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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDowntown Kitchener BIA - 2022-09-28 September 28, 2022 8:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. McCabe's Kitchener BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES Present: Darryl Moore, Erika Holenski, Phong Tran, Cara Watson, Councillor Debbie Chapman, Martha Wallace, Darren Becks, Michael Rederer, and Councillor Sarah Marsh. Regrets: Linda Jutzi, Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, Julie Phillips, Benjamin Mathew, and Sgt. Kelly Prebble. Recorder: Stefanie Golling The meeting began at 8:32 a.m., with Darryl Moore as Chair. APPROVAL OF AGENDA/ DECLARATION OF CONFLICTS Moved by Darren Becks, seconded by Cara Watson "That the Board approves the September 28, 2022, agenda." Carried Unanimously APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Michael Rederer, seconded by Martha Wallace "That the Board approves the June 22, 2022, meeting minutes." Carried Unanimously Moved by Cara Watson, seconded by Erika Holenski "That the Board approves the August 10, 2022, meeting minutes." Carried Unanimously FINANCIAL REPORT Treasurer Phong Tran provided an overview of the Q1 and Q2 Financial reports. Mr. Tran shared highlights for the following: o Revenue: Most of the grant funding will show up in the year's second half; however, we are only expecting $50,000, as opposed to the $95,000 we were hoping to receive. o Expenses: Overall, we have an underspend for the year's first half, with some big events still coming for the year's second half. Moved by Phong Tran, seconded by Erika Holenski "That the Board approves the Q1 & Q2 Financial Report." Carried Unanimously DRAFT 2023 OPERATING BUDGET Darryl Moore shared that Linda Jutzi has made the discussed changes to the proposed budget, as discussed in the August Board Meeting. To date, there has been no member feedback. GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE UPDATE Darryl Moore provided an update on behalf of the Governance Committee, sharing the following highlights: The committee will be interviewing two new Directors for the Board. The committee met with our lawyer, Ross Weber, to ensure we are following legislation. In November 2020, the Board scheduled a meeting to approve changes to the organizational bylaw. Unfortunately, the meeting did not meet quorum; therefore, the committee hopes to have this approved at the upcoming Town Hall Meeting Action Item: Stefanie Golling to send Directors a calendar invite for the upcoming Annual Town Hall meeting. COWAN INSURANCE UPDATE Darryl Moore shared that the Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge BIA's have come together with Cowan Insurance to offer a benefits program to the membership. This is a special service being offered to our small businesses. Information packages will also be available to members at the Annual Town Hall Meeting. WRPS UPDATE Darryl Moore shared that Cst. Jake Hunter will downtown until November of this year. Mr. Moore acknowledged the efforts of our Mayor, Berry Vrbanovic, and expressed appreciation for stepping up and sending letters to Waterloo Regional Services Police Chief. Director comments and questions: Another letter should be sent following the elections to express our gratitude for having officers downtown. Do we have any outreach workers downtown? o A team (Downtown Street Team), like the Discovery Team with some changes, is providing outreach in the core. The team is managed by the Working Centre and funded by WRPS and the City of Kitchener. o The team runs weekdays from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. o The program seems to be going well and has received positive feedback. What does Tent City look like? Are there any further reports? o The Region is working on a plan to address encampments. o On the City of Kitchener website (kitchener.ca/encampments), there is a link to the Region's interim plan/strategy. o People who are experiencing homelessness need a place to go to during the daytime, not just overnight. o Erika Holenski shared she is willing to pass along (or present) the findings and experience at a past IDA Conference in Austin, Texas, for the Community First Village. o A new emergency shelter is opening overnight at the former Schwaben Club for two months. The plan is to eventually ramp up and make the space available for 24 hours in the winter. The space has 70 beds, with the potential to increase up to 100. CONESTOGA COLLEGE WINTER WONDERLAND DISPLAYS Andrea Hein joined the meeting. Ms. Hein shared the story behind the project and excitement on behalf of the students, leadership, and other creative industries coordinators within Conestoga College. The intention is to make this project about the experience and less about Christmas/product. A window design typically captures someone's attention for 1.3 seconds; by creating an interactive display, you can capture their attention for 6 to 10 seconds. Ms. Hein shared how the windows will engage with visitors through a scavenger hunt: Each display will have deer, but not all will have one of the eight missing deer. Guests must