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HomeMy WebLinkAboutKitchener BIA - 2017-09-27 8:30 am – 10:30 am September 27, 2017 City of Kitchener 200 King Street W Conestoga Room BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Minutes Present: Darryl Moore, Erika Holenski, Domini Baldasaro, Chelsea Cybalski, Councillor Frank Etherington, Councillor Sarah Marsh, Phong Tran, Ryan Lloyd-Craig, James Mitchell, Linda Jutzi, Paul Walman, Meaghan Hawkins. Regrets: Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, Shirley Madill, Cory Bluhm. Guests: Breanna Crossman, Chris Doss The meeting began at 8:35, with Darryl Moore as Chair. APPROVAL OF AGENDA/DECLARATION OF CONFLICTS Moved by Erika Holenski, seconded by Chelsea Cybalski “That the Board approve the September 27, 2017 meeting agenda.” Carried Unanimously No conflict of interest was declared by any Member of the Board at this time. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Chelsea Cybalski, seconded by Erika Holenski “That the Board approve the July 26, 2017 minutes.” Carried Unanimously Approval of the August 2017 Financials: Phong notes that the underspend reflected this month is due to costs that have not yet been input as invoices are yet to be received and that numbers will balance out. Moved by Paul Walman, seconded by Chelsea Cybalski “That the Board approve the August 2017 Financial Statements.” Carried Unanimously Governance Committee Update The governance committee is working backwards on some items that have been approved but had not been uploaded to the site. Darryl recommends that a standing item can be put in place for both governance and marketing committee meetings so that there isn’t doodle poll action happening one week out since everyone has such busy schedules. Erika shares that she has spoken to Kyle from Giffin Law as a prospective candidate to join the board. Marketing Committee Update Marketing committee has struggled to keep attendance over the summer months. So as not to lose momentum, Breanna will be presenting proposed plan for upcoming year in the next marketing committee meeting and the committee will be tasked with the next two projects and will discuss what the next steps are. ION Update Linda met with Scott McNair from the Region, who will attend the Town Hall and will have a table. The board heard that one train has arrived and that every train must be tested on the test track in Waterloo. The board also hears that it will not be known until January when the next set of trains will arrive and how testing will be scheduled, but that Spring 2018 is no longer a realistic launch date for ION. Ryan Lloyd Craig joined the meeting (8:51a.m.) Oktoberfest Update Linda explained that the Oktoberfest Executive Director stepped down in August and that the interim Director has been working with her in an effort to bridge communication but that there have been some challenges in activations as well as in finances. Of note: The Midway has been transitioned to an inflatable play area which will be run as pay as you play. Lot 42 will be activating Rocktoberfest featuring The Darcys, The Romeo Sex Fighters, The Dwayne Gretsky Band and more. With the anniversary coming up the board will need to make some important decisions regarding the sponsorship of the events and how the money is spent. Sarah Marsh joined the meeting 9:00am Meaghan Hawkins left the meeting 9:02am It was suggested that the BIA could look for a manner to assist with the inflatables to make these accessible rather than pay as you play. Action: Linda to reach out to Oktoberfest to understand the cost of the inflatables to determine whether the board could cover the cost intended in revenues in order to assist. Chriskindl Update The board hears that this year a train and puppet show for children will be added, located under the Williams’ overhang in response to an overwhelming response of “I wish there was more to do with my kids.” Linda shared that she would be meeting with City and Chriskindl, as jointly the City and BIA will be applying for a Trillium grant to bring in up to 20 huts in 2018. The city is looking into where these could be stored as there is a storage shortage. Business Attraction Update Linda has been working with Chris Farrell at the Small Business Centre to reshape the possible program for Business Attraction and Support in the downtown. A newcomer looking to take space in the DTK boundary would go through the vetting program of the Small Business Centre to determine eligibility for additional support offered through the BIA. The BIA funds would support their social media costs and web development costs such as e-newsletter and other steps towards being digitally savvy. The application would be processed through the Small Business Centre and Linda and Chris would determine whether or not they could receive up to 4-5K for support in this area. This resulted in a reduction in the proposed program from 50K-30K which would allow the BIA to assist up to 6 businesses in 2018. An alternative discussed was the feasibility of creating a high quality brochure with statistics and information that would be used by commercial real estate agents etc. in regards to distributing and attracting new business for the downtown core. Waste Management Update A recommendation and request was put forward to strike a committee to determine the way forward with regards to downtown waste management and cleaning. James Mitchell & Chris Doss joined the meeting (9:24 a.m.) Moved by Erika Holenski, seconded by Phong Tran “That the Board strike a Clean Downtown Kitchener committee” Carried Unanimously WRTMC Update James and Chris reported on the downtown police efforts, emphasizing the success of the Discovery Team. The reported that the Discovery Team has been one of the best avenues into managing social situations that occur with increased regularity in the Downtown but that don’t necessarily warrant police response. In first two weeks of May there were 81 calls related to unwanted persons and in June there were only 37. This dropping trend continued throughout summer. Calls in or self-initiated calls (this is call in): Unwanted persons call down 22% vs. summer of 2016 Intoxicated persons down 36% vs. summer of 2016 Liquor offenses down 37% vs. summer of 2016 Drug Calls down 27% vs. summer of 2016 From a trend perspective, although the downtown is busier, the calls are trending downward. The board discussed opportunities for grants as well as the shortfall in funding for the Discovery team for 2018. 2018 Budget The Board discussed the 2018 budget proposal in terms of the adjustments that had been made. There was a discussion regarding the timing of the commitment to the City of Kitchener as well as the final value of this commitment in order to ensure that we had budgeted accordingly. Moved by Darryl Moore, seconded by Phong Tran “That the BIA commit 300K to the Queen Street Project in a commitment over 3 years with 150K being paid out in 2017 and the balance being paid out in two, 75K increments over 2018 & 2019” Motion Carried Opposed: One Moved by Erika Holenski, seconded by Phong Tran “That the BIA approve the budget as presented with the change of 25K from the Queen Street Project line item shifted to the Keeping Downtown Clean Line” Motion Carried Opposed: One Breanna Crossman joined the meeting (10:30 a.m.) Marketing Presentation Breanna outlined three potential approaches to the marketing in 2018: Signage, Cultural Bread Crumbs and Traditional Marketing. Breanna shared that the proposal being put forward to the Marketing Committee would center around signage, both traditional and in the form of large scale murals. Paul Walman left the meeting (10:35 a.m.) Breanna Crossman left the meeting (10:42 a.m.) Other Business Nothing at this time. Linda Jutzi left the meeting (10:42 a.m.) In-Camera Moved by Erika Holenski, seconded by Phong Tran “That the Board enter in-camera session” Carried Unanimously Moved by Phong Tran, seconded Erika Holenski “That the Board leave in-camera session” Carried Unanimously ADJOURNMENT Moved by Chelsea Cybalski, seconded by Erika Holenski “That the meeting adjourn.” (11:10 a.m.) Carried Unanimously