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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_MSTAB_08.04.2005Minutes of the Meeting of the Main Street Advisory Board City of Georgetown, Texas Thursday, August 4, 2005 The Main Street Advisory Board of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met on Thursday , August 4, 2005. Board Members Present: Gordon Baker, Cindy Locke, Kirk Kriegel, Sarah Jane Blankenship, Marsha Farney Board Members Absent: Francisco Choi, Laura Eliel, Larry McCormick, Diane Painter Staff Present: Shelly Hargrove Minutes Regular Meeting 1.Gordon excused himself due to a conflict of interest and Cindy Locke presided over the meeting. The meeting began at 8:05 a.m. Three presentations were made prior to any voting or discussion. Handouts were provided to each of the board members to review specifications about each upcoming presentation. 2.Jim Parker, one of the building owners of the building where Golden Bough is located on the west side of the square on Austin Avenue , presented material to support his request for financial aid from the MSAB. He was requesting aid for structural repairs required due to a faulty roof. A slide show presentation revealed numerous pictures illustrating the need for roof and awning repair. His total request was for $9,730.50, ½ of the total repair estimate of $19,461. 3.Curtis Hempel, one of the owners of a soon to be opened store , Anna Marie’s, made a presentation requesting a sign grant for his store located at 820 S. Austin. Their shop will offer Texas wines, gifts and some antiques. He plans to open his shop September 1, 2005, with a formal grand opening scheduled for October 1, 2005. His total request was for $1, 023.30 which is ½ of the total estimate of $2,046.60, but a maximum of $500 is set on the sign grants. 4.David Voelter, of Voelter Associates Inc., made a request for a façade grant. He is the architect for the old Berry Hardware building just off the square on 212 7th Street. He has plans to add metal canopies and wood frame windows. He is requesting $10,000 from a total estimated cost of $37,881.00 (61% of $62,100). 5.Discussion among the board members began after the presentations were completed. Some members want us to consider funding a lesser percentage for glass lettering and sandwich boards because they are not the primary signage for some tenants. Discussion continued and some recommendations were presented: primary signage: 50%, secondary signage: 30% and sandwich boards, banners and temporary signs were eliminated from consideration. 6.Discussion about Voelter’s request due to concern that tenant was not selected yet and they may prefer a different façade color choice. Majority felt that there should be a time limit to reapply in place. Perhaps 3 years. Other options of 2-5 years were also discussed. 7.It was decided to table Ana Marie’s request since we did not have a quorum to vote since Gordon had to be excused due to a conflict of interest. 8.Sarah Jane made a motion to approve Jim Parker’s request up to a maximum of $9,730.50. Marsh Farney seconded the motion. Motion carried. 9.Further discussion pertaining to David Voelter’s request. It was decided that we needed an itemized budget from the contractor to enable the committee to allot certain percentages of the grant to specific types of repair being done. Shelly said she would request that information and provide it to us prior to our next meeting. Mr. Voelter’s request was tabled due to a lack of a quorum because a committee member had to leave at 9:00 and Gordon was not able to vote due to a conflict of interest. 10.It was decided to have a special called meeting on August 15, 2005 to address the tabled issues as soon as possible. 11.Further discussion about the concern that the MSAB façade and sign grant fund would be completely depleted if we fully granted the requests presented today. It was decided that we would request additional funds from the City Council. 12.We were not able to vote on the minutes or the new by-laws pertaining to grant guidelines due to a lack of a quorum. 13.Committee updates: a.Design: Sarah Jane led a discussion about the mural on the VBC building on the square. Several potential photographs were viewed . b.Organization: Cindy led a discussion about Southwestern Parents Weekend scheduled for August 19-20, 2005. Ellen Davis was discussed as someone who is interested in joining with Shelly and Keith Hutchison, City PIO, to present a media pitch. c.Economic Restructuring: Gordon mentioned the potential development of low-interest loans. He specifically mentioned Accion which is a non-profit organization that is a micro-lender to people who would not be able to qualify for a loan otherwise. This group may present their information to the DGA. We will also make Accion information available once we establish our handout display. d.Promotion: Nothing new at this time. 14.Staff report presented by Shelly: Advertising information about the 2006 Visitors Guide and Interactive Kiosk. The opening dates for stores in Wolf Ranch. A conference by Jon Schallert – he presents information about creating destination sites. His conference will be held in Georgetown, October 4-6. He conducts retail workshops. Shelly said there would be a news release soon about his conference. TDA Annual Conference is November 1-4 in Laredo. Gordon mentioned that TDA is trying to encourage legislation to wait on making a decision on eminent domain issues. 15. Meeting was adjourned.