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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDowntown Advisory - 1995-12-14DAC\1995-12-14 KITCHENER DOWNTOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES DECEMBER 14, 1995 The Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee met this date under the Chairmanship of Councillor Mark Yantzi with the following members present: Councillor Berry Vrbanovic, Councillor Karen Redman, Robert Braun, Nancy Brawley, Deborah Budd, Brian Hunsberger, Peggy Walshe, Karen Taylor-Harrison, David Gowland, Rev. Carver, Lillian Kehl. Others Present: T. Brock Stanley, Sybil Frenette, David Corks, Tom McKay, Tracy Morency. 1. APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN AND VICE-CHAIRMAN Brock Stanley took chair of the meeting and called the meeting to order until the chairman and vice-chairman were appointed. Brock Stanley invited open nominations for the chairman and vice-chairman positions. Moved by Councillor Karen Redman Seconded by Nancy Brawley. That Councillor Mark Yantzi be nominated and elected to be the chairman of the Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee for the year of 1996. Carried Moved by Mark Yantzi. Seconded by Rev. Carver. That Councillor Karen Redman by nominated and elected to be the vice-chairman of the Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee for the year of 1996. Carried There was a short discussion about whether the position of vice-chairman should be filled by a non-elected official. Members present found the existing system of having two members of Council as chairman and vice-chairman agreeable. Moved by David Gowland. Seconded by Karen Taylor-Harrison. That the nomination be closed. 2. CHAIRMAN'S REMARKS -2~,8- Carried. Councillor Mark Yantzi took the position of chairman and gave the opening remarks. He commended the high productivity of the committee and its responsiveness to community issues. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA - DECEMBER 14, 1995 Moved by Nancy Brawley. Seconded by Deborah Budd. That the agenda of December 14, 1995 be approved. Carried 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - NOVEMBER 9, 1995 Moved by Deborah Budd. Seconded by Nancy Brawley. That the minutes of November 9, 1995 be approved. Carried 5. CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED - LETTER FROM MS. BARBARA SHAVER Enclosed in the minutes of November 9, 1995 was a letter from Ms. Barbara Shaver suggesting a contest of the subject--"what is my five favourite things of Kitchener downtown?" Rev. Carver suggested to pass the idea to Kitchener This Week. David Gowland suggested to set up a small committee to consider the idea and possibly implement it. -249- Nancy Brawley volunteered to provide some downtown dollars as a prize. Councillor Karen Redman recommended that the political and financial realities be thought through and made clear to the organizedparticipants before the committee commits itself to such undertaking. She believed that it was a positive idea. She further suggested to regularly advertise the amenities available in Kitchener Downtown using the heading, such as "did you know...". Lillian Kehl proposed a balcony garden contest. She said it was a new idea in Canada but apparently it has been quite popular in some other countries. A number of members agreed to form a sub-committee to pursue the idea suggested by Ms. Barbara Shaver. They included Councillor Karen Redman, Nancy Brawley, David Gowland, Peggy Walshe and Debbie Budd. Peggy Walshe will organize the first sub- committee meeting. David Gowland suggested that an acknowledgement be sent to Barbara Shaver. 6. UPDATE ON THE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT TEAM - SYBIL FRENETTE (a) The Downtown Retail Action Plan Sybil Frenette explained that the Downtown Retail Action Plan is a joint venture between the City and KDBA. The first draft of the plan has been completed. The consultant is not completely familiar with the local situation, therefore, the KDBA and the Downtown Development Team would have to provide the firm with more details and the draft will have to be fine tuned. Details on the plan will be available at the next meeting. (b) Mews Sybil Frenette then presented the idea of constructing a "mews" on the vacant site between Goudies and Mr. Submarine. The Parks and Recreation Department has prepared design drawings for the site. The City is awaiting agreement from the owner of Mr. Submarine and the property owner of the Goudies building. Unlike the traditional open spaces in downtown areas with passive structures, such as benches, this development is designed to be a vibrant, inviting and animated area. The design includes retail spaces, meter parking, and unique, customized lighting and furniture design to be provided by the local art community. (c) The Forsyth Building Kitchener Housing is currently investigating the feasibility of developing the Forsythe building into a artists' live-work space. The preliminary design includes 70 units of live- -250- work space, many opportunities for gallery, dance studio and other art amenities. It would hopefully become a complete artist community. Financing is being investigated from private sector sources as non-profit funding has ceased. Mary Bales, a realtor specializing in downtown residential property, is assisting Kitchener Housing with financing options. Sybil Frenette closed the report on Forsyth with the remark that the project is still at its preliminary stage and that she would prefer to wait until she has confidence in the financial feasibility before she further discusses the project publicly. (d) The Children's Museum The Children's Museum Committee had its first annual meeting in late November 1995. It now has five