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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-15-2019 Minutes ity OF . BIA Committee of Rate Payers Meeting /\LLJB1J1R. N4 August 15, 2019 — 1:00 PM WASH I NG ION Auburn City Hall Council Chambers MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 1:04 pm by Chairman DiQuattro. Roll Call: Committee Members present: Chairman Giovanni DiQuattro; Members Bob Klontz, Ronnie Roberts, Megan White Committee Members absent: Vice Chair Bill Cowart; Members Kelly Gordon, Darren Jones, John Rottle, Ruth Neil-Stover City staff present: Josh Arndt, Economic Development Senior Officer; Tanya Carter, Economic Development Officer; Richard Valenti, Parks Maintenance Specialist; Scott Nutter, Traffic Operations Manager; Stan Sedillo, Patrol Officer; Holly Ferry, Committee Secretary ADA Board Members present: Kristina Driessen, Treasurer II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Committee Member Klontz moved and Member Roberts second to approve the July 11, 2019 meeting minutes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 4-0 III. FINANCIAL REPORT Economic Development Senior Officer, Josh Arndt, reviewed the data on the Financial Report that showed the ending fund balance through June 2019. The last report he received from Finance showed a little over$40,000 of expenditures to date in 2019. IV. OLD BUSINESS A. Marketing and Branding Officer Arndt reported that there has been some redevelopment of the Buy Local website the last few months. Marketing funds for that had been suspended during that time, but advertisements through social media channels will be happening again soon. B. BIA Newsletter A copy of the July newsletter and analytics were provided. There was no discussion. C. Update on Priority Projects Presented to City Council 1. Additional Security Lighting Discussion on this topic was moved to the LED Light Project topic later in the meeting. 2. Christmas decorations There was no discussion on this topic. 3. Banners Officer Arndt provided a map of all the light poles within the BIA boundary. Richard Valenti, the City's arborist, expressed his concern that there would not be enough equipment or manpower to take care of additional baskets. If additional baskets are added, the amount of time and water that should be given to the plants would be reduced and would negatively impact the health of the plants in all the baskets. Officer Arndt responded that Parks Maintenance Manager, Nick Lettiere, is working on getting an estimate of what it would take to add to the program so the Committee can discuss it and make an informed decision about how to proceed. During a discussion with Arborist Valenti and Manager Lettiere, it was thought that there are two best places to expand. The first is the corner of C Street and 3rd Street and then east along 3rd Street to Auburn Ave. That would include roughly 50 baskets; however, some of the poles are signal poles and could not be used to hang baskets. The second area is 4th and Cross Street down to Auburn Way S. These two options would pull things out to the border of the BIA, and they are well-traveled streets. Arborist Valenti reported that the baskets cost about $60 each, and an additional 200 plants would likely cover the areas suggested. The cost of installation and how to water and take care of them must also be considered. The Committee agreed that they would not want to compromise the current hanging baskets. Economic Development Officer Carter suggested that the aesthetic appeal of downtown is due to the fact that the planters are hanging from identical black poles that are spaced evenly apart down a long stretch of Main Street, but on the side streets,there is random variation in the poles' appearance and their distance from each other, and she suggested that planters on the ground could be placed evenly along a street to create a consistent appearance. Officer Arndt interjected that caution should be shown when veering off the topic of discussion and talking about hypothetical ideas, as the City may have reason to not approve of those ideas for various reasons, such as how a sidewalk may be blocked with a pot of flowers, for example. He encouraged the Committee to focus on the idea at hand, going through the proper channels, and if it doesn't work, a different approach may be taken. Chairman DiQuattro said the Committee needs to be provided with some figures for discussion,then they can address the City Council to see if they are willing to provide more funds to accomplish what the Committee would like to do. If Council doesn't approve,the Committee would then need to talk to different departments, explaining what they want to accomplish and asking if they could assist the Committee and what it would take to do what the Committee wants to accomplish. D. Update on 2019 Facade Grant Program There was no update. E. Heritage Building Update There was no update. F. Unpaid BIA Fees Officer Carter reported there has been no change since the last report. G. Rules of Procedure Officer Arndt explained that there was only one portion of the Rules of Procedure that was out of line with the way the Committee has been doing things, which was that, whatever recommendation Is made to Council, the BIA was to present with it an economic analysis. The Committee discussed whether to remove it, amend it, or leave it as is. Member Klontz cited Section XII of the Rules of Procedure that states that "The Rules of Procedure may be amended at any regular meeting of the Committee by a majority vote of the entire membership." It was decided that more clarification was needed before the Committee could move forward with a vote. Committee Member Roberts moved and Member Klontz second to table a vote until Legal could clarify whether a majority vote included the entire membership or just quorum. