 5th a woman was arrested after going on a retail theft spree at Kitz & Pfeil’s, 2 Blondes and Awakenings. There has also been an increase in vehicle thefts throughout the city mostly involving unlocked cars with keys left inside. Lastly he reported on October 2nd, three arrests were made at the Convention Center during a wedding reception that turned rowdy. She asked Sergeant Kroening how many officers conduct parking enforcement. Sergeant Kroening responded that there are seven Community Service Officers (CSOs) that enforce when time permits. He added the Department lost their parking enforcement officer about a year ago. DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES November 15, 2016 Unfortunately with the CSOs, citation descriptions are inconsistent and they have many other responsibilities throughout the city so enforcement is not consistent. Ms. Lang requested to revisit parking and skip over approval of the Operating Plan and budget. VI – APPROVE RETENTION FUND GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,000.00 FOR NEW MOON CAFÉ, 401 N. MAIN STREET BID Manager Daniels provided background on the Retention Fund Grant for New Moon Café in the amount of $1,000.00 which went towards replacing a door on the side entrance. Ms. Lang asked if the request met all of the qualifications. Ms. Daniels responded affirmatively. Jim Evans moved to approve the Retention Fund Grant in the amount of $1,000.00 for New Moon Cafe. Chanda Anderson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. VII – APPROVE RETENTION FUND GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $656.25 FOR MARKET BOUTIQUE, 224 N. MAIN STREET BID Manager Daniels provided background on the Retention Fund Grant for Market Boutique in the amount of $656.25 which went towards new signage. Mr. Larson asked what the materials of the sign consisted of. Ms. Daniels responded the sign is a 2-foot by 12-foot backing panel with raised lettering. She added their current sign does not meet Downtown Overlay Standards whereas the new sign with the raised lettering would be compliant. Mr. Larson said he had concerns with the look of the sign but did not want the BID Board to get involved with design review. Mr. Rennert said he agreed with Mr. Larson that the sign looked boring. Megan Lang suggested next year that the Board could form a design review committee next year. Mr. Larson added he would like to see many signs along N. Main Street get replaced as he feels many of them do not look very good. Kris Larson moved to approve the Retention Fund Grant in the amount of 656.25 for Market Boutique. Chanda Anderson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. VIII – MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT There was no discussion on this item. David Sparr moved to approve the monthly financial report as presented. Kris Larson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES November 15, 2016 X – 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 downtown is in full holiday mode; o the holiday banners are being installed today o The Christmas tree lights have been installed as well as the other trees around the square o The flower pots have been decorated o The Passport program has begun o The tree lighting and Holiday Parade is this Thursday  The Planning Division is working on an alleyway project for the alley next to House of Heroes.  Wisconsin Public Service awarded the BID a $500 grant to help pay for the 2017 Downtown Directory  A new branch manager has been hired at BMO Harris Ms. Lang asked how ticket sales were going for Breakfast with the Grinch. Ms. Daniels responded both breakfasts are sold out and she is looking at holding the event at the Convention Center next year. V – APPROVE 2017 BID OPERATING PLAN AND BUDGET Ms. Lang gave a summary of what has transpired the last month regarding implementation of Walker’s Parking Policy Design and Implementation Plan: She stated that there are two phases of implementation, Phase I which recommends upgrading signage and marketing downtown parking which the Council approved, and Phase II which implements paid on-street parking which currently does not have Council support, even after a resolution from the BID asking to support it. Mr. Sparr asked what happened with the Council. Ms. Lang responded that people started talking and that Todd Cummings has been very vocal not to support the paid on-street parking. She added that businesses had plenty of opportunities to voice their concerns about the parking study. Ms. Bahr said that her feeling from the Marketing Consortium was that they are opposed to paid on-street parking. Ms. Lang replied that she did not receive a single email from any Marketing Consortium members opposed to the plan. Mr. Larson said that they may have to approach this in a different way and it is important for the BID to keep moving this forward. Ms. Lang stated her frustration that the City spent a lot of money on this plan which provided professional solutions to the downtown