sub-committees working on design, location, funding, etc. Forty to fifty people attended the annual meeting and membership is increasing. With regard to site selection, the Canada Trust building across from Valhalla Inn appears to be the most logical location. The building has high ceilings and is close to the Farmer's Market. The committee envisions the museum to be a place that would create a series of spin-off retail activities, such as children book store, coffee shop, etc. The committee currently hopes to rent the building until the committee has the ability to consider purchasing a property. (e) The Urban Design Guideline The Design, Heritage and Environment Division in the Planning and Development Department has been preparing an urban design guideline for the City. The downtown is one of the components of the guideline. The Downtown Development Team is working closely with the Design, Heritage and Environment Division on the guideline for the downtown area. The major concerns with regard to urban design in the downtown are set- back and zoning regulations. The Downtown Development Team hopes to ensure that the guideline would, on one hand, encourage creative design and smooth pedestrian movement, and on the other hand, ensure a consistent set-back that reinforces effective window display. T. Brock Stanley stated that he expected the draft of the urban design guideline to be submitted to Economic & Planning Committee in February 1996. He said related organizations will receive a copy of the draft and therefore be able to provide input about the draft guideline. (f) Smiles & Chuckles Councillor Karen Redman asked the possibility of using local improvement tax to develop the Smiles and Chuckles site. Sybil Frenette reported that that would not be possible because local improvement tax can only be used to improve local infrastructure (hard services), such as side-walks. Nevertheless, Sybil Frenette remarked that Councillor Karen Redman's idea was creative, and that creative thinking should be encouraged in general. Kitchener Housing is still waiting for the decision of Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on repayment of the initial costs. No further decision on disposition of the land can be made until the Ministry has made its decision. -2S1- (g) Cedar Hill Community Development Project The Cedar Hill Community Development Project has only received one year of funding. As part of the 1996 Budget deliberations, Sybil Frenette has been asked to look into extending the funding for a second year. Cedar Hill could be used as a pilot project for community development. The proposal will be ready for the 1996 budget time. (h) Progress Report on the Mayor's Task Force's Recommendations The Downtown Development Team and the KDBA are preparing for a special event at the end of January to report on the progress of undertakings recommended by the Mayor's Task Force on Downtown Revitalization. The KDBA hopes to get retailers' testimonials on changes they have observed since the Task Force's work commenced. (i) The King Street Facade Improvement Program Four months ago, Wayne Pearce brought to Sybil Frenette's attention that the Facade Improvement Program was running out of funds. Due to increased publicity, demand has increased noticeably. It would be very undesirable to allow the program to end at this point. The program was designed to operate within a revolving fund with 30% of the loan for exterior improvement and 20% for interior improvement being forgivable. The limit of the loan is $15,000. Because the forgiveable portion of the loan is provided upfront, the repayment schedule is not sufficient to maintain the fund in a revolving manner. In order to maintain the program, one last injection of funding is required. A proposal will be made to Council to approve an injection of $200,000 to the fund. It is hoped that after this injection of funding, the program will be sustainable. The Downtown Development Team and Wayne Pearce also re-evaluated the details of the program and have concluded that it would be best to continue to use the area boundaries to which the program applies. They coincide with the Downtown Community Improvement Area. The current facade program has been extended to include the interior upgrading of commercial buildings. The only recommended change is to lower the percentage of forgiveness for exterior work from 30% to 20%. Wayne Pearce is confident that a 20% forgivable rate is sufficient to attract participation. The interest rate will still be fixed and the rate unchanged. After the introduction given by Sybil Frenette, Wayne Pearce presented a slide show on properties that have been funded by the program. Councillor Karen Redman asked whether any applicants have been rejected due to lack of -252- funding and whether any exception has been made in terms of the requirements. Wayne Pearce answered that some applications have been delayed because of lack of funding but he has not had to reject any application due to financial reason. With regard to eligibility, for example, when an applicant is located on the opposite side of the program's boundary, no exception has been made. Business/property owners can appeal to Council when they are rejected for Iocational reason but no one has pursued that to date. Tom McKay further explained that to change the boundary of the program would involve a complicated legal procedure. Councillor Karen Redman further questioned whether the program only applies to commercial buildings. Wayne Pearce responded that the program only applies to commercial building but funding has been made available to applicants in the event when part of the building is used for residential purpose, but the residential use has to be a component of the commercial building. The