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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-11-12Historic Downtown Bowmanville Business Centre (BIA) Board of Management Meeting Minutes Tuesday November 12, 2019; 6:30pm Clarington Meeting Room 1-C Present: Edgar Lucas, Chair Laura Holmes, Secretary Gerri Lucas, Treasurer Justin Barry Ron Hooper (6:30-6:55pm only) Morgan James Absent: Carrie Hooper Cathy Holmes Delegations Present: Jamie Nowe, Digital Services Squad Member for Digital Main Street Program The meeting was called to order by the Chair. 1. Presentation by Delegations Jamie Nowe – Digital Main Street Program Jamie is employed with the grant money received from the OBIAA on behalf of the Bowmanville BIA (and other area BIAs) by Teresa Shaver the Executive Director of the Business Advisory Centre of Durham. His employment with Ms. Shaver and the Digital Main Street (DMS) program extends until March 31, 2020. Jamie is also employed with webmarketingpro in Ajax. Jamie is responsible for the DMS program in the following BIAs: Ajax, Pickering Village, Port Perry, Orono, Newcastle, Bowmanville and Oshawa. There is another employee responsible for Whitby and possibly other areas but Jamie did not know which ones. Jamie provided a recap on how the program works. Businesses sign up with DMS. A digital assessment is then completed. There are 8 hours of required online training videos that involve short multiple choice quizzes. There is no limit on the number of times quizzes can be attempted. Businesses then complete the grant proposal to apply for the $2500. Jamie is available to assist throughout the process. If a business does not want to apply for the grant, they can still access the training videos and request digital assistance from Jamie. Jamie provided a list of 41 businesses that he had made contact with. Only 2 businesses had applied and been awarded the grant. His last contact blitz was in July 2019. Of the 41, 5 were not Bowmanville BIA members and should not have been provided services. A further 2 have since left the BIA and 1 has changed ownership. With the significant turnover of businesses in the Bowmanville BIA another blitz is necessary. Jamie’s experience during the July blitz was that most business owners were not present when he visited and instead he had to leave information with an employee. He received almost no follow-up from owners, but admittedly did not make a second attempt to connect with those businesses. He also heard from business owners that they were too busy to watch the required Historic Downtown Bowmanville 2 November 2019 Business Centre (BIA) training videos and complete the application. There were others who felt the grant application was daunting. The application deadline for businesses to apply for the $2500 grant is December 31, 2019. As of the end of summer, only approximately 30% of the grant monies had been awarded. Grant processing time was approximately 2-3 weeks from submission, but this time is expected to increase as the deadline approaches. Grants administered by the OBIAA cease on December 31, 2019, but the educational aspects such as the training materials and videos continue to be available until the end of March 2020. Jamie will also be available to assist businesses until the end of March 2020. He also took this opportunity to encourage businesses to reach out to the Business Advisory Centre of Durham, as resources to assist business owners are available. Jamie played a short video about the DMS program. Jamie was provided with an updated Bowmanville BIA member list and asked to please make contact with all listed businesses. Jamie was also asked to provide information that the BIA could send via email to all members about the program. Departure of Councillor Hooper. 2. Adoption of Minutes Moved by G. Lucas, seconded by M. James THAT the minutes of the meeting of October 8, 2019 be approved as circulated. CARRIED 3. Business Arising from Previous Minutes (a) Winter Street Banners Review of design proofs and quotes from Flags Unlimited and James Printing. Moved by J. Barry, seconded by G. Lucas THAT a design revision be requested from James Printing. CARRIED (b) Installation of Winter Decorations for Street Lamp Posts Quote presented from James Printing and Signs for installation of new permanent brackets and decorations. Moved by L. Holmes, seconded by J. Barry Historic Downtown Bowmanville 3 November 2019 Business Centre (BIA) THAT the quote be accepted and James Printing proceed with installation. CARRIED (c) Towing from Service Ontario Parking Lot No feedback about towing was received following Applefest. This is attributed to large warning signage at the Service Ontario parking lot entrance placed by the BIA, the additional event parking provided at 45 Raines Avenue, social media and website campaigns advertising free event parking, and community word of mouth/social media warnings. Bob’s Towing also placed a warning on its social media about risk of towing if parking in private lots that his business is under