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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_MSTAB_06.16.2005L:\Global\Boards and Commissions\Minutes\MSTAB\2005\05-6-16 M.doc     MAIN STREET ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES  8 A.M. – JUNE 16, 2005  CITY HALL MAIN FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM    Board Members Present:   Gordon Baker, chair, Cindy Locke, vice‐chair, Laura  Eliel, Diane Painter, Sarah Jane Blankenship, Larry  McCormick and Kirk Kriegel and Francisco Choi.  Board Member Absent:  Marsha Farney, secretary  Staff Present: Shelly Hargrove, Main Street Manager  Guests Present:   Nikki Dugas, Main Street & CVB Intern    1. Called to order at 8:11 a.m. by Gordon Baker    2. Approval of May 19th, 2005 meeting minutes    3. Discussion and possible action regarding Façade & Sign Reimbursement  Grant application:  a. Establishing written criteria for the Main Street Program’s Façade  and Sign Grant was discussed. Board members and staff feel it is  necessary to create a document that explains what we will approve  and why.  A number of issues need to be addressed:  i. How should the money be divided?  Should it remain first  come first serve basis? Should separate money be allocated  for different purposes, i.e. sign vs. facade?  ii. Should we be putting stricter rules on what we will allow  funding for?  For example, should sandwich boards be  allowed funding or just signs on buildings  iii. If we are to expand the grant money beyond the façade we  will most likely need more money in the fund.  How much  would we allow for larger projects such as a full roof  replacement and would we allow a project such as that to  use all of our funding for the year?   L:\Global\Boards and Commissions\Minutes\MSTAB\2005\05-6-16 M.doc b. It was decided that the design committee should head the task of  creating a Main Street Grant Criteria Document up and that the  other committees would help as needed.      4. Update on Project 1900 by Larry McCormick:  a. Paducah, Kentucky developed a program similar to what Larry has  been looking into for Project 1900.  The project has had a positive  and successful effect in Paducah.   b. There is interest in bringing Paducah’s consultant to Georgetown to  raise awareness in the community and help walk us through the  process  c. There is discussion to enlarge the Project 1900 ad hoc committee to  involve more of the community, with possibilities of attachment to  the Arts and Culture board.   d. Incentive Programs:    i. Larry McCormick and Sarah Jane Blankenship have talked  with Wells Fargo about setting up Incentive Programs.   Larry reported that his meeting with Wells Fargo was very  positive and that he is still waiting to hear back if they will  be able to assist in low cost loans for Project 1900 as well as  low interest loans for the Main Street Program to assist  building owners.  ii. Exploring health care and other incentives.  e. Building Spaces:  Looking into how to handle the acquisition and  operations of the buildings, two sites are being closely looked at  right now:  i. 8th Street, between Rock Street and MLK and between 7th and  8th is a city owned property.  ii. South Church Street Property has 70,000 square feet and  surrounding land that could be developed into housing for  artists  f. Larry said Sarah Jane Blankenship gave him an article from Main  Street News on how to set up incubators.  He stated he saw a great  opportunity in the article to work closely with Southwestern  University and has been in discussions with Southwestern.  Ron  Swaney at Southwestern is interested but needs to see if it works  with the mission of the school and his program.  g.  Larry has set up a document on how the project currently stands  and handed it to all board members.  Larry will be meeting with  L:\Global\Boards and Commissions\Minutes\MSTAB\2005\05-6-16 M.doc the City Council members to explain project as currently stands  and try to gain support and “champion” in the city for Project 1900.  h. Trolley Tour:  Larry has had discussions with several people on the  status of this including Dean Domingo (manager of Wolf Ranch).    i. Dean Domingo seems reasonably enthusiastic in supporting  the trolley.  ii. Additional support needs to be gained from the city.  iii. Shelly Hargrove stated that Ellen Weimer is the lead person  on the CVB side for the trolley tour.    i. Art Space:  Shelly Hargrove and Eric Lashley brought Art Space to  Larry McCormick’s attention.  Larry looked into it and found that  they will come to your city and develop low cost housing and the  art space, own it and operate it. They are the largest developer for  the arts in existence, a non‐profit organization.  