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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20091110BHTBODMinutes.pdfApproved: December 15, 2009 Page 1 of 5   Better Hometown Board Meeting Minutes Minutes: November 10, 2009 Directors Present: Cullen Chambers, Mel Gordon, Maureen Grindstaff, Judy Malins, Dick Smith, Patricia Miller Wann, John Yarbrough Directors Absent: Erin Sheldon Guests Present: None Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:05am. Approval of Minutes: Mel made a motion to approve the October 13, 2009 Board of Directors meeting minutes. Maureen seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Designation Update 1) By-laws review: Cullen opened the meeting with discussion about the Better Hometown criteria. Chantel said she and Jonathon spoke about changing the By-Laws to specify six Board members instead of seven. She said that Brannyn and Bubba worked hard on the original By-Laws. Erin has moved and even though she still owns the business she has not been participating, so we are currently functioning without one Board member. Cullen said everyone is working way too hard and he does not want to dampen the mood, but does want to do things right. Therefore, he strongly urged the board not to change the by-laws from seven voting members to six and instructed the board members to attend the March conference in St. Marys. He said the conference in Roswell was great. There is a terrific network out there which we can and should use to our advantage. Cullen spoke about Dick’s service to the Board. He said that as the City Council liaison to the BHT Board, Dick’s support has been invaluable. Due to the recent election, there will be a new City Council liaison appointed. Cullen suggested that we ask City Council to appoint Dick to the BHT Board as a voting member. Mel made the motion and Judy seconded. The vote was unanimous. This motion was made before Dick arrived for the Board meeting. Chantel said that in January we will need nominations for two new one-year term Board members. Erin’s and Maureen’s terms of service will be up and the two positions will be re-advertised. Maureen apologized to the Board for not attending the Roswell DCA Conference. She said that she didn’t realize how critical the Conference was and wasn’t paying attention. She said she wants to stay on the Board. Approved: December 15, 2009 Page 2 of 5   Designation Update (con’t.) 2) Education: a. Community visits: Chantel went to Waycross and met with their Main Street Manager. Blackshear is near Waycross and that should be a community visit for the Board. Tommy is the program manager. He used to have a business in their business district, but moved it to avoid a conflict of interest with the program. Dick Smith recommended that we visit Sylvania. He also suggested visiting communities along the Florida coast. Other Florida communities mentioned as possible communities much like Tybee were Port St. Joe, Sanibel, and Cedar Key. Chantel said she will look at these cities as possible site visits. Cullen said that we need to hear from Martha at the DCA to confirm these towns are acceptable site visits. Chantel said they would be good to visit even if they are not, but we need to be efficient with our time. Chantel said that there is not a mandatory number of Board members that have to participate in the community visits. She said that the latter part of next week might be possible for a Blackshear visit. Cullen is out of town 11/26 – 29 for personal reasons. Chantel expressed condolences to Cullen on behalf of the Board. Dick Smith commented that he will be out of town the rest of November. Darien might be a good community to visit. Chantel met with the Darien people in October of last year. Recently she has been told that some of their downtown businesses have moved out of the business district. It appears that they are focusing on their streetscape projects and additional town improvements. b. Main Street Conference: The Board must attend that Conference for us to be eligible for Better Hometown designation. There were some questions asked about the Conference in St. Mary’s in March. Chantel said the sessions go all day. The current budget does not cover Board members attendance at this Conference. Everyone will have to pay out-of-pocket to attend. The budget will be reviewed. Cullen told Dick that the Board appreciates his support and that we want him to continue to serve on the Board. 3) BOD meeting day: Cullen inquired about changing the Board of Directors Meetings from the second Tuesday of each month to the third Tuesday of each month. He has an ongoing conflict on the second Tuesdays. Patricia made a motion to change the meeting date to the third Tuesday of each month. Maureen seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Chantel noted that the By-Laws must be revised to reflect that change. John made a motion to revise Article 4, Section 1 of the By-Laws to read “regular meetings shall normally be held monthly.” Mel seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Committee Updates Design - Cullen 1) Way finding – Chantel reported that the City is moving forward with the Wayfinding project. She and Cullen are working with the City Manager, the Planning and Zoning Manager and the Arts Association. The previous company Brannyn worked with on wayfinding was Frazier and Associates. They recommended key destinations to direct people. Currently, the wording is being examined. Since the BHT designated area is the Approved: December 15, 2009 Page 3 of 5   business corridor, the recommendation is to direct people to “businesses and dining” versus North End and South End. This will also assist in breaking down the separation between the two areas. Cullen expressed the need to have more signage for the American Legion and the Shrine Club. People also need to be more aware of where parking is located. Banners on the wayfinding turtles will direct people to parking and the message that Tybee is a “pay to park community” needs to be conveyed. Dick suggested using a flashing sign conveying that message at the entrance of the Island. Cullen respectfully disagreed with the idea of a flashing sign. The information needs to be on maps and flyers which are being designed. There needs to be a pleasant way to get this information out as part of the Wayfinding program. A concern was brought up that pay for parking areas can be confusing because there are free parking spaces on the northern section of the corridor. Cullen suggested that we find a way to let people know why we are a pay for parking community. People who get tickets always complain that they didn’t know they were supposed to pay to park. Chantel said Michael had parking information on the City’s site and she emailed her e-list the information for them to use. Mel asked about having a “Pay Station” at a strategic location when people come on the island. It was discussed that this strategy would cause backed up traffic. Judy made a motion that the City Manager include a message about “Pay to Park” on the wayfinding banners. John seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. 