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 4-0 Officer Arndt also brought up to the Committee that there is not uniformity in 2.98.050 Section A and 2.98.060 Section B of the ordinance, and the Rules of Procedure reflects the same thing as the ordinance. It is thought to be a Scribner's error, and the ordinance and the Rules of Procedure should both say that Mayor appoints and City Council approves. H. B Street Activation Officer Arndt reported that Parks will prune the trees and clean up the weeds on the B Street Plaza. I. Traffic Cabinet Wraps Update Officer Arndt reported that the wraps have been installed and provided a photo of one of the wraps. J. Bike Racks Auburn Police Department Officer Sedillo provided some pages of examples of prefab bike racks from the park catalog online store. The prices listed are per item, and a price could not be given for multiple quantity prices until an order is placed. The racks are shipped out 2-3 weeks after ordering. Another vendor was contacted, but they couldn't provide anything near the prices that the Parks catalog has. Officer Sedillo suggested that a good place to add new racks would be the length of Main Street from the Interurban Trail to the Green River Road. The racks are generally two-sided and very colorful, and they come with different mountings—either placed in concrete foundations or welded to anchors in the sidewalk. Chairman DiQuattro stated that a rough estimate of how many racks are needed is necessary to know how much funds are needed, and he recommended that racks should only be installed near shops. Officer Sedillo suggested that the existing round racks should stay and additional new racks should be added, but eventually the round racks should be replaced because a lot of them are damaged and don't work that well. Because these are being placed on the right-of-way, the Committee would need to work with Public Works. Officer Sedillo offered to provide a map of where the existing bike racks are at the next meeting. V. NEW BUSINESS A. LED Light Project Traffic Operations Manager, Scott Nutter, reported that the decorative bases on the light poles on Main Street are being removed and repainted. He informed the Committee that the City received an energy-efficiency grant of$500,000 from the Department of Commerce for a project that would allow the City to replace all of the City's high-pressure sodium lights with LED lights. At the end of the project, the City will also receive some rebates from Puget Sound Energy. The goal is to change out as many light fixtures to LED as possible, while still keeping the poles. Manager Nutter will provide numbers for the next meeting, along with any additional information that would be useful to the Committee. IV. AUBURN DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION UPDATE ADA Treasurer Kristina Driessen reported that they submitted for all their permits on August 13. They did an extensive traffic flow analysis. They will need to provide security for the street fair on September 21. Applications are being taken for vendors, and there is no charge. They are fully funded until the next quarter. V. CHAMBER BOARD UPDATE Chairman DiQuattro volunteered to represent the BIA and Treasurer Driessen said she or President Karlson would represent the ADA at the Chamber Board Meeting on October 2. VI. TOURISM BOARD UPDATE Office Arndt reported that Tourism Coordinator Chachere took an Economic Development position at the City of Burien. In the interim, Officer Carter is filling in until a replacement is found. Officer Carter gave the Committee an update on what has been happening with the Buy Local Auburn website. Regarding Tourism, the new Holiday Inn is having a hard opening on September 19. They will have an open house all day, a ribbon cutting, and 3NoNetworking will be there that evening. There are two upcoming new members for the Tourism Board, which will put the membership at 10 members. Coasters will be distributed every six weeks. After the current batch is gone, the next batch of coasters will feature new pictures. The former director of the Film Festival chose not to return. A new director is to be confirmed. It has been decided that there will not be tables at events where there has been previously. Tourism materials will be available, but tables will not be manned. The Tourism Summit is on October 29 from 12:30—4:00 PM. The venue has yet to be confirmed. She encouraged the Committee to bring two businesses per person. VII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting adjourned at 2:44 pm. APPROVED this 15th day of August, 2019. )01,64 Chair Holly Ferry, mmitt a Secretary DQuattro, C a o y Co