HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-16-2018 MinutesDOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES
January 16,2018
PRESENT:Jim Stapel,David Krumplitsch,Andy Ratchman,Kay Bahr,Sandy Prunty,
Chanda Anderson,Marlo Ambas,James Evans
EXCUSED:Megan Lang,Kris Larson,David Sparr,Benjamin Rennert
STAFF:Cassie Daniels –BID Manager,Jeffrey Nau -Associate Planner
OTHERS:Lieutenant Matt Kroening –Oshkosh Police Department,Doug Villars –
Leadership Oshkosh/Remax Reality, Michael Donnan –Leadership
Oshkosh/Aegis Financial, Karlene Grabner –Oshkosh Area Community
Foundation, Brett Hildebrandt –Stellar Blue
I -CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Nau informed the Board that the Chair and Vice-Chair have been excused from this
meeting and they need to elect a Chair pro tem. James Evans nominated Jim Stapel to serve as
Chair pro tem, Chanda Anderson seconded the nomination and was approved unanimously.
Chair pro tem Stapel called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m.and a quorum was declared
present.
II –APPROVE MINUTES OF DECEMBER 19, 2017 MEETING
Mr. Nau informed the Board that a clarification was needed from November’s meeting in that
the Special Events issue regarding the Farmers Market was a City policy issue, not a legal issue
as was discussed and reflected in the minutes.
James Evans moved to approve the minutes of the December 19, 2017 meeting as presented.
Chanda Anderson seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
III –POLICING/TRAFFIC/PARKING ENFORCEMENT ISSUES
Lieutenant Kroening reported that activity has been very quiet the past month and that New
Year’s Eve was the least eventful he could remember. He added that the extremely cold
weather was probably responsible for the minimal activity.
BID Manager Daniels asked for an update on the security camera. Lieutenant Kroening said
they were still working on it. Creating the list has been delayed due to recent high turnover of
Community Service Officers.
There was no further discussion on this item.
DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES
January 16,2018
Ms. Daniels requested to the Board that they skip to Item V because Karlene Grabner from the
Community Foundation was not present. The Board concurred.
Sandy Prunty arrived at 8:08 a.m.
V –DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT –STELLAR BLUE
Brett Hildebrandt from Stellar Blue introduced himself to the Board and distributed a
Downtown Oshkosh activity report to the Board.Mr. Hildebrandt explained the analytics of
the report which contains data including number of hits on the website, how the hits were
directed to the website, time spent visiting the site and maps showing where the hits originated.
The Board thanked him and commented that the report was informative and useful and that
trends can be seen based on the time of year.
Marlo Ambas arrived at 8:12 a.m.
IV –OSHKOSH AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION DOWNTOWN ICE RINK BID
SPONSORSHIP
Karlene Grabner from the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation introduced herself and
provided background information on the development of the downtown ice rink. She added it
has taken six years to get to this point and the biggest hurdle was not financial, but finding a
suitable location.Ms. Grabner said the rink has taller walls to provide advertising space and
hope to add more amenities including more lighting, benches, heating apparatus, sound and
security systems.
BID Manager Daniels asked Ms. Grabner if she had ideas for funding. Ms. Grabner responded
they are looking for someone to manage the rink in the future, or at least a partnership or
committee. She said that bench sponsorships will be approximately $1,300 to $1,500 per season.
She added that she hopes the City will see the value of the rink as it will increase traffic to the
downtown.
Ms. Anderson suggested they should start a fundraising campaign to construct a permanent
gazebo that could be used year-round.
Mr. Stapel suggested Ms. Grabner should check with the Recreation Department to see if they
would want to partner up. Ms. Grabner responded that was a good idea. Mr. Villars added
local hockey clubs may also want to help out.
MS. Grabner thanked the Board and mentioned there will be a ribbon cutting event on Friday,
January 19th from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00.
DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES
January 16,2018
VI –APPROVE RETENTION FUND GRANT –OSHKOSH TATTOO & GOOD GIRL
PIERCING, 223 N. MAIN STREET
BID Manager Daniels provided background information on a $1,000 grant request for Oshkosh
Tattoo and Good Girl Piercing. She mentioned the applicant only provided two quotes because
they really wanted to use the same contractor that constructed the other sign on the building.
Lastly, Ms. Daniels said the total cost of the sign will be $2,250 so they are eligible for the full
$1,000 grant.
Chanda Anderson motioned for approval of the $1,000 Retention Fund Grant for Oshkosh
Tattoo & Good Girl Piercing. James Evans seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
VII –APPROVE TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM RESERVES TO CONTRACTED SERVICES
FOR 2018 BID MANAGER SALARY COMPENSATION
BID Manager Daniels informed the Board that this transfer request if for the increase of the BID
Manager’s compensation that was approved at last month’s meeting. She added the Board
approved an increase of $6,000 which was not included in the 2018 budget.
