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Home My WebLink AboutDBIA - 2019-03-27 March 27, 2019 8:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. City of Kitchener 200 King Street West Conestoga Room BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES Present: Linda Jutzi, Darryl Moore, Erika Holenski, Phong Tran, Meaghan Hawkins, Cara Watson, Craig Haney, Councillor Debbie Chapman, Julie Phillips, Kyle Cleaver, Councillor Sarah Marsh, Hilary Abel, Cst. James Mitchell and Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. Regrets: Michael Rederer, Cory Bluhm and Shirley Madill. Guests: Claire Bennett and Tova Davidson Recorder: Stefanie Golling The meeting began at 8:31 a.m., with Darryl Moore as Chair. APPROVAL OF AGENDA/DECLARATION OF CONFLICTS Moved by Julie Phillips, seconded by Craig Haney March 27, 2019 meeting agenda with edits as Carried Unanimously No conflict of interest was declared by any member of the Board at this time. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Phong Tran, seconded by Cara Watson That the Board approve the January 23, 2019 Carried Unanimously Mayor Berry Vrbanovic joined the meeting (8:32 a.m.) Moved by Councillor Debbie Chapman, seconded by Craig Haney That the Board approve the February 27, 2019 meeting minutes. Carried Unanimously Councillor Sarah Marsh joined the meeting (8:33 a.m.) APPROVAL OF FINANCIALS Phong Tran provided an update on the February Financials. Mr. Tran noted a few expenses that were on the uptick Graffiti removal, and Member Relations. The Member Relations category saw an increase in spending for a g oing away gift for former owners of Mr. Sub. Moved by Erika Holenski, seconded by Cara Watson That the Board approve the February 2019 Carried Unanimously WRPS UPDATE Cst. James Mitchell thanked Linda Jutzi and the Board of Directors for the letter of appreciation regarding the Downtown Beat Officers. Cst. Mitchell provided an update on graffiti in the downtown. Cst. Lee Elliott has been working on a case that shows one individual who has tagged over 122 locations throughout the core and surrounding area. Linda Jutzi shared the estimated cost absorbed by the BIA so far. Cst. Mitchell noted that WRPS is working on developing a list of properties that have surveillance should they encounter another similar situation. th On Thursday April 11 the BIA and WRPS will be hosting a Slack Information Session at the BIA office. Action Item: Linda Jutzi share request with membership and help to curate list of properties with surveillance. DISCOVERY TEAM Linda Jutzi shared that the City of Guelph, along with Barrie and Peterborough will be presenting on their outreach teams at the upcoming OBIAA Conference. The Guelph BIA acknowledged and thanked the Downtown Kitchener BIA for sharing the Discovery Team template. Since the launch of the Discovery Team, the BIA has had the opportunity to help support other municipalities to develop a similar program: Cambridge (Galt) Winds, Guelph Welcoming Streets, etc. Along with OBIAA there will be a formal case study on the Discovery Team model. Ms. Jutzi shared that the downtown has seen great value from the program; in attempt to add a second team she has exhausted the private sector for funding. The current allocated budget is $60,000 and would require additional funds to run another team in the evening/after 5:00 p.m. Ms. Jutzi noted that the other ; Guelph received $90,000 from their city and police service. Ms. Jutzi purposed the question to the Board as to whether or not she should prepare a proposal to Council for additional funds. Mayor Berry Vrbanovic suggested setting up an internal meeting to discuss further. Tova Davidson joined the meeting (8:57 a.m.) Craig Haney proposed the idea of developing metricsto show the success of the program. Cst. Mitchell shared some of the challenges with tracking of metrics, as not all scenarios create an incurrence (call) and The Board agreed that creating a simple way to track what they are doing, and create opportunities for storytelling, Claire Bennett joined the meeting (9:05 a.m.) th The Downtown Discovery Teams anticipated start date is April 15, 2019. Action Item: WRPS and BIA Staff to develop a checklist for tracking purposes. Action item: Linda Jutzi to setup meeting with the City of Kitchener to discuss Discovery Team and financial contributions. Cst. James Mitchell left the meeting (9:11 a.m.) WASTE MANAGEMENT BEYOND 2020 Linda Jutzi introduced Tova Davidson, from Sustainable Waterloo Region and Claire Bennett, Sustainability Officer at the City of Kitchener. Ms. Jutzi shared a brief update on their roles with the Waste Task Force Committee and provided a detailed overview of the current waste process and plans for the future. Ms. Jutzi indicated that the Waste Diversion Pilot Program proposal submitted exceeds the allocated budget for 2019, however is open to suggestions from the Board on how to proceed. The Board discussed: Beautification advantages and disadvantages Educational opportunities for participating businesses The chance to support green initiatives within our downtown community Preparation should the provincial government choose to remove ability to dispose of organics Importance of showing metrics Program responsibility in years forward PR benefits for Downtown Kitchener Funding opportunities and award recognition Moved by Craig Haney, seconded by Cara Watson Program but find a way to Amended by Councillor Sarah Marsh -months, recommendation to shift from another line item, or have a discussion as a Board Carried Unanimously Action item:Linda Jutzi to follow up with Claire Bennett and Tova Davidson on possible funding. Action item: Hilary Abel to setup meeting with City of Kitchener Sanitation Team on how to resolve recycling issues in the downtown. Action item: Stefanie Golling to invite Tova Davidson to future Waste Task Force Meetings. Claire Bennet and Tova Davidson left the meeting. BUSINESS ATTRACTION Hilary Abel shared a PowerPoint presentation on the current situation of retail in the downtown. Ms. Abel spoke to what the community wants, short/long term goals, trends, and demographics. As a short-term goal, from the direction of Council - 220 King Street West (former Open Sesame space) will move forward as a pop-up space for existing retailers across the Region. This space will only be available until May 2020. Ms. Abel notes the space will be offered as a 4-week pilot to various services and retail, including an event support space. The space will be flexible, have affordable licensing costs, and no rental fees. The long-term goal is to develop a comprehensive retail recruitment strategy. Partners have been consulted, and Economic Development will continue to collect data and have conversations. The Board discussed: What does the BIA feel its involvement should be? Data collection comparing to other cities Length of time businesses can participate in the pop-up program Additional partnership opportunities e.g. Shopify Potential of various pop-up locations Figuring out insurance for potential private property owners INCAMERA Moved by Julie Phillips, seconded by Craig Haney That the Board enter an in-camera session Carried Unanimously Hilary Abel left the meeting (10:26 a.m.) Moved by Julie Phillips, seconded by Cara Watson That the Board leave the in-camera session Carried Unanimously OTHER BUSINESS Darryl Moore shared a friendly reminder about the living document to share ideas. Moving forward, Linda Jutzi will decide on large agenda topic items. Action item: Hilary Abel to circulate Queen Street Project conceptions. Action item: Councillor Sarah Marsh to circulate plans for Carl Zehr Square. ADJOURNMENT Moved by Phong Tran, seconded by Kyle Cleaver Carried Unanimously