contract with. (d) Digital Main Street Program The program administered by the OBIAA is nearing its end. Moved by J. Barry, seconded by M. James THAT feedback on the program be provided to the OBIAA. CARRIED 4. Correspondence Correspondence was received from i. June Gallagher, Deputy Clerk Municipality of Clarington, regarding council resolution #GG-454-19 ii. June Gallagher, Deputy Clerk Municipality of Clarington, regarding council resolution #GG-470-19 iii. Trevor Pinn, Deputy Treasurer Municipality of Clarington, regarding request for preliminary 2020 budget submission iv. Lindsay Dickson, Municipal Law Enforcement Clerk Municipality of Clarington, regarding follow-up to 82 King St W complaint (via email) v. Tracey Pettigrew, owner of Romancing The Home, regarding her concerns about the Ladies Night Out scheduled at Garnet B. Rickard for November 8 (via email) Moved by M. James, seconded by G. Lucas THAT the correspondence items 4. ii, 4.iv., and 4.v. be received for information. THAT a letter of response be issued on items 4.i. and 4.iii. CARRIED 5. Treasurer’s Report The Treasurer presented the following: i. Financial spreadsheet provided ii. $81 469 in current account with many invoices outstanding Historic Downtown Bowmanville 4 November 2019 Business Centre (BIA) iii. Edward Jones Investments are closed Moved by L. Holmes, seconded by J. Barry THAT the Treasurer’s Report be adopted as presented. CARRIED 6. Directors’ Reports (a) Council Liaison – R. Hooper: (Prior to departure) Reported that the next meeting about the Bowmanville East Development will take place in the new year. (b) Events – C. Holmes: No report. (c) Membership Relations – J. Barry: Reported that The Bees Knees changed ownership, Petit Nordique is expanding into a second location, Soper Creek Yarn has moved, Little Buck and Endivine Grill have not announced opening dates, renovation work continues at the former Shooters Billiards location. (d) Streetscape – G. Lucas: Reported that Van Belle Flowers delivered the winter hanging baskets today. Rekkers Garden will deliver winter planters. Remembrance day and summer street banners will be removed. (e) Communications – M. James: Reported no issues. Main communications have been related to Girls Night Out participation. (f) Website – L. Holmes: Reported that the Instagram page now has over 1000 followers. Updates have been made to the website event pages for Girls Night Out and Moonlight Magic. Nerivon hours of work included in our 2019 hosting plan have been met/exceeded. Any additional work that Nerivon is asked to perform in 2019 will result in extra fees. Information about website upgrades will be provided in new business. (g) Media Relations – C. Hooper: No Report. Historic Downtown Bowmanville 5 November 2019 Business Centre (BIA) 7. New Business (a) Nerivon – Website Upgrades A series of quotes provided by Nerivon were presented. The BIA website is running on an outdated platform and each time the server updates the BIA website is disabled and knocked offline which requires a re-set by Nerivon. At minimum, the BIA website needs upgraded to the new platform to avoid these issues. It may also be advisable to update the look and features of the BIA website at the same time. Redesign will require a commitment from the board to guide the changes and new directions and the contributions of time will be significant. Further discussion is deferred until 2020. (b) Business Map A suggestion for a business map of downtown Bowmanville was seen on social media. A map would be helpful for visitors and new residents. With the seemingly rapid turnover of businesses, concerns were raised that maps would quickly become outdated and updates to maps would be a significant time commitment for the individual responsible. An option may be to place a permanent structure at a location in the downtown that allows for secure access. A printed map could then be swapped as necessary. With a website upgrade, it may be possible to have a digital map of downtown linked back to a business directory on the BIA website. Updates to a digital map would still be onerous but in contrast to a printed map it would not be obsolete when a business changes. Development of an app is also a possibility. Further discussion is deferred until 2020. (c) Joint Meeting with Newcastle and Orono BIAs The BIAs of Newcastle and Orono have proposed a joint meeting of BIAs and request potential dates of availability, preferably before the end of 2019. Moved by M. James, seconded by L. Holmes THAT the Executive Board is willing to participate in a joint meeting and potential dates will be determined and shared with Newcastle and Orono representatives. CARRIED 8. Date of Next Meeting The next meeting of the Board of Management is scheduled to be held on Tuesday January 14, 2020 commencing at 6:30pm in Clarington Meeting Room 1-C. Historic Downtown Bowmanville 6 November 2019 Business Centre (BIA) 9. Adjournment Moved by G. Lucas, seconded by L. Holmes THAT the meeting adjourn. CARRIED The meeting adjourned at 8:41pm.