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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20090908BHTBODminutes.pdf Corrected and approved: October 6, 2009 Page 1 of 3 BETTER HOMETOWN BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING Minutes: September 8, 2009 Directors Present: Cullen Chambers, Mel Gordon, Judy Malins, Dick Smith, Patricia Miller Wann, John Yarbrough Directors Absent: Maureen Grindstaff, Erin Sheldon Guests Present: None Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:10am. Mel made a motion to approve the July 14 and August 11 Board Meeting minutes. Judy seconded. The vote was unanimous. Cullen had questions regarding the GAP funding request. Those questions were about the program date parameters, and if we needed to have the match money in place before getting the grant. Cullen also said the Better Hometown Board will let the City Council know if we are awarded the grant. Committee Updates Design -- Cullen About twenty people came out to participate in the Come Down to Clean Up on the South End. Tybee Beautification provided the supplies. It was not just a litter pick-up. There are other issues that need to be addressed such as: y Alleys y Spaces between buildings These spaces have become blight. This is a mess that has been allowed to accumulate. Screens should be put up. y Additional garbage cans are needed. Chantel is working on a concept for sponsorships or donations. y There is a need for a better way for cigarette butt disposal. People are putting cigarette butts in flower boxes. y There is a big need for stronger enforcement of the litter law. We need to ask for the number of litter citations on Tybee streets. Councilman Smith said that City Council has talked to the City Manager about the lack of litter enforcement. He said he picked up four garbage bags full of garbage on his 3 mile walk around Jaycee Park one morning. We need documentation to see what is being done and evidence that the Police are being reasonable and responsible. The City Marshall needs to be working on this with business owners in a positive way. There is support from the business owners for better litter enforcement. Mel asked why older people can’t be deputized to enforce the litter laws. There could be a problem with enforcement. It was mentioned that there has been discussion about litter enforcement forever. Corrected and approved: October 6, 2009 Page 2 of 3 Cullen mentioned that perhaps community service workers should not have an option of where they want to do their community service. He said the Lighthouse depends on community service workers and needs them, but that they should also be doing other work in the community that is not so desirable. Patricia asked about putting a letter together for the Judge asking that community service workers be assigned to other jobs in the community such as litter clean-up. It was suggested that it might be possible to have an Ambassador for Clean-Up or providing information to visitors. This might be something that area organizations such as the Yeppies might be interested in doing. Chantel is scheduled to speak at a Yeppies meeting and will bring up the idea of an Ambassadorship. In summation, it was agreed that litter is a huge issue that impacts public safety and health in the community. y Parking Cullen suggested that we get outside consultants from DCA to discuss the parking issue on Tybee and how to resolve it. A parking garage is not a panacea. Cullen discussed the Design Committee “walk through” on the South End. He said that he is planning a Historic Preservation session for business owners and the public. There are a number of art deco buildings on Tybrisa Street. He said there are many buildings that were modified in the 1960s, but they are still historic buildings. Cullen said that the old Mity Tidy building was a good example of 1960’s elements. We want to accomplish façade improvements reminiscent of the original period. He said there were none of historic significance in the 1970s and 1980s. We need to get a design concept for the area and make business owners aware of potential tax credits and tax freezes. BHT Board and Committees needs to facilitate the transformation. There is a September 23 Design Committee meeting to review the committee goals and the Historic Preservation Presentation. Bob Ciucevich, Historic Preservation Consultant has agreed to present and Jason Kotarski with the Coastal Regional Commission of Georgia will be contacted. Economic Restructuring – Erin and Chantel had an Economic Restructuring Committee meeting July 31. Terry Jackson and Sandy Majors attended. The workplan was reviewed. Terry is helping with the list of vacant commercial properties within the business corridor. She sent a list of properties which will be posted to the BHT website once finalized. Chantel discussed a Tybee Business 411 Guide which will be general information for existing and potential businesses on Tybee. Sandy Majors is assisting with this project. The committee meets the last Monday of each month. A map is being put together with help from the city that will have business listings, parking, public bathrooms, and parks indicated. Organization -- John reported that Chantel and he are doing a walk through to talk with various businesses on the South End Thursday. BHT brochures will also be given. Corrected and approved: October 6, 2009 Page 3 of 3 Promotion – Judy and Chantel reported that the activities for Tybee for the Holidays are still on track. Diane Kaufman is working on the website. John will work with the Organization Committee on the flyer. The Fall Sale-ing Day information has been sent out. Judy and Maureen are going to contact businesses for participation. Other Business A site visit to Statesboro was discussed. Chantel will contact them to confirm the date and time. All board members were encouraged to attend. The GA Downtown Conference in Roswell on October 7 – 9 was also discussed. Since the board was newly formed in March and could not attend the March Main Street Conference, GA DCA has arranged a full day Main Street 101 training day on October 7. Three of the Board of Directors must attend at least the one full day of enhanced Main Street 101 training in order to submit for designation by the end of the year. Maureen and Cullen are going. Judy will check and let Chantel know. Adjournment Cullen made the motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:10am. John seconded. The vote was unanimous.