2) Historic Preservation Seminar – Approximately, twenty-one residents, business owners and property owners attended the Historic Preservation Seminar on October 21. Daniel Carey from the Savannah Historic Foundation came as a guest. Jason Kotarski and Bob Ciucevich were the presenters. Their presentations reviewed how Tybee has developed and economic advantages and incentives for Historic Preservation. Hand-outs were available for attendees. Michael Bodine will run the Presentation on Channel 7 after the election. Cullen said that Bob had some wonderful historic stories that gave incredible insight into the uniqueness off Tybee. 3) Parking Update – Cullen and Chantel reported that on October 26, John Edwards, a national parking consultant referred by DCA, presented a proposal based on Tybee’s parking issues to a group. The group consisted of a few design committee members, city council members and city staff. Cullen questioned the fees Edwards proposed. Cullen commented that Edward’s references need to be checked to find how successful changes have been in other communities. He felt that the level of services offered were lacking considering his fees. Cullen said we need for him to tell us something we don’t already know and find out if his fees are negotiable. Chantel commented that the HDR study needs to be examined more closely. She has heard a number of suggestions and concerns from residents and businesses about adding spots and locations. There needs to be a balance because the outcome should be beneficial for businesses and residents alike. Parking should not negatively impact the residential quality of the life. Dick suggested that Mayor Pro Tem check with MPO, a traffic direction program, which the City is already part of. As census numbers grow, Tom Thompson, MPO Director, may have planners that we can utilize. Approved: December 15, 2009 Page 4 of 5   4) Planning Walk Through (10/29) Summary – The board will continue to work on improving landscaping throughout the corridor. Work has started for a trash container donation program. The trash containers could have a plaque with the donor’s name. A question was asked if this could be construed as advertising. Cullen said that if they are willing to donate $965, they should have some sort of recognition. There is another cleanup and landscaping morning with Tybee Beautification Association and the Garden Club on November 21. The purpose is to see how we can further enhance the Business Corridor. Economic Restructuring - Judy 1) There was an E. R. committee meeting on October 26. The map with directory continues to be developed. Questions were asked about how to include the Back River & Lazaretto Creek and rental agencies. There are decisions that need to be made concerning how listings are done on the Business Directory. A question was asked about people renting their condos or houses. The directory may just need to focus on shops, restaurants and personal services until these questions are answered. 2) On November 5, Tony O’Reilly with SBAC and Connie Edwards with SBDC spoke with business representatives at Ocean Plaza’s conference room. They presented what services they offer to businesses, ways to grow your business and loan opportunities. Handouts were supplied. Chantel is working with Connie on a routine schedule to come to Tybee. Judy is gathering information from Tony about a loan program for Tybee businesses to help with inventory, staffing, etc. Organization - John 1) The holiday website was discussed. There has been some difficulty updating the graphics on the heading and sidebar of the site. Maureen has talked with Katrina at DeVivo Marketing about how to do this, but it is complicated. Maureen is updating the information and adding pictures to each event to make it more interesting. 2) Cullen and John discussed the need to have control of the website. Originally, Diane Kaufman wanted to handle the site and was able to make it live. Katrina built the website which is hosted by DeVivo Marketing. The Tourism council paid for the domain name for us. John is working with a web designer he knows for the future. 3) Chantel reported we do have domain names reserved once we receive designation. The BHT information currently is within the City’s website. Promotion -- 1) Tybee for the Holidays: Flyers and posters are being distributed listing key annual events, the website address for more information and announcing free parking island wide Thanksgiving Day through New Year’s Eve. There is $2,000 left from the contributions received for the banners / TFTH promotion. This is being used to help promote TFTH through decorations and advertising. BHT has the December cover of the Breeze and will use it to promote Tybee for the Holidays. Tourism Council has agreed to help promote TFTH locally by allocating $2,000 for radio advertising and $1,000 for print advertising. There is an upcoming deadline for an ad in SKIRT magazine. The cost options are $316 for 1/6 page and $396 for ¼ page. Chantel will discuss the rates with Lindsay. Artwork is due by 11/15. Approved: December 15, 2009 Page 5 of 5   2) Fall Sale-ing Day was October 24. Nineteen shops and ten residents participated. There was live music at each of the resident locations. The residents want to see that happen again because it helped with the feel of the day. There were many garage sales and activities going on around Savannah that day. Although there seemed to be more people at the January sidewalk sale, there was a good turnout and participants were pleased with the results. 3) Patricia reviewed the GAP Funding for Third Thursdays on Tybee. She reported we need to raise money to produce this art project. We were granted $500 and our budget, after cutting it in half, is $1,700. The concerts are scheduled for the Third Thursday in Feb at the Tybrisa / Strand area, in March at Tybee Oaks, and in April at the Tybrisa / Strand area. We get legitimacy for this project through this grant because we will use the NEA, GCA and Dept. of Cultural Affairs, Savannah logos on all print materials. It is a lot of hard work and paperwork for $500, but we will do what DCA requires us to do. Other Business Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 10:15am. Maureen made the motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:15am. John seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.