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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-11-2018 Minutes BIA Committee of Rate Payers Meeting June 11, 2018 – 1:00 PM 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: Chair Giovanni DiQuattro, Vice Chair William Cowart, Kelly Gordon, Ronnie Roberts Excused Absence: Bob Klontz, Megan White; Ruth Neil-Stover, Darren Jones Guests: Jeremy Hubbell, ADA President and Brittany Carlson, ADA Secretary Staff present: Doug Lein, Economic Development Manager; Lorraine Chachere, Tourism Coordinator; and Holly Ferry, Committee Secretary II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Committee Member Gordon moved and Vice Chair Cowart second to approve the May 14, 2018 minutes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 4-0 III. FINANCIAL REPORT Manager Lein provided the update on the BIA budget. The only financial commitments that the Committee has made is for the banners and the Tourism map. IV. OLD BUSINESS A. Disbursement of BIA Funds Jeremy Hubbell, ADA President and owner of Geaux Brewing and Brittiany Karlson, ADA Secretary and owner of Vinifera explained that the ADA initially plans to have events every two to three months and eventually every month or month and a half. They reported that, after a long process, they just finally got the board going so they have yet to put together a formal budget. There are currently three board members – Jeremy, Brittiany and Board Treasurer Kristina Driessen, who are all BIA rate payers. They will hopefully be voting on three more board members the following day. So far, they have borrowed most of the things they have needed for their events from Parks but thought it would be necessary to own their own equipment in case there were two events occurring at the same time and the equipment from Parks was not available. It was suggested that Parks contribute to part of the cost of a stage, bring it to events when needed, and provide storage for it. The purchase of tents would also be a necessary purchase and would also need a place to be stored. Ideas for various events were discussed. An event planner has been acquired. They will come back to the next meeting with some things they need. Manager Lein provided a Parking Lot Use Application with a map of available parking lots. (attached) B. Marketing and Branding Tourism Coordinator Chachere presented a draft of the map (attached) with the downtown area included. Hotel owners requested that hotels be included on the map as a point of reference. The request was made to include services, but to do that, the graphics on the map would need to be modified, and Smarthouse Creative will work on that. Manager Lein reported on the meeting with Smarthouse Creative. Currently, they are coming up with the final messaging presentation and some sample digital and print artwork. He thought that within the next 30 days the campaign could begin to be launched. He mentioned the hope that Smarthouse would be prepared to provide a media buy plan for downtown for the 4th quarter, which would be a shared campaign by the City, Tourism, and the BIA Committee. C. Heritage Fire Update Manager Lein reported that they have pulled permits for demolition . A map from the Planning Department that was approved by the Building Department of wh at they are planning on shutting down next to Safeway is expected today. Their plan minimizes impact on Main Street during business hours. All the trucks that are coming and going from the demolition will be going out from the south side of the building. They will begin with asbestos removal during the first ten days. D. BIA Newsletter There was discussion about the ADA having a section in the BIA Newsletter. Because the BIA Committee is a committee of the City and the ADA is a non - profit, Manager Lein will consult with Legal as to whether than can be done. The BIA Committee could, however, feature things in the newsletter that the ADA is doing. E. Update on Priority Projects Presented to City Council 1. Additional security lighting Manager Lein reported that Auburn Police are about two-thirds of the way through the BIA, and the count is at 52 lights so far. These are security lights that could go on a pole that the City owns that would be around alleys, dumpsters, and dark corners. They figure there will be around 60. If the light is attached to a City pole and already has power on it, the cost would be around $400 a pole. 2. Hanging plants and planters around the BIA Manager Lein reported that he has communicated with Puget Sound Energy (PSE), who owns about half of the poles that are off Main Street, to see if it would be possible for the City to hang plants from their poles. 3. Lights in trees Manager Lein stated that nothing can be done on tree lighting until after the Heritage demolition is complete. There would have to be more research done on the infrastructure that is needed to make that happen. 4. Added police patrols Manager Lein informed the Committee that there was no response yet from Auburn Police. 5. Christmas decorations It was suggested that some of the schools be contacted to see if students could build a Santa’s house. Manager Lein will provide a contact from a high school and one from Green River College. There was discussion about where it could be stored. 6. Banners Planning will have the final proof for the artwork on the banners within about a week. They can probably be made and ready to go up by the end of July. Many of the poles on the side streets are owned by PSE, and they will try to get a map made that will show each pole, who owns it, and who we have to get permission from to put the banners up. F. Update on 2018 Façade Grant Program The 2018 Façade Grant Program is up and going. Evie Anderson is the coordinator. V. NEW BUSINESS A. Committee Representative for Chamber Meetings It was recommended that the request for a volunteer from the BIA be included in the BIA Newsletter. B. Member Attendance Discussion There was discussion about changing the day and/or time of the meeting to accommodate some of the members who have not been able to attend. Secretary Ferry will communicate with Committee Member Jones to find out when he would be available to attend. VI. BIA PARKING SUB-COMMITTEE UPDATE Planning sent out letters to parking lot owners inquiring if they would be interested in renting out any parking spaces, and there was no interest so far. VII. AUBURN DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION UPDATE Most of this update was covered earlier in the meeting during the discussion on disbursement of BIA funds. They are still waiting on a representative from the City to join the Board. Manager Lein reported that Tanya Carter, the new Economic Development employee, will most likely be the one who will represent the City on the ADA. VIII. TOURISM BOARD UPDATE Tourism Coordinator Lorraine Chachere informed the Committee that, because consumers rely heavily on what they read online, she was considering having a workshop involving some of the Tourism Board members that have expertise in marketing. This workshop would be geared toward small business owners to help them to create a more robust online presence and to be able to man age what is being said about their business and their service and how to respond to that. Manager Lein reported that a contract with Green River College was approved last week, and they will be giving one class every three weeks at the City’s Business Incubator, with a rotation of four classes per quarter on topics such as how to start a business, how to write a business plan, how to do a marketing plan, and how to do a financial plan. The classes will be hands-on where the business owners can bring their laptop and work with the instructor. Social media marketing will be part of that training. IX. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting adjourned at 2:32 pm. APPROVED this 9th day of July, 2018. ________________________________ ________________________________ Giovanni DiQuattro, Chair Holly Ferry, Committee Secretary