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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/01/2014 Work SessionCity of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY DECEMBER 1, 2014 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday December 1, 2014 at 6:30 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Wylie, Moore, Woodrow and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City Attorney Lauren King, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. Councilor Ralston was absent (excused). 1. Discover Downtown Springfield (DDS) Program Update. Courtney Griesel, Management Analyst, presented the staff report on this item. She noted that they are only through the first two-thirds of the quarter, but wanted to provide this update before the Council went on their winter break. She noted that Clair Carpenter -Seguin, Executive Director of NEDCO, announced several weeks ago that she has taken an opportunity with the State. During the transition over the next two weeks, Ms. Seguin will be working with Emily Reiman at NEDCO. Sheri Stuart, Oregon Main Street Coordinator, will also come down and keep the Discover Downtown Program moving in a positive direction. Ms. Griesel introduced Jim McHugh, Downtown Manager from NEDCO. Mr. McHugh provided some brief highlights of several key accomplishments this past quarter, including follow-up on comments received from Councilors during the September update. The program continues to host Business -2 -Business Monthly Roundtables resulting in co -advertising and event idea generation. During the November Roundtable, businesses had the opportunity to express their concerns regarding the timing of the downtown lighting project and came to agreement to delay installation until after the holidays. The Roundtables were also a chance to develop future programs. On November 19, the Discover Downtown Springfield (DDS) recently hosted the Travel Lane County FAM (Familiarity) Tour with the hoteliers and people in the tourism industry. There were 32 participants that were taken on a tour of the many businesses downtown. The purpose of the tour was to develop a connection with this group and also to provide communication regarding front line training for hotel workers. They hope to have that occur after the New Year. They received a lot of positive feedback from the tour. The Art Walks continue to grow with close to 20 participants over the last couple of months. Some of the new businesses that have opened or will open in the near future include: Jim Tronson Gallery & Studio; L `Etoffe Fabrics; Claim 52 Abbey; a phone business and Mezza Luna Pizza. The Economic Restructuring Committee has been meeting on a regular basis and met with Ward Beck, listing agent for the Jim's Landing property prior to their fire to discuss ways the Downtown Program could assist. FaceBook postings have grown rapidly. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes December 1, 2014 Page 2 In October, downtown saw its first food trucks, Mondo Frocella and Lani Moku Grill. Interest in the program continues to grow, creating excitement for more trucks once next year's season gets closer. There are two fagade improvements that came in over the last couple of months. They continue to do outreach to the property and business owners to educate them about the facade improvement grant program. The Main Street Program is applying for a grant for a business directory for downtown. Lights will be distributed to the businesses to enhance the lighting downtown over the holidays. Councilor Woodrow asked if the roundtable is where the committees gather information. Mr. McHugh said the roundtable is an open opportunity and can focus on design, economic restructuring or promotions. It is held when the independent business owners are available. Notes are sent out after the meeting to the committee in an effort to share the information. Councilor Woodrow asked if there was another way for the different committees to meet and share information. She feels it is important for all of the committees to communicate so they can focus on one goal and collaborate. Receiving electronic communications isn't the same as face to face discussions. She suggested they find a way to bring them all together for that type of information sharing. She also noted that the Springfield Christmas Parade committee would be happy to promote downtown events, but did not know of any this year in time to do that. She offered their services for the future. Mayor Lundberg said she appreciated Mr. McHugh staying with the program, because they have had a lot of turnover. There is a lot of bureaucracy in the program and it requires a certain number of committees. It is very important to involve the businesses. She liked Councilor Woodrow's idea of having all of the committees meet at the same time at the business roundtable for information sharing. There is often so much in the prep time that it ties up a lot of time. Of the sixteen applications for food carts, we only have two that are up and running. She asked if the criteria are too strict. She is hoping to see them cut through the red tape, and limit the amount of time the businesses need to attend meetings. It is moving along, but she would love to see it move along much faster. Dottie Chase of the Emerald Arts Center came to her and said they want to put on an Art Show next summer which would be perfect. Ms. Chase could get the Chambers' parking lot across the street to use. The Mayor is trying to get Ms. Chase connected to make that happen so is passing along this information to Mr. McHugh. Community Relations Manager Niel Laudati said he met with Dottie for an hour this afternoon. Mayor Lundberg said the Arts Commission also needs to be involved. She reiterated that she would like to see the bureaucracy in the program cut to help get things done more quickly. She wanted the committees to be more coordinated and less isolated. Mr. McHugh said he agreed and they are trying to work on the food cart program. It is something that takes a lot of time getting people to take that first step. Some have shut down and some are seasonal. The rest are up and coming, and looking to get into it and will be certified by the County in the near future. One of their ideas is to have a food cart rally or rendezvous. Ms. Griesel said following the last quarterly update, staff and Mr. McHugh spent about a week striking the old rules of the Food Cart Program to make it more accessible and making it a pilot program, asking businesses what they would be willing to do. Mayor Lundberg suggested making the School District coffee cart a pilot program. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes December 1, 2014 Page 3 Councilor Moore said she attended the roundtable discussion several months ago. Part of the problem could be that the small businesses are very diverse and many ideas are presented which makes it difficult to make things happen. They are meeting on December 3 at the; Emerald Arts Center at 8:30am. She asked when the Organizational Committee was meeting. Mr. McHugh said they normally meet the first Thursday of the month, but they may not be meeting this month. Councilor VanGordon said he feels they are making progress since the last update. He noted that the report listed new businesses, but didn't list the businesses that had closed. He feels that is important information in order to get an overall picture of the net job growth. Mr. McHugh said it was noted in the report, but was not in the discussion. Councilor VanGordon said `Recruiting the Board' and `Finalizing Bylaws' were listed on the last quarterly report. He asked if progress was being made on those projects. Mr. McHugh said the Chair of the Organization Committee stepped down so they are in the process of recruiting a new Chair. They only have three members of that committee so are working on growing the membership back up to develop that program. Ms. Griesel said this is one of the things they are hoping to address with Sheri Stuart. Councilor VanGordon asked if this could still be on the list during the next quarterly update. Mr. McHugh said he hoped to have it finalized by the next report. Councilor VanGordon said he looks for things that are on the list more than once. As long as it is being worked on, it is fine. He agrees with the Mayor's comments on the food carts and hopes to see things move along more quickly. He would like to see highlights at the; beginning of the report, followed by the lengthy report for ease of review. He is glad to hear of the progress being made. Councilor Woodrow said she met with Sheri Stuart last time she was here. Ms. Stuart has good ideas and a lot to offer. When the roundtable meets, it is helpful to have a topic as a focus, such as the downtown lighting which she recently presented. When they have a goals and something to focus on, it brings them all together. Councilor Moore said she hadn't seen anything about the SPROUT Tour and Pancake Breakfast that will be going on in conjunction with the Christmas Parade. Mr. McHugh said the Kitchen Tour is in partnership with the Symphony Guild Program. The Pancake Breakfast and Market is a complementary activity. SPROUT is one of fifteen kitchen stops on the tour throughout the region. SPROUT will be putting on the Pancake Breakfast and Holiday Market. Ms. Griesel said SPROUT is not part of Discover Downtown, but they can talk to SPROUT about advertising for their events. Mayor Lundberg suggested that the next report include some timelines for projects. Things may change, but it will give the Council a sense of when they can anticipate projects to be completed. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes December 1, 2014 Page 4 Councilor Wylie asked about an annual calendar. Mr. McHugh said he has an annual work plan. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Minutes Recorder — Amy Sowa Christine L. Lundberg Mayor Attest: Amy Sova a City Recorder