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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-10-2019 Minutes CITY OF BIA Committee of Rate Payers Meeting October 10, 2019 — 1:00 PM WASHINGTON Auburn City Hall Council Chambers MINUTES CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 1:00 pm by Chairman DiQuattro. Roll Call: Committee Members present: Chairman Giovanni DiQuattro; Vice Chair Bill Cowart; Members Bob Klontz, Ronnie Roberts, John Rottle, Megan White Committee Members absent: Members Kelly Gordon, Darren Jones and Ruth Neil- Stover City staff present: Josh Arndt, Economic Development Senior Officer; Holly Ferry, Committee Secretary ADA Board Members present: Brittiany Karlson, President; Cheryl Rakes II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Committee Member Klontz moved and Member Rottle second to approve the September 12, 2019 meeting minutes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5-0 III. FINANCIAL REPORT Economic Development Senior Officer, Josh Arndt, reviewed the data on the Financial Report with the ending fund balance through August 2019. IV. OLD BUSINESS A. Marketing and Branding Officer Arndt reported that he had written a paragraph for the Newsletter explaining the Buy Local Website. B. BIA Newsletter A copy of the September newsletter and analytics was provided. The open rate had increased slightly this month. C. Update on Priority Projects Presented to City Council 1. Additional Security Lighting Officer Arndt reported that the new lighting in the B Street Plaza is working well to illuminate the area. Chairman DiQuattro suggested they reevaluate how much additional lighting the Committee would like to put up once all the City lights are working and now that the PSE lights are up and dark spots can be identified. 2. Christmas Decorations Member Jones was absent so no update was given on the purchase of commercial LED lights. Officer Arndt will talk to Member Jones. 3. Banners Officer Arndt provided an a map and examples of pole bracket pricing that he had found online for around $100 a pole. He reported that he talked to a company in Sumner that would do installation for$105 to $150 a pole, depending on whether or not they would have to rent a boom truck or use a ladder. His services would include ordering the brackets, obtaining permits, and installation. He would be happy to meet with the Committee. He informed Officer Arndt that he could also install bike racks. There was discussion about installation of the brackets and if the City should do the installation or should the Committee contract with someone. It was suggested that the Committee should decide on the number of brackets they want to purchase and a dollar amount of what they are willing to spend and then present it to the City to see what could be done and if it can be worked into their schedule. It was suggested that the purchase and installation be staged in different sections of the BIA and in different periods. Officer Arndt reported that PSE is open to the placement of brackets on their poles, but they would need to know where they would go and the standard specs. The Committee decided that a sub-committee should be established to determine the details of where to install, how much money should be spent and so forth. Committee Member Roberts moved and Member Rottle second to establish a sub- committee to determine on which poles to attach the brackets. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6-0 Members Roberts and Rottle and Officer Arndt agreed to serve on the sub- committee. D. Update on 2019 Façade Grant Program There was concern raised that there has not been follow-through by the person in charge of working with applicants of the Façade Grant Program. It was recommended that contact information for the person in charge be included in the BIA Newsletter, as well as the chain of command. Officer Arndt will look into it and inform the Committee of the chain of command and who the points of contact are. E. Heritage Building Update Officer Arndt reported that they have put in for building permits and are working with planners to make any necessary changes to the plans. It will be a mixed-use residential building that will include around 60 micro-apartments, with retail on the bottom floor that will face the B Street Plaza and Main Street and an interior garage. They will get credit for the units that were lost, because they did not have parking for them, and any additional units beyond that they will have to provide parking for in their building. F. Unpaid BIA Fees There was no update on this topic. G. Rules of Procedure In the previous month's meeting, it was decided that clarification was needed as to whether or not alternates are required to be included in the vote. Officer Arndt informed the Committee that alternates are not required to vote, but it takes a majority of the Committee members, not including alternates, to vote. Because there are seven members on the Committee, it would take four members to vote. Office Arndt provided three proposed modifications to the Rules of Procedure for the Committee's review and vote. Vice Chair Cowart moved and Member Rottle second to accept the proposed language modifications in Section II Membership, paragraph 5, which will mirror language in the Auburn City Code (ACC) 2.98.060(B) to say, "Upon the resignation of a Committee member, removal by the City Council, or expiration of a committee member's term, the Committee shall make recommendations to the City Council and the City Council shall make an