Larry expressed  concern about Art Space having full ownership and Georgetown  not being able to mold it to their needs.  j. Gordon Baker asked if there was any movement on getting private  funding in bringing the private consultant in.  Larry said not at this  time.    3. Discussion and possible action to create subcommittees relating to  Organization; Promotion; Design; Economic Restructuring; and any  others as may be approved by the Board, and to appoint subcommittee  members thereto:  a. After Last Board meeting when Tom Yantis said that all  subcommittees needed to be approved; ShellyHargrove looked into  the details and procedure.  The results were: that any members not  on the Main Street Board need to get approval from the Board first  and then the council.  Also, all committees will need to take  minutes of their meetings  i. The Board Members gave Shelly Hargrove a list of names  they approve of and would like approving by Council for  their respective committees.    4. Discussion and possible action regarding updates from committees:  a. Design: Sarah Jane Blankenship and Francisco Choi:  i. Sarah Jane stated that their design committee meeting was  postponed till next month due to the need of approving  committee members.  L:\Global\Boards and Commissions\Minutes\MSTAB\2005\05-6-16 M.doc ii. Sarah Jane stated that Lucas Adams has done a mock up of a  brochure for the Main Street Program.  She asked for input  from all the board members and the committees of what the  content of the brochure should be before she continues with  layout and design.  The board members said they would get  together with their committees and discuss what would be  appropriate for the brochure.  The board indicated that the  brochure’s scope should be educational piece for the citizens  of Georgetown.  Further discussion indicated that a need to  include DGA and HARC would be helpful.    iii. Shelly Hargrove requested design assistance from the Texas  Historical Commission for a new color scheme for the  visitor’s center.  The drawings were done by Sarah Jane  Blankenship and handed to the board members for their  input.  The general consensus was for color scheme #3.   Laura Eliel asked if #3 and # 5 could be combined.  Sarah  Jane will make those changes and provide them to Shelly  Hargrove to show to her CVB board for input.    b. Organization: Cindy Locke and Kirk Kriegel  i.   Cindy Locke stated that the organizational committee has  met once.  During that committee they also discussed the  brochure.  Discussion was also held about the lack of  citywide organization and understanding of downtown  entities. Reiteration of need for explanation of DGA, HARC,  and Main Street in one brochure/educational piece.  Board  discussed the need to get out to the public the process of  working with the city.  The newspaper was brought up as an  opportunity.      c. Promotion: Laura Eliel  i. Laura brought up an interest in having a Jazz Festival this  summer.  Shelly Hargrove stated that she would have to go  through CVB and DGA to accomplish this.  It was discussed  that this summer was most likely too short a time span to set  the festival up.    d. Economic Restructuring: Larry McCormick, Gordon Baker &  Dianne Painter  i. Larry stated:  L:\Global\Boards and Commissions\Minutes\MSTAB\2005\05-6-16 M.doc 1.  He has been talking with Laurie Brewer, the  comptroller for the City of Georgetown, about Tiff  funding.  2. Wells Fargo low interest loans are pending  3. He phoned all the local hotels to find if the Poppy  Festival does put heads in beds.  He found it does and  consequently did some calculations that could save  $2,300 for the Façade & Sign Grant if HOT funds were  used instead.  Shelly said she would look into it.  ii. Gordon: Met with a woman on Monday about Community  Currency that would keep money downtown.  She has been  in the banking business all her life and is looking into  moving to a Main Street city to start this program.  Gordon  said he is not sure of all the details and how/if it would  work.  He said the banks in Georgetown are interested in it  and that he will get back to us with more details.    5. Introduction of CVB/Main Street Intern, Nikki Dugas:  a. Nikki will be the main contact for updating the website  b. She could possibly be involved with news releases  c. Nikki has expertise in an analysis and statistics program that  Southwestern teaches.      6. Staff Report: Shelly Hargrove  a. The Kiosk contract has been signed with Lucas Adams.  The next  step is to sell the adds for the kiosk.  b. Wolf Ranch:  Office Depot and Linens & Things is open.  Target  will open next (July).  The Satellite Visitors center has been  identified at Wolf Ranch, but the space may not be sufficient and is  being looked into.  