follow the clues on each window to find the missing deer. Some are obvious, some are subtle, but either way, it ensures that people will spend the time looking at each window and take the time to complete the window walk. Guests will be directed to download the Winter Window Walk app that gives instructions on how to play the game and find the deer. They will have a list of all the missing reindeer and a checklist beside each name. Once they have found the name, they can check it off. When the game has ended, a celebratory screen will pop up with fireworks and candy canes. Guest will be encouraged to go inside Market Square and warm up while they take advantage of the free photo area inside. Some windows will be informative to bring cohesion to the project. No matter where you start, you can jump in. Students will upcycle the BIA's deer for the project. Window installation will occur between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Friday, November 11 and Wednesday, November 15. The following locations have been selected for full window displays: 1. The Attic Yoga (1) 4. King Framing (2) 2. TWH Social (1) 5. A Second Look Books (1) 3. Matter of Taste (1) 6. Coffee Culture (7) 7. Marche Leo's (2) 8. Market Square (2) The following locations have been selected for vinyl-only displays: 1. Andrin Homes (4) 3. Impact (1) 2. Double Double (1) 4. Wineology (1) Conestoga College Marketing Collaborations: Radio: CJIQ would like to run ads and an interview to discuss the project. Television: The broadcasting program would like to cover this story, possibly start within the classroom and create a complete news story on the process and event. Social media: the social media program would like to offer assistance in creating reels, stories and blog posts around the event and how to play the game. Director questions and comments: When will the displays come down? o Potentially February: however, it depends on timing. o Installations like the gingerbread house may need to come down earlier. What program is leading this project? o Visual Merchandising Arts. Looks great! Will installation be completed at multiple places in one day? o One class has 13 students, and the other has 27 students. The onsite installation will be completed in two days. Students will be grouped at each location for installation; however, a lot of the construction and fabrication are done in the studio beforehand. The gingerbread house at Market Square will be the longest install, as the Woodshop Team will need to assemble it onsite. Looks great! Will the gingerbread house be interactive and staffed? o This is something the BIA team is talking about and finalizing the logistics on. For safety purposes, everything will be in place and appropriately secured. Did we look into going beyond Frederick Street and to other places? Is that something we can look into for the future? o Windows were primarily selected based on interest over the past two years. Recommend working with Linda Jutzi at the BIA on the scripting of messaging. We are thrilled to have this partnership with Conestoga College. GAUKEL STREET PLANS Darren Becks shared that the execution of Gaukel Street plans are in full swing. The City of Kitchener was successful in receiving a grant to reanimate the space. The overall objective is to create a placemaking space and to make it multi-use. The space will be turn-key for community groups, including the equipment and things required to do their events. The project will be completed in two sections - one being Joseph Street to Charles Street, including a portion of the parking lot at 44 Gaukel. Mr. Becks provided an overview of the area: The parking lot will be converted into a pop-up basketball court in the Spring. The front of 44 Gaukel will receive repairs to allow for a stage. 10-15 containers will be added to Gaukel Street. Each container will have a roll-up door and include things such as a tent, table, and chairs. Staff are working with Arts and Creative Industries to have artist-designed wraps on each container. In addition, the roadway's indigenous art will be refreshed. The area will be multi-use, accessible, and easy to use. Programming will begin in 2023. The area is a great connection to Victoria Park, Carl Zehr Square and King Street. Halls Lane to King Street will remain open, with the second part of the project being from Halls Lane to Charles Street (in front of Charlie West). These plans are still being worked through and imagine what it will look like. This space will not be as actively programmed but still be a placemaking location. The Kitchener Pop-Up Park will help iron that out, and installation can begin once the new streetlights have been installed. Director questions and comments: Will the shipping containers remain on Gaukel Street permanently? o We are unsure what will happen with the transit site, and 44 Gaukel. The idea is that we would have flexibility to move them. Will the huts be moving to King Street for Oktoberfest? o Yes, they will move to King Street for the festival back to Gaukel Street, then to their original storage location. The containers are taking the place of the huts. Operational efficiencies will allow us to support a whole range of events, and groups we haven Will there be a fee for use? o We will put out a call for people who want to collaborate. Our hope is to create a low-cost option and make use as easy and accessible as possible. Is the idea to animate the space throughout the week? o Our hope and objective is to animate the space 12-months of the year. We are looking for ways to use the space, which include weekday and weekend popups. Look at cleaning up of the space around Halls Lane and Charles Street. CITY OF KITCHENER POP-UP PARK Ashley (AJ) Visneski and Niall Lobley joined the meeting. Ms. Visneski provided an overview of the Kitchener Pop-Up Park plans. 