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Home My WebLink AboutKitchener BIA - 2013-05-22 9:00 am - 11:00 am Location: BIA Office Board of Directors Meeting – May 22, 2013 Kitchener, ON Minutes In attendance: Le-Anne Pilecki , Zenia Horton, Kevin Ballantyne , John Vickery, Darryl Moore, Sharon Morton, Linda Jutzi, Paul Walman, Councillor Dan Glenn-Graham, Michael Falcone, Michael Von Teichman, Adrian Darmon, Cory Bluhm, Shannon Weber Regrets: Mayor Carl Zehr, Councillor Frank Etherington Guests: Shayne Turner; City of Kitchener Bylaw Enforcement and Dawn Phillips-Brown Welcome and IntroductionsChair, Le-Anne Pilecki Call to order at 9:05 am All Board members introduced themselves. Approval of Agenda __________________________ _ Chair, Le-Anne Pilecki No conflicts of interest declared Motion: To approve the Agenda. Kevin Ballantyne/Michael Falcone Discussion: Change the date to read “May 22, 2013” Motion Carried. Enforcement of Property Standard BylawShannon Weber & Shayne Turner Shannon Weber introduced the issue of property standard enforcement in downtown. Many complaints from property owners, businesses and other stakeholders about issues that are in violation of the City bylaws. Shannon introduced Shayne Turner, Director of Bylaw Enforcement from the City of Kitchener to speak to the Board on the issue. Shayne gave an overview of the common infractions as well as the enforcement process. Property standards are governed by the Ontario Building Code Act. When there is a violation, there can be a choice between the property owner doing the work or the City does the work to rectify and bills this back to the owner. The City can send a letter to owners in violation of the Bylaw indicating the BIA’s endorsement of moving ahead with rectifying property standard issues. Depending on the issue they would give a period of time to discuss and rectify the situation before an official infraction notice or fine is laid. Darryl Moore mentioned the issues with illegal dumping of waste, especially in Bell’s Lane. Shayne Turner encouraged that he contact him with video footage. Shayne also mentioned that he will be making a recommendation to have one dedicated Bylaw officer in the Downtown. Motion: The Downtown Kitchener BIA supports the City of Kitchener’s efforts to enforce property standards in the Downtown. John Vickery/Kevin Ballantyne Motion Carried. Action Item: Staff to post information on property standards on the BIA website. Approval of Past minutes Le-Anne Pilecki Motion: To approve the March 19, 2013 Board of Directors meeting minutes. Zenia Horton/Darryl Moore Carried. Motion: To approve the April 24, 2013 Annual General Meeting minutes. Michael Von-Teichman/Darryl Moore Carried. Governance Sub-CommitteeShannon Weber Shannon shared with the Board her key findings since she started the role in relation to governance. There was some work done 5 years ago to engage a consultant, develop a governance manual and review our Bylaw. However, this seems to be incomplete and her opinion missing a set of governance policies and strategies for nominating, development, training, organizational direction and accountability. It is common for a Board to have a governance sub-committee Shannon will be staff support to the group and provide resources to assist. The first step is to strike the committee and then to develop Terms of Reference. Le-Anne asked Board members if anyone was interested in participating in this committee. Linda Jutzi and Michael Falcone volunteered. Dawn Phillips-Brown also indicated interest if she was nominated to the Board. Motion: To nominate Michael Falcone, Linda Jutzi and Dawn Phillips-Brown (pending approval as a Director) to the Governance Sub-Committee. Michael Falcone/Paul Walman Carried. Board and Executive NominationsLe-Anne Pilecki Le-Anne Pilecki noted that 3 Board seats are vacant: 2 from the “Office/Industrial” category and 1 from “Arts and Culture”. The Board discussed what the intention may have been with the Arts and Culture seat. Given the uncertainty of whether or not this should be a member or a non-levy-paying stakeholder (i.e. City or non-profit) seat, the Board suggested that this be referred to the Governance sub-committee when they review the Bylaw. There is no urgency to fill this role. Le-Anne Pilecki introduced Dawn Phillips-Brown who is a lawyer at Madorin-Snyder. Both Le-Anne and Shannon met with Dawn and feel that she is well-qualified for a role on the Board and will bring a wealth of experience in non-profit governance. John Vickery asked if the Board could fill a vacancy and Shannon Weber replied that yes, the Bylaw does allow this. Motion: To nominate Dawn Phillips-Brown to the Board of Directors Kevin Ballantyne/Michael Falcone Carried. Le-Anne Pilecki asked for a Board member to volunteer to take on the role of Secretary. John Vickery volunteered. Motion: To nominate John Vickery to fulfill the role of Secretary of the Board of Directors. Kevin Ballantyne/Zenia Horton Carried. Action Item: Staff will look into purchasing a voice recording device to assist in minute-taking. Treasurer’s ReportKevin Ballantyne Kevin Ballantyne presented both March and April financial statements (AGM displaced the Regular April Meeting). Motion: To approve the financial statements ending March 31, 2013 Kevin Ballantyne/Dan Glenn-Graham Carried. Motion: To approve the financial statements ending April 30, 2013 Kevin Ballantyne/Michael Falcone Carried. Executive Director’s Report Shannon Weber Shannon Weber updated the Board on the Boundary Expansion and asked for Board members’ help in outreach. Shannon mentioned that the City will be moving ahead with a Staff Report recommendation to remove the 6 remaining bulk bins that the City pays for by the end of this year. Cory added that this is in response to Council’s challenge for operations to reduce costs. Also, there is an inequity as most any other business does not have this service. Economic Development and the BIA will send information letter to assist businesses/property owners in the transition Economic Development Update Cory Bluhm Cory Bluhm confirmed the re-branding of the Delta Hotel to a Crowne Plaza which includes significant upgrades and improvements to rooms and, perhaps, facades. 305 King Street (office Building) has been getting a lot of activity from start-up Tech Companies growing out of the incubator programs at the Tech Hub. Financial Incentive Review Package is being reviewed and new programs being considered to replace the Façade Grants (moving revenue from other under-utilized programs; a formal announcement is expected in the next couple weeks. New Patio Furniture has arrived and is being distributed in the next two weeks; bright and multi-colored. 2 “Clean Team Guys” have been hired to work cleaning in the downtown from the end of May to mid-September under Cory’s supervision. WRPS UpdateAdrian Darmon Adrian opened his presentation announcing WRPS are in the process of hiring a new crime analyst and, therefore, no formal updates re: statistics and data currently available Adrian advised the mounted patrol program is being expanded; 1 new mounted patrol officer has completed training and therefore, more visibility; also hoping to add one more horse to the program this year. Alcohol related incidents already seem to be on the rise in the core area as weather warms up Bicycle training program has been competed; Officers are patrolling on bikes Prostitution programs are underway focusing on the East end of King Street and residences. Other BusinessLe-Anne Pilecki Le-Anne asked if the Board would be interested in starting the meeting at 8:30 am to ensure that we finish before 11:00 am. Recent meetings have gone over time. The Board agreed to start meetings at 8:30 am going forward. Motion to adjourn the May 2013 meeting Michael Falcone moved; Seconded by Kevin Ballantyne. Next Meeting – Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 8:30 amBIA Board Room, 29 King St. E Topics: IT Review, Financial Incentive Review, Marketing Committee Terms of Reference