parking problems and was supported by the BID Board but dies at the Council level. DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES November 15, 2016 Mr. Sparr asked how much will implementation of Phase I cost. Jim Collins responded that signage will cost about $10,000 and also recommended hiring a communications or marketing firm to design the signs. Mr. Collins said he envisions a committee being formed to help with the design, renaming of the lots and locating the signs. He hopes to get started with this process by the end of the year. Mr. Collins said that the BID is budgeting $20,000 for parking which will go towards signs and increased enforcement from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Ms. Lang asked Sergeant Kroening what the plan is for enforcement in 2017. Sergeant Kroening responded that as of now there will be no change to enforcement policy. He added the problem with chalking in four-hour zones is that the tires may get marked, but the CSOs may be called off and no violations are cited; two-hour zones are easier to enforce. Mr. Evans added that employees often move cars around to avoid getting a ticket. Mr. Sparr asked what will happen to parking on Main Street. Mr. Collins replied it will remain free two-hour parking. Mr. Evans said he shared Chair Lang’s frustration that the City spent all of this money on the parking plan and will not be fully implemented. Mr. Sparr replied that was why the Council wants BID members to show up at the Council meeting so they can share the criticism with the BID. Ms. Anderson said she heard from business owners that Oshkosh is not quite ready for paid on-street parking. Mr. Larson replied that if that is the perception, the parking problems will never go away. Mr. Larson suggested that if the $5,000 the BID was going to contribute towards additional enforcement will not have meaningful impact, all of the $20,000 should go to implementation of Phase I. He added that there is still going to be the problem of employees using prime parking. Mr. Collins replied when the City Center ramp was closed for repairs, employees were forced to park on public lots further away and heard positive feedback; the employees liked the nice little walk. He added the biggest problem is that there is a fear of change. Mr. Larson said if the BID is going to contribute $15,000 or more every year, they should be promoting that Downtown Oshkosh is the home of free parking, even though it is not really free to the BID. Mr. Collins said that amount may go up in future years; historically the BID contributed much larger amounts towards parking: He added that Walker’s plan would have generated revenue that could go to improvements but now the entire city is being taxed for downtown parking. Mr. Larson asked if the Operating Plan and Budget had to be approved today. Mr. Nau replied yes, the Common Council has to approve it next Tuesday, the 22nd in order to get the assessments onto the tax bills. Mr. Larson, Mr. Sparr and Mr. Evans discussed amending the wording in the Operating Plan and Budget to reflect the $20,000 towards parking is to be used for implementation of Phase I. Ms. Lang asked if they should still note some of the funding will be used for enforcement. Mr. Larson replied he does not think that will have any impact on enforcement. DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES November 15, 2016 Mr. Nau referenced to the Board an alternative assessment roll that increases the minimum and maximum assessments by 1%. He added this was discussed when the Board revised the assessment methodology in 2015. Ms. Lang responded the increases should be considered maybe in a year or two. Jim Evans motioned to approve the 2017 BID Operating Plan and BID Budget with an amendment to budget $20,000 for parking to be used for implementation of Phase I of Walker’s Policy Design and Implementation Plan. Kris Larson seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Andy Ratchman and David Sparr left at 8:56 a.m. IX – DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID SUPPORT OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO WIS. STAT. SEC. 66.1109(5)(a) IN REGARD TO BID ASSESSMENTS (LAID OVER FROM SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 MEETING) Mr. Evans requested to layover discussion on the amendment to State Statutes regarding BID assessments. The Board agreed. XI – IDENTIFICATION OF AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE DECEMBER 20, 2016 MEETING Mr. Rennert mentioned that he would like to start a world relief bike program in the Downtown to help the disadvantaged acquire bicycles. Ms. Lang suggested he talk to Sergeant Sagmeister with the Oshkosh Police Department  Revisit proposed amendment to BID assessment statute  Downtown Bike Programs XII – ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, James Evans moved for the meeting to be adjourned at 9:17 a.m. Kris Larson seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Jeffrey Nau Associate Planner