primary objective is to restore existing commercial space. T. McKay explained the historical background of the program. He pointed out that the original program was designed by the architect Nicholas Hill and was geared to conserve historic structures. The program is now being used as a mean to encourage economic development in the downtown. When a floating rate was used in 1992, the program was not welcome. Staff then proposed a fixed rate and a 20% forgivable rate. The DAC recommended to increase the forgivable to 30% which caused the difficulty of revolving the fund quickly enough for it to be self-sufficient. He further added that if Council approves the $200,000.00 allocation it will be taken out of the fund allocated to downtown development. Robert Braun asked for the number of businesses that have used the program. Wayne Pearce answered that prior to 1992, there were 12 businesses that used the program. Since then, between 60 to 70 business/property owners have taken advantage of the program. Robert Braun then questioned whether lowering the forgivable rate would make the program less welcome. T. McKay then explained that the increase in participation rate was caused by the change in political will and the change from floating interest rate to a fixed interest rate, and that maintaining the forgivable rate at 30% will pose a financial problem. Robert Braun expressed appreciation for the City's willingness to spend money on non-mall locations. Peggy Walshe asked if there is any provision in the program that requires participants to provide proof of improvement in business activities. Wayne Pearce answered that only verbal feedback has been collected to date. Peggy Walshe then suggested that such -253- condition be added to prove the worthiness of the program. Sybil Frenette replied that she has observed owners of derelict properties starting to take advantage of the program in order to improve the marketability of their properties, and that tenancy has increased. In addition, only those property/business owners who do not owe the City taxes are eligible to participate. The program has been effective in collecting tax arrears. Nancy Brawley pointed out that some property owners decided not to participate in the program because it is not the cheapest way to upgrade their properties to standards. Nevertheless, the program has made tremendous improvements in the appearance of downtown properties and has made many vacant properties much more marketable. People contemplating starting a small retail business are encouraged to start in Kitchener downtown partly because of the availability of the facade program. Councillor Mark Yantzi suggested that an inventory be done on the positive change in business activities as a result of the program. Wayne Pearce commented that many realtors now use the program as a selling tool to market downtown properties. Councillor Karen Redman asked if any of the users has fallen behind in their repayment. Sybil Frenette replied that only one business was in arrears. Tom McKay replied that in 1987, security of repayment was an issue that required attention. Councillor Berry Vrbanovic asked how the security mechanism functions. Wayne Pearce replied that applicants only receive 10% of the approved fund to start the work with. The rest of the fund is only given to the applicant when Wayne Pearce is satisfied that the work has been satisfactorily completed. If the work is not completed to the City's satisfaction, the loan could be reduced. Participants have to pay back the whole loan within ten years. Nancy Brawley commented that the participation rate increased noticeably when business owners were included and when the fixed interest rate was introduced. Wayne Pearce added that 40% of the participants are renovating vacant locations and those locations have been or will be occupied. Sybil Frenette read the proposed recommendations in draft report PD/95 to the committee. Councillor Berry Vrbanovic asked about the rationale of spreading the $200,000 quarterly, -254- and, whether it would be more appropriate to spread the fund according to the seasonal fluctuations of the building industry, that is, more during the summer and less during the winter. Sybil Frenette explained that the seasonal issue was discussed at the Management Committee meeting. The rationale of such distribution scheme is to control a steady cash float; however, the scheme is not supposed to be rigid and can be adjusted as required. Councillor Mark Yantzi asked clarification on whether the funding was $200,000 per year or was it a one-time funding. Sybil Frenette answered that it was a one-time injection of funding that will allow for a sustainable revolving fund of $200,000.00 per year. She will ensure that the wording in the report is clarified. Councillor Mark Yantzi asked if any priority was given to historic features. Sybil Frenette replied that the intent is to encourage various kinds of improvement and that restricting the improvement to historic features might deter incentives to make other types of improvement. Moved by Nancy Brawley. Seconded by Karen Taylor-Harrison. That Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee endorses the recommendations in the staff report PD95/113 Downtown Building Facade/Interior Loan Program Funding. Carried 8. UPDATE ON HOW PROMOTIONAL BROCHURE IS TO BE LAUNCHED - DAVID GOWLAND David Gowland thanked the committee for allocating the fund needed to print the promotional brochure. He met with Murray Diegel, President of the K-W Real Estate Board and discussed with him the distribution of the brochure to realtors. They felt that they need to change not only the impression that residents and potential home buyers have of the downtown, but also that of realtors. The Real Estate