appointment to fill the vacancy." MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6-0 Vice Chair Cowart moved and Member White second to accept the proposed modifications in Section III Meetings, paragraph 6, to read, "The Committee shall consider proposals for economic development and neighborhood revitalization projects and programs consistent with the purposes listed in 2.98.030, provide for public input and submit comments in a timely manner to the Mayor and City Council." MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6-0 Member Roberts moved and Member White second to accept the proposed modifications in Section III Meetings, paragraph 8, to read, "Regular meetings shall be held on the second Thursday of each month and shall be open to the public. The meeting shall convene at 1:00 P.M. unless otherwise directed by the Committee's Secretary, the Economic Development Staff or the Chair." MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6-0 Vice Chair Cowart left the meeting at this point. H. Bike Racks Officer Arndt reported that it is the City that maintains existing bike racks, and there are no design standards. There would be no need to do anything from a building permit standard, unless it was higher than 7 feet tall. Member White moved and Member Roberts second to allocate $5,000 toward the purchase and installation of bike racks. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5-0 Officer Arndt will follow up with Public Works to inform them of the Committee's proposal to allocate the funds toward this project. I. LED Light Project There was no update on this topic. V. NEW BUSINESS A. Businesses Doing Small Things Outside Their Business Chairman DiQuattro explained to the Committee how someone from A Little Knitty had knitted something and attached it to a City pole. They received permission from the City and was told that she could only leave it up for three weeks at a time, but then they came back and said it is art, so it can be left up indefinitely. Since then, business owners have been asking Chairman DiQuattro if they can do something in front of their building, and if so, will the BIA help them. He asked the Committee if this is something they would want to do. Officer Arndt posed the question that if you're spending BIA money, how do you do it so that it benefits all and not just a specific business. He suggested that it might be a better idea to put out a request for proposals so that business owners could submit their ideas. It was decided that the idea should be added to the October BIA Newsletter so that business owners could submit any ideas that would spruce up downtown. ADA member Cheryl Rakes brought up that the sandwich boards in the downtown area are getting out of control, and customers have started coming into her business and commenting about them. She provided picture examples for the Committee to view. The City code describes the dimensions of the signs, but it says nothing about what the signs need to be made of. Chairman DiQuattro stated that to change code, it has to be taken to City Council. Officer Arndt informed the Committee that they need to identify some suggestions and guidelines for City Council to amend the code, and once certain standards are agreed upon and the code is amended, Code Enforcement can ensure that businesses comply. At that point, the Committee may consider offering a business funds to go toward a sandwich board that is compliant with the new standards. Officer Arndt will check with Planning to see if they have any standards already identified. The idea was raised to see the standards that other cities have. IV. AUBURN DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION UPDATE ADA member, Cheryl Rakes, reported that things are moving forward, and there will be an ADA Board next year. The details have not been worked out, but she reported that she will probably be the ADA President. Next month, an update on the street fair will be given. V. CHAMBER BOARD UPDATE BIA Chamber Board representative,Janice Nelson, reported that Chairman DiQuattro and Officer Arndt came to the last Chamber Board meeting, and gave a presentation about the workings of the BIA and the ADA. The presentation was emailed to the board as well. During the meeting, the past chairman brought up the point that there had already been conversations with the City about how the Chamber could partner with the ADA and the BIA on certain events. She indicated that the Chamber is very interested in partnering with the BIA/ADA. There were some concerns on the BIA/ADA side that the Chamber is more geographically spread out than the ADA. Chairman DiQuattro replied that the Committee may be able to contract with an event coordinator to do specific projects for the downtown. Member Roberts added that the Chamber's thought is that they might be able to provide a project manager that the ADA could pay to handle the details of an event. Chairman DiQuattro summarized that the ADA puts on the projects, the Chamber would contract with the ADA, and the ADA would put it in their budget and then ask the BIA to pay for it. In the meantime, the Chamber needs to talk with the president of the ADA. Representative Nelson asked if the BIA would be supportive of the proposed idea, and the response from the Committee was that they would be. VI. TOURISM BOARD UPDATE There was no update. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting adjourned at 2:35 pm. APPROVED this 14th day of November, 2019. U blati„ iovanni DiQuattro, Chair Holly Ferry, Committeesecretar Y