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Downtown Muskegon Business Improvement District
Meeting Minutes
May 22, 2018
380 Western Ave., Suite 202 Muskegon, MI at 4 PM
1) Call to Order: 4:01 PM
Attendance: Clyde Whitehouse, Bob Tarrant, Gary Post (Vice Chairman), John Riegler,
Bruce Lindstrom and Doug Pollock
Excused Absent(s): Phyllis Watson-Laudermill, Frank Peterson and Mike Hennessy.
Guests: Dave Alexander, Downtown Muskegon Now director, Elizabeth Tibbe, DMN
marketing and events, Dennis Lohman, Northwestern Industrial Sales and David
Burlingame, Burlingame Administrative Services.
2) Consent Agenda
a) Approval of Agenda, minutes March 27, 2018, and acceptance of the financial
statements as of April 30, 2018.
Motion: Bob Tarrant
Support: Gary Post
Vote: All voted in favor
3) Public Comment (on an agenda item) – The board chose to leave the floor open for the
whole meeting allowing attendees to participate as they like.
4) New Business
a) Dave Alexander updated the board on the May 10 hearings of Michigan Tax Tribunal
administrative law judge on 12 properties with assessment appeals, representing four
landowners. The major issues were direct benefits from the BID vs. the assessments.
Two of the four property owners Reliable Towing and WWG Holdings LLC (Ginman
Tire) came to a settlement before going through the hearing process. Maureen
Boelkins and EJE Properties LLC went through the hearing process and all parties are
awaiting a preliminary decisions. The city assessor and the BID also agreed to a
stipulation on issues of capping assessments due to the same owner having adjacent
properties in the same business. No vote necessary, information only.
b) In completing the settlements with Ginman Tire and Reliable Towing, both owners are
seeking service considerations from the BID board going forward. Sidewalk snow
plowing and landscaping are potentially able to be provided in the last two years. I told
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them I would bring those requests to the BID board but could not make any
guarantees.
c) Dave Alexander raised the issue of planter locations for this summer. After some
discussion of the options for the 61 planters, a consensus formed to move about five
planters from Western Avenue and Third Street and place them along Second Street
from Western to Clay and along Clay Avenue at Jefferson. The board directed Dave
Alexander to make those adjustments to better spread out the BID landscaping
through the district. No formal action was taken.
d) Dave Alexander explained DMN’s work on a strategic plan for downtown and the
downtown agency. The strategic plan meeting in April included participation from both
the BID and the Downtown Development Authority. A draft of the major directions was
shared as the document goes to the DMN board for final approval, committees formed
to work on the three major areas -- Live Downtown, a marketing plan and connections
between the downtown and the waterfront. No action was taken.
The discussion of the DMN strategic plan included John Riegler’s opinion that as well
as the BID is doing, it might be able to go away after 2020 with an active DDA going
forward. City Manager Frank Peterson said that the DDA’s initial efforts will be on
revamping and upgrading the L.C. Walker Arena for the upcoming hockey season. He
said that in the future the BID still should have specific work such as snow removal
and landscaping but assessments might be able to be scaled back. Also in the future,
a parking structure downtown will be needed, especially with the sale of properties for
building developments and the opening of a convention center. Doug Pollock said that
snow removal and beautification might be the focus of the BID after 2020. Gary Post
said that consolidation of downtown agencies needs to happen and have consolidated
downtown management. He said that DMN is in the best position to accomplish that
over time.
5) Other Business
a) Elizabeth Tibbe presented the summer lineup of downtown events, 21 in all, including
Chalk the Walk, Street Performers and Touch the Truck (the former First Friday
events) still being supported by the BID and produced by DMN.
6) Adjournment
4:54 PM
No Objection
Minutes produced and submitted by Dave Alexander, executive director of Downtown
Muskegon Now.
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