Board is holding their annual general meeting on January 19, 1996. David Gowland will attend that meeting and introduce the brochure to the realtors. They hope that the distribution can be continual rather than just a one-time distribution. Ten to fifteen brochures will be distributed to each real estate office which makes a total of approximately one thousand copies out of the five thousand copies printed. -255- Murray Diegel and David Gowland also discussed the possibility of having an "open house blitz" one weekend in the spring and creating an action team within the real estate industry to market downtown properties. A copy of the proposed plan for initial distribution of the brochure is attached. Nancy Brawley suggested that the printing be continued if the brochure is proven to be successful in marketing downtown living and properties. Councillor Karen Redman commended the design of the brochure. David Gowland thanked committee members for their input. 9. PROPOSED 1996 MEETING DATES - T. BROCK STANLEY Brock Stanley explained that the August meeting was scheduled but it might not be needed. It was agreed that the March meeting be held on March 7, 1996 instead of March 14, 1996 in order to avoid having a meeting during March break. 10. K.D.B.A. REPORT - NANCY BRAWLEY Nancy Brawley reminded the committee that there will be free parking in Kitchener Downtown during Christmas time. A proposed budget will be ready in February which will include all financial aspects of parking in the downtown. The KDBA hopes to have the support of this committee. The Business Watch Seminar did not have a good participation rate because of bad timing. The Christmas holiday contest was going well. The draw would take place on December 18, 1995. The Wagon Ride has been successful. Christmas retail activities have been slow, but they are slow in areas other than the downtown as well. The new business report was attached to the minutes of November 9, 1995. Five downtown restaurants were highlighted in Kitchener This Week. It would appear that entertainment business and restaurants are becoming popular again. Due to the disentanglement proposed in the Mayor's Task Force report, KDBA is now freed up to accomplish tasks that it was not able to tackle before. The marketing plan and the budget for the organization for the year, 1996, have been completed. The fact that the -256- KDBA and the City are working together on the downtown seems to reinforce people's confidence on the future of the downtown. "Downtown Fitness/Shaping Up" will be used as a unified theme for the year 1996. There will be a promotional activity each month in which the fitness theme will be used. The objective is to send the message that the downtown is being shaped up. 10. NEW BUSINESS Reverand Carver spoke in favour of the Mayor's position to restrict lap dacing in Kitchener and suggested that DAC show its support through a resolution. Moved by Rev. Carver. Seconded by Robert Braun. That the Downtown Action Committee supports the Mayor's effort to restrict lap dancing in the City of Kitchener. Carried David Gowland suggested that this committee meet with the decision makers in the media industry next year. He used the example of a picture in the front page of K-W Record with the Swat Team pointing a gun at a teenager and by doing so the media exaggerated the seriousness of the incident and further damaged the image of the downtown. It was generally agreed that it is a very common problem, not just with the newspaper, but also other forms of media. Numerous efforts have been made to discourage the practice, but it is still happening. Nancy Brawley suggested that a code of ethics be developed for the industry with regard to retaining a balance in reporting the truth and reporting what is newsworthy. She further recommended that the committee research the subject before it takes any action, and that discussion with the media usually works best in smaller setting. Councillor Mark Yantzi suggested inviting journalist students to do an inventory of media coverage. It was agreed that further discussion will be needed on the subject of media relations. David Gowland expressed interest in learning the City's master plan on infrastructure improvement, e.g. sidewalks, for the next few years. He understood that priorities always have to be set in a large scale. Consequently, not everything that requires attention will be fixed. He would like to see what the City's priorities are with regards to infrastructure. Brock Stanley suggested that a staff member from the Public Works Department be invited to address this question at a DAC meeting in the new year. -257- 11. ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING The meeting was adjourned at 10:45 a.m. Catherine Heal Acting Committee Secretary December 29, 1995 741-2301 Members of the Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee Notice is hereby given that a meeting of the Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee will be held on THURSDAY, January 11, 1996 in the Conestoga Room on the first floor, City Hall, 200 King Street West commencing at 8:30 a.m. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Approval of agenda - January 11, 1996 Approval of Minutes- December 14, 1995 Update on the Strategic Plan for Arts & Culture - Councillor Mike Wagner Update Downtown Action Team and Retail Action Plan - Sybil Frenette and Nancy Brawley Patio Aesthetics - Brock Stanley K.D.B.A. Report - Nancy Brawley New Business Respectfully submitted, Catherine Heal, Acting Committee Secretary Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee C: Members of Council Mayor's Office (1) Members of Management Comm. B. Arnot S. Frenette T. McCabe J. Witmer T. Boutilier T. B. Stanley Press (4) G. Nixon Lesley MacDonald