Downtown Business Improvement District Minutes 03-28-2017

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      Downtown Muskegon Business Improvement District
                                       Meeting Minutes
                                       March 28, 2017
                    380 W. Western Ave., Suite 202 Muskegon, MI at 4 PM
1) Call to Order: 4:05 PM

2) Attendance:
       Doug Pollock (chair arrived late to provide a quorum), Gary Post (acting chairman), John
       Riegler, Mike Hennessy, Bob Tarrant (via conference call) and Phyllis Watson-
       Laudermill

       Excused Absent(s): Justin Clark (VC), Frank Peterson and Bruce Lindstrom.

       Guests: Dave Alexander, Downtown Muskegon Now director; Megan Jones, DMN
       events and promotion; Cindy Larsen, Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce,
       Dennis Lohman, Northwest Industrial Supply and Muskegon DPW Director Mohammed
       Al-Shatel.

       Cindy Larsen and Megan Jones gave Western Market and event updates until a quorum
       of the board was obtained for official action.

3) Election of 2017 officers
   A motion was made to elect Doug Pollock board chairman and Justin Clark board vice
   chairman.

       Motion: John Riegler
       Support: Mike Hennessy
       Vote: All voted in favor


4) Consent Agenda I

     a) Approval of Agenda, minutes from Jan. 24, 2017 meeting, acceptance of the financial
        statements as of Feb. 28, 2017,

       Motion: John Riegler
       Support: Mike Hennessy
       Vote: All voted in favor

5) Consent Agenda II (formal approval of actions from Jan. 24, 2017 meeting)
    a) Meeting minutes from Nov. 22. 2016
    b) Consideration of a DMN-BID letter of understanding for 2017
    c) Direction on spending $3,000 in community foundation grants for downtown message
       signs
    d) Consideration of BID’s First Fridays sponsorship for winter quarter of 2017 -- $2,500
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     e) Request to contribute $5,000 from the streetscape account for Pop-Up Shops project
        on Western Avenue

       Motion: John Riegler
       Support: Phyllis Watson-Laudermill
       Vote: All voted in favor

6) Public Comment (on an agenda item) – None. The board chose to leave the floor open for
   the whole meeting allowing attendees to participate as they like.

7) Unfinished Business

     a) Report from the city on sidewalk snow removal from DPW Director Mohammed Al-
        Shatel: He told the board that actual costs came in at just under $16,000 for the 2016-
        17 winter season. The BID agreed to pay $8,000 a month for four months or $32,000
        total. The additional revenue to the city will be put toward equipment upgrades to
        better service downtown sidewalk snow removal in future years, Al-Shatel reported.

8) New Business

     a) The board received and reviewed proposal on planters and landscaping services for
        the downtown for spring through fall 2017.

        The BID received five quotes from flower shops and landscape companies. Dave
        Alexander recommended Barry’s Flower Shop & Greenhouses for $9,854 total cost for
        planting, maintaining, fertilizing, watering and removing materials in the fall. The
        recommendation was based upon price, a flat fee and past work of the company with
        the flowers in Hackley Park. Other board members said they have used Barry’s for
        such work with good results.

        The BID received for quotes from private vendors and an offer from city DPW to
        provide the work within the BID’s $16,000 landscaping budget. The quotes from the
        private vendors ranged from $10,850 to $15,415. Dave Alexander recommend
        contracting with the city DPW to provide landscaping services based upon the city’s
        commitment to downtown beautification, the city’s performance on sidewalk snow
        removal and willingness to go beyond the contract to keep downtown looking good
        throughout the season. If chosen, Dave will work with the city as was the case for
        winter services to create a letter of understanding on services and costs.

        The motion was to approve Barry’s Flower Shop for downtown planters and the city
        DPW for downtown landscaping.

       Motion: Bob Tarrant
       Support: Doug Pollock
       Vote: All voted in favor

     b) A special committee of Bob Tarrant, Doug Pollock and Mike Hennessy worked with
        Dave Alexander to make a recommendation to the board on renewal of the BID
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        beyond 2017. A summary of the group’s recommendation for a three-year renewal
        request to the Muskegon City Commission is attached to these minutes.

        Bob Tarrant said that everyone needs to step up to the plate and together support
        downtown going forward. Doug Pollock said that everyone must keep in mind the big
        picture of downtown improvements pushing all property values up, benefiting every
        property owner in the BID.

        The committee addressed the difference in A properties and B properties rates by
        raising B properties and by moving the maximum assessment limits.

        The BID board received the recommendation and Phyllis Watson-Laudermill said the
        topic needed more discussion. John Riegler wants the BID board to explore the BID
        district boundaries and definitions of the two property classifications. Board members
        asked Dave Alexander to provide an spreadsheet showing the 2017 assessments by
        property and the proposed assessment for 2018-2020 under the committee’s
        recommendation. The BID board also wanted a district map and legal clarification on
        exempted properties such as government, churches, non-profits and residential. No
        action was taken at this time.

        The BID board asked for a special meeting April 25 at 4 p.m. to continue deliberating
        on BID renewal beyond 2017.

9) Adjournment
   5:13 PM
   No Objection


Minutes produced and submitted by Dave Alexander, executive director of Downtown
Muskegon Now.




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