Lucas Adams did the photographs for the  billboards at Wolf Ranch that say “Visit Historic Georgetown”  c. Shelly on Vacation next week  d. A tentative special called HARC meeting was decided on for  Thursday June 23rd at 5:00 pm for Diva and Sweet Serendipity.     7. Motion to Adjourn 9:41 am.     Submitted by:      L:\Global\Boards and Commissions\Minutes\MSTAB\2005\05-6-16 M.doc ____________________  Sarah Jane Blankenship, Substitute Secretary for Marsha Farney in June meeting        ____________________  Gordon Baker, Chair    Minutes of the Meeting of the Main Street Advisory Board City of Georgetown, Texas Thursday, June 16, 2005 The Main Street Advisory Board of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met on Thursday , June 16, 2005. Board Members Present: Gordon Baker, Cindy Locke, Laura Eliel, Diane Painter, Sarah Jane Blankenship, Larry McCormick, Kirk Kriegel, Francisco Choi Board Members Absent: Marsha Farney Staff Present: Shelly Hargrove, Main Street Manager, Nikki Dugas, Main Street & CVB Intern Minutes Regular Meeting 1.Called to order at 8:11 a.m. by Gordon Baker 2.Approval of May 19th, 2005 meeting minutes 3.Discussion and possible action regarding Façade & Sign Reimbursement Grant application: a.Establishing written criteria for the Main Street Program’s Façade and Sign Grant was discussed. Board members and staff feel it is necessary to create a document that explains what we will approve and why. A number of issues need to be addressed: i.How should the money be divided? Should it remain first come first serve basis? Should separate money be allocated for different purposes , i.e. sign vs. facade? ii.Should we be putting stricter rules on what we will allow funding for? For example, should sandwich boards be allowed funding or just signs on buildings iii.If we are to expand the grant money beyond the façade we will most likely need more money in the fund. How much would we allow for larger projects such as a full roof replacement and would we allow a project such as that to use all of our funding for the year? b.It was decided that the design committee should head the task of creating a Main Street Grant Criteria Document up and that the other committees would help as needed. 4.Update on Project 1900 by Larry McCormick: a.Paducah, Kentucky developed a program similar to what Larry has been looking into for Project 1900. The project has had a positive and successful effect in Paducah. b.There is interest in bringing Paducah’s consultant to Georgetown to raise awareness in the community and help walk us through the process c.There is discussion to enlarge the Project 1900 ad hoc committee to involve more of the community, with possibilities of attachment to the Arts and Culture board. d.Incentive Programs: i.Larry McCormick and Sarah Jane Blankenship have talked with Wells Fargo about setting up Incentive Programs. Larry reported that his meeting with Wells Fargo was very positive and that he is still waiting to hear back if they will be able to assist in low cost loans for Project 1900 as well as low interest loans for the Main Street Program to assist building owners. ii.Exploring health care and other incentives. e.Building Spaces: Looking into how to handle the acquisition and operations of the buildings, two sites are being closely looked at right now: i.8th Street, between Rock Street and MLK and between 7th and 8th is a city owned property. ii.South Church Street Property has 70,000 square feet and surrounding land that could be developed into housing for artists f.Larry said Sarah Jane Blankenship gave him an article from Main Street News on how to set up incubators. He stated he saw a great opportunity in the article to work closely with Southwestern University and has been in discussions with Southwestern. Ron Swaney at Southwestern is interested but needs to see if it works with the mission of the school and his program. g. Larry has set up a document on how the project currently stands and handed it to all board members. Larry will be meeting with the City Council members to explain project as currently stands and try to gain support and “champion” in the city for Project 1900. h.Trolley Tour: Larry has had discussions with several people on the status of this including Dean Domingo (manager of Wolf Ranch). i.Dean Domingo seems reasonably enthusiastic in supporting the trolley. ii.Additional support needs to be gained from the city. iii.Shelly Hargrove stated that Ellen Weimer is the lead person on the CVB side for the trolley tour. i.Art Space: Shelly Hargrove and Eric Lashley brought Art Space to Larry McCormick’s attention. Larry looked into it and found that they will come to your city and develop low cost housing and the art space, own it and operate it. They are the largest developer for the arts in existence , a non-profit