Sandy Prunty motioned for approval of the transfer of $6,000 from the Reserve Fund to the
Contracted Services budget. James Evans seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
VIII –MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT
Mr. Nau distributed an updated monthly financial report to the Board. Ms. Daniels informed
the Board she should be closing the books for 2017 very soon.
Mr. Stapel commented that he was surprised Two Blondes only charged the BID $120 for the
downtown holiday window painting. Ms. Prunty suggested the BID should somehow
recognize them in the future.
Chanda Anderson motioned to approve the BID monthly financial report as presented.Marlo
Ambas seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
IX –SATURDAYS FARMERS MARKET UPDATE
Ms. Daniels said she does not have much to share with the Board until the Common Council
makes a decision on the Special Event Fees on January 22nd.
DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES
January 16,2018
Mr. Evans asked if she knew how much the barricade fees will be. Ms. Daniels responded that
Kathy Snell will not know until after the Common Council meeting.
X –DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH WEBSITE UPDATES/REDESIGN DISCUSSION
Ms. Daniels reported she met with Blue Door Consulting to discuss website update options;
either a complete redesign or a platform update. Ms. Anderson asked what the current issues
were. Ms. Daniels responded it is becoming more difficult and time consuming to do certain
updates.She added that just updating the platform will cost $1,500 and would have about a
50% chance of resolving the issues. However, the platform update would allow the website to
limp along until 2019.
Mr. Ambas stated it is time to redesign the entire site.Ms Daniels added if the Board chooses to
do the complete redesign of the website,it will take 30 to 60 days to send and receive proposals,
and she would recommend not doing the $1,500 platform update. She said she can continue to
work with Blue Door at $90 per hour to assist with technical issues until the new website is
running.
Chanda Anderson motioned for the BID to conduct a request for proposals for development of
a new Downtown Oshkosh Website with mobile-friendly functionality.
Ms. Anderson stated that a mobile-friendly website is critical in today’s smart phone
environment and that she would not support the $1,500 “quick fix “option. Ms. Daniels
commented that Chair Lang wanted to discuss specific features the BID wants to have on the
website.
Mr. Evans asked Ms. Daniels if she knew of any other users of the MODX platform. Ms.
Daniels responded MODX was popular five years ago and the only other current user is the
Chamber of Commerce, which will be switching from soon.Mr. Ambas commented he has
concerns with Ms. Daniels spending so much time doing website updates and supports the
redesign option.
Mr. Stapel asked if there was a second for Ms. Anderson’s Motion. Mr. Ratchman seconded the
motion. Mr. Stapel asked if an ad-hoc committee should be formed to discuss what features the
BID wants on the new website. Ms. Anderson stated she was comfortable with the BID Manager
determining what the website needs.Board discussion followed on whether or not a committee
should be formed prior to soliciting redesign proposals. Ms. Anderson rescinded her motion.
Ms. Anderson motioned for the BID Board to form an ad-hoc committee to explore options and
features for a new Downtown Oshkosh Website design. Andy Ratchman seconded the motion
which passed unanimously.
DOWNTOWN OSHKOSH BID BOARD MINUTES
January 16,2018
Ms. Daniels stated there will be outdated web pages until the new website is running. Ms.
Anderson suggested removing pages that cannot be updated. MS. Daniels concurred.
The Board assigned members of the ad-hoc committee; BID Manager Daniels, Marlo Ambas,
Megan Lang and Kris Larson.
XI –BID MANAGER AND BID COMMITTEE 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:
Working on the printing of the 2018 Downtown Directory
Working on the Cocoa Crawl which is on February 10th
o Event will be tied with the ice rink
o 70 tickets have been sold in one day, may need to cut-off sales
o 15 businesses are partnering with the event, 900 likes on Facebook
Starting to plan for 2018 UnWINEd Walk
Looking for new banner sponsors
Closing the 2017 financials
XII –BIKE SHARING AD-HOC COMMITTEE UPDATE
Ms. Daniels reported that the Oshkosh Community Foundation decided not to contract with
Zagster as they discovered the price quote was only for one year, not two and deemed too
expensive.
XIII -IDENTIFICATION OF AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE FEBRUARY 20, 2018 MEETING
Website redesign
Downtown wish list update
Bike Sharing
XIV –ADJOURNMENT
With there being no further business,James Evans moved for the meeting to be adjourned at
9:12 a.m.Sandy Prunty seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jeffrey Nau
Associate Planner