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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-02Historic Downtown Bowmanville Business Centre (BIA) Board of Management Meeting Minutes Tuesday April 2, 2024; 6:30pm Virtual Meeting In Attendance: Ron Hooper, Chair Laura Holmes, Secretary Gerri Lucas, Treasurer Lloyd Rang, Council Representative (departed 7:15pm) Cathy Holmes, Director Edgar Lucas, Director Laura Knox, MOC Ec Dev representative Natalie Dookheran, owner Roam Coffee (departed 7:15pm) Sarah Gerdy, owner Markets Amber Ross, owner Pink Lemon Decor Regrets: Erin Kemp, Director Bonnie Wrightman, CBOT representative Delegations Present: none *** Due to inability to achieve quorum on the scheduled date of April 9, the meeting was moved forwarded by one week to April 2, 2024 with approval of all board members*** The Chair read the Land Acknowledgement statement and called the meeting to order. 1. Presentation by Delegations The Chair recognized that no delegations were present. 2. Updates from Community Partners (a) Economic Development L. Knox reported that the CIP relaunch and marketing campaign is on. Seasonal sidewalk patio program applications will launch soon. Veterans Square redevelopment and funding grant is underway. Will be working on Municipal projects. Andrew Poray, former manager of Economic Development, has left Clarington. L. Knox is now under CAO office. Ashlee and Jessica are under Community Services in community development roles. The Chair reported that at OBIAA they are looking to update the Municipal Act which was last revised in the 1970s. The Chair took the information to Carlos Salazar and it has now been passed to Laura Knox. Wanted to gauge support of the Municipality on the proposed changes. This information has not been shared with members of the Board yet. (b) CBOT Historic Downtown Bowmanville 2 Business Centre (BIA) APRIL 2024 The Secretary shared an update provided by email by Bonnie Wrightman of CBOT. CBOT is hosting an information session about navigating homelessness on May 23 at Garnet B Rickard at 7:30am. All are invited to attend, and a notice will be provided to share with BIA members. (c) OBIAA The Chair shared 2023 highlights: best practices calls, Digital Main Street, CRM program, update Municipal Act, EDCO Queen's Park day, Parliament Hill day, AGM. The Chair read highlights from annual letter from OBIAA Executive Director Kay Matthews. Most recent call focused on policies for volunteers, board engagement, my main street grant, easter events. 3. Adoption of Minutes Moved by L. Rang, seconded by G. Lucas THAT the minutes of the meeting of March 12, 2024 be approved as circulated. CARRIED 4. Business Arising from Previous Minutes (a) DRPS Crime Prevention Session The Secretary shared that approximately 20 BIA members attended the March 21 session held at Markets with Constable Rice of DRPS. Valuable information about protecting businesses from crime was imparted and Cst Rice would like to continue working with the BIA. The Chair expressed thanks to DRPS, CBOT, Markets, Roam, & Nest for assistance and Councillor Woo for attending. 5. Correspondence Correspondence was received from i. The Office of the CAO regarding briefing note on homelessness and social services in Clarington (via email to Chair) ii. The Office of the CAO regarding poster announcing Clarington's Active Transportation Master Plan (via email) iii. Economic Development regarding mural concept (via email) Moved by L. Rang, seconded by G. Lucas THAT the correspondence be received for information. THAT items 5.i. & 5.ii. have already been distributed to BIA members. CARRIED 6. Treasurer's Reoort The Treasurer presented the following: Historic Downtown Bowmanville Business Centre (BIA) $240 679 in current account Auditors requested January to March 2024. Audit is ongoing. Moved by G. Lucas, seconded by L. Holmes THAT the Treasurer's Report be adopted as presented. CARRIED 7. Directors' Reports (a) Council Liaison — APRIL 2024 L. Rang reported that the warming centre at St Paul's Church is now closed. This was a source of consternation for some local residents. Ongoing conversations at Council related to homelessness and mental health and how the Region can better support businesses. The Region believes that the number of unhoused persons is drastically undercounted. Council is largely focused on the impacts of Bill 23 on budget and growth in infrastructure. Increase in snow clearing budget was underutilized due to lack of snow this winter. There is a large community clean-up scheduled soon. The Chair questioned whether the street sweepers are operational at this point in the season. Councillor Rang will touch base with Operations. There are also concerns about ongoing issues with street lamp posts power boxes requiring repairs. Leanne Reck is acting head of Operations. Councillor Rang reported that a business owner brought forward a concern about potential loss of historic character of the downtown (ie. buildings being demolished and replaced with large towers, etc). Historic Downtown Bowmanville is title only. The area is not zoned or designated as 'historic'. There are some individual buildings that are registered as 'historic'. Councillor Rang is seeking permission from the Board to speak with the Planning Department about the benefits and pitfalls of designating the area. (b) Events — C. Holmes reported that Girls Night Out is coming up on April 18. Maplefest is May 4. The window wrap design is awaiting approval from BMO head office and will be changed as soon as approved. (c) Membership Relations — G. Lucas reported that we are still working with flower vendor about business pricing. Petit Nordique has changed ownership — new owner is Mikayla. (d) Streetscape — E. Lucas reported that winter decor has been removed and spring banners have been installed. Girls Night Out signs will be installed. Will speak with flower vendor about summer hanging baskets and large sidewalk planters. Watering contract is in place. Volunteers will plant around the bus shelter area. (e) Communications — No report. (f) Website & Social Media — Historic Downtown Bowmanville 4 Business Centre (BIA) APRIL 2024 L. Holmes reported that there has been an uptick in contact requests on the website, mostly related to Maplefest. 8. New Business (a) Mural Concept Proposal L. Knox shared her conversation with Chad from The Paint Factory who brought forward the proposal. The mock up was shared on screen. Proposes to paint a mural on the side wall of Boss Nails building. The owners of the building are willing to consent but will not support financially. There were various viewpoints on the design, and there may need to be adjustments. Proposal also requires moving the existing mural owned by the Municipality. Moved by E. Lucas, seconded by L. Holmes THAT L. Knox will ask for a formal proposal including pricing and will also investigate any funding opportunities that may be available. CARRIED 9. Date of Next Meeting The next meeting of the Board of Management is scheduled to be held on Tuesday May 14, 2024 commencing at 6:30pm, virtually. 10. Adjournment Moved by E. Lucas, seconded by L. Holmes THAT the meeting adjourn. CARRIED The meeting adjourned at 7:42pm.