organization. Larry expressed concern about Art Space having full ownership and Georgetown not being able to mold it to their needs. j.Gordon Baker asked if there was any movement on getting private funding in bringing the private consultant in. Larry said not at this time. 3.Discussion and possible action to create subcommittees relating to Organization; Promotion; Design; Economic Restructuring; and any others as may be approved by the Board, and to appoint subcommittee members thereto: a.After Last Board meeting when Tom Yantis said that all subcommittees needed to be approved; ShellyHargrove looked into the details and procedure. The results were: that any members not on the Main Street Board need to get approval from the Board first and then the council. Also, all committees will need to take minutes of their meetings i.The Board Members gave Shelly Hargrove a list of names they approve of and would like approving by Council for their respective committees. 4.Discussion and possible action regarding updates from committees: a.Design : Sarah Jane Blankenship and Francisco Choi: i.Sarah Jane stated that their design committee meeting was postponed till next month due to the need of approving committee members. ii.Sarah Jane stated that Lucas Adams has done a mock up of a brochure for the Main Street Program. She asked for input from all the board members and the committees of what the content of the brochure should be before she continues with layout and design. The board members said they would get together with their committees and discuss what would be appropriate for the brochure. The board indicated that the brochure’s scope should be educational piece for the citizens of Georgetown. Further discussion indicated that a need to include DGA and HARC would be helpful. iii.Shelly Hargrove requested design assistance from the Texas Historical Commission for a new color scheme for the visitor’s center. The drawings were done by Sarah Jane Blankenship and handed to the board members for their input . The general consensus was for color scheme #3. Laura Eliel asked if #3 and # 5 could be combined. Sarah Jane will make those changes and provide them to Shelly Hargrove to show to her CVB board for input. b.Organization : Cindy Locke and Kirk Kriegel i. Cindy Locke stated that the organizational committee has met once. During that committee they also discussed the brochure. Discussion was also held about the lack of citywide organization and understanding of downtown entities. Reiteration of need for explanation of DGA, HARC, and Main Street in one brochure/educational piece. Board discussed the need to get out to the public the process of working with the city. The newspaper was brought up as an opportunity . c.Promotion : Laura Eliel i.Laura brought up an interest in having a Jazz Festival this summer. Shelly Hargrove stated that she would have to go through CVB and DGA to accomplish this. It was discussed that this summer was most likely too short a time span to set the festival up. d.Economic Restructuring : Larry McCormick, Gordon Baker & Dianne Painter i.Larry stated: 1. He has been talking with Laurie Brewer, the comptroller for the City of Georgetown, about Tiff funding. 2.Wells Fargo low interest loans are pending 3.He phoned all the local hotels to find if the Poppy Festival does put heads in beds. He found it does and consequently did some calculations that could save $2,300 for the Façade & Sign Grant if HOT funds were used instead. Shelly said she would look into it. ii.Gordon: Met with a woman on Monday about Community Currency that would keep money downtown. She has been in the banking business all her life and is looking into moving to a Main Street city to start this program. Gordon said he is not sure of all the details and how/if it would work. He said the banks in Georgetown are interested in it and that he will get back to us with more details. 5.Introduction of CVB/Main Street Intern, Nikki Dugas: a.Nikki will be the main contact for updating the website b.She could possibly be involved with news releases c.Nikki has expertise in an analysis and statistics program that Southwestern teaches. 6.Staff Report: Shelly Hargrove a.The Kiosk contract has been signed with Lucas Adams. The next step is to sell the adds for the kiosk. b.Wolf Ranch: Office Depot and Linens & Things is open. Target will open next (July). The Satellite Visitors center has been identified at Wolf Ranch, but the space may not be sufficient and is being looked into. Lucas Adams did the photographs for the billboards at Wolf Ranch that say “Visit Historic Georgetown” c.Shelly on Vacation next week d.A tentative special called HARC meeting was decided on for Thursday June 23rd at 5:00 pm for Diva and Sweet Serendipity. 7.Motion to Adjourn 9:41 am.