80 Cities and the City of Kitchener are working together to launch a pop-up park in downtown to build excitement and engage diverse communities in reimagining parks and spaces from an equity lens. The project wants the future are safe, representative, and tell the story of its inhabitants through programming and design. The park is a real-time demonstration of what the community wants, as informed by Places and Spaces data. 8 80 Cities and the City of Kitchener will co-create the pop-up park project and employ equitable design principals. The park will close a portion of King Street for 5 days: o Road closure: October 13 to 17, 2022 o Setup: October 13, 2022 o Activation October 14 to 15, 2022 o Teardown: October 17, 2022 Organizers will maintain 4.5m throughout the event for emergency access. The group has spoke to: MiPs, Anishinaabe Outreach, Transportation Department, Equity team, Downtown Kitchener BIA, University of Waterloo, University of Guelph, Bridges of Belonging, Spectrum, KW Multi-Cultural, CMW and surrounding businesses. Design directions: o Welcoming: the park will upon immediate entrance from all angles feel welcoming, relaxing, safe and inclusive for people of all genders, races, and socio-economic statues. The business community will be invited to participate in extending the feeling of welcome for all from storefront to streetscape. o Refreshing: the first impression of the park will be its connections to nature through grassy spaces, plantings, and textured natural elements for both passive recreation and active programming. o Playful: the park will immediately impress upon its visitors that this is a place for play. Culturally recognizable games, accessibility and intergenerational play will be prioritized. Programming themes: o Culturally responsive: programming in the park will be culturally recognizable, sourcing games and materials that speak to the childhood of many Indigenous and South Asian folks. o Belonging for all: a range of programming and self-programmable spaces will be provided that connotes a sense of belonging and stewardship for all visitors. o New: the parks programming will incorporate new and exciting ways to get folks active, involved, engaged and informed for the public and for businesses. What we will see at the event: o Accessible swing, nature inspired pieces, sod/grass, and cedar trees. o There will be a fire keeper daily, prayer space, Storytime, a community picnic and social. o There is potential for drag queen story time, a small concert, and other community-based programming. Director questions and comments: Why can't this be done in Victoria Park? o We need to start being creative and innovative with spaces and continue to grow those assets outside of the park. With this being after Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest, will the street remain closed? o No, it will reopen. Will there be overnight security monitoring the area? o Not a police presence, but there will be eyes on the space throughout. What happens to sod and greenery after? o Everything will be reused after. Note, organizers will be handing out parking and bus tokens during the event. Organizers are willing to also hand out information regarding places/businesses to visit downtown. When we close streets, it limits accessible to downtown. Action item: Darren Becks to obtain an update about road closures on College Street. OTHER BUSINESS Martha Wallace, Phong Tran, and Darren Becks were able to attend the IDA (International Downtown Association) Conference in Vancouver last week. The Directors provided an brief overview of their experience, highlighting: keynote speaker, consistency of challenges across the board, programs and initiatives, street ambassador programs, social challenges, the Shipyards, parking technology and infrastructure, as well as retail incentives. Councillor Marsh shared that today is the last day of the splash pad at City Hall. Darry Moore acknowledged that the horticulture . Kudos to the City of Kitchener Horticulture team! Councillor Chapman shared that the lighting becomes very low when you drive from Uptown Waterloo to Downtown Kitchener. Is this something we can look at? o We are currently battling electrical infrastructure. This is being looked into with KW Hydro and with other partners. o Note the granite planter beds will be receiving updated lighting. ADJOURNMENT Moved by Councillor Debbie Chapman, seconded by Phong Tran "That the meeting adjourn." Carried Unanimously