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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-05-14Historic Downtown Bowmanville Business Centre (BIA) Board of Management Meeting Minutes Tuesday May 14, 2024; 6:30pm Virtual Meeting In Attendance: Ron Hooper, Chair Laura Holmes, Secretary Gerri Lucas, Treasurer Lloyd Rang, Council Representative Cathy Holmes, Director Edgar Lucas, Director Bonnie Wrightman, CBOT representative (departed 7:OOpm) Laura Knox, MOC Ec Dev representative Amber Ross, owner Pink Lemon Decor Natalie Dookheran, owner Roam Coffee Regrets: Erin Kemp, Director Delegations Present: none 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) CBOT B. Wrightman thanked the Secretary for sharing the notice about Navigating Homelessness session happening on May 23 at Rickard with BIA members. CBOT hoping to have a good presence from business owners. There is also an event for Succession Planning with MNP upcoming on June 4. (b) Economic Development L. Knox shared that she attended a single day of the OBIAA conference and will share the key takeaways with the Clarington BIAS. The information about OBIAAs proposed changes to the Municipal Act was shared with the Boards of Orono and Newcastle BIAS. Neither is an OBIAA member, but if Bowmanville BIA or Clarington Council decide to take any action it will be shared with them. Veterans Square renovations began this week and any updates will be shared. Seasonal Patio Program is open. Brewers Pantry patio was installed in time for Maplefest. Other applications are expected. Businesses are able to place chairs/benches etc without a permit provided that 1.8m clearance on sidewalk is open for accessibility. Question asked about safety of sidewalk patio with no barrier between pedestrian walkway and roadway. (c) OBIAA The Chair thanked L. Knox for attending the conference and preparing a report of key takeaways. OBIAA best practice calls focused on parking and events. 3. Adoption of Minutes Historic Downtown Bowmanville 2 Business Centre (BIA) Moved by L. Rang, seconded by G. Lucas THAT the minutes of the meeting of April 2, 2024 be approved as circulated. CARRIED 4. Business Arisine from Previous Minutes (a) Mural proposal No update. (b) Power Supply MAY 2024 The Municipality has asked for a list of problematic electrical supply boxes to be inspected. E. Lucas will prepare a list. 5. Correspondence Correspondence was received from i. Durham Regional Police Service regarding free document shredding day (via email to Chair) ii. Economic Development Coordinator regarding Veterans Square renovation (via email) iii. President of PFLAG Durham Region regarding pride banner install (via email to Clarington, forwarded to Chair) iv. Economic Development Coordinator regarding OBIAA's proposed changes to the Municipal Act (via email to Chair) Moved by L. Holmes, seconded by E. Lucas THAT the correspondence be received for information. THAT item 5.i. & 5.ii. were time sensitive and have already been distributed to BIA members. CARRIED 6. Treasurer's Report The Treasurer presented the following: i. $223 000.65 in current account Moved by G. Lucas, seconded by C. Holmes THAT the Treasurer's Report be adopted as presented. CARRIED 7. Directors' Reports (a) Council Liaison — No report. Historic Downtown Bowmanville Business Centre (BIA) (b) Events — MAY 2024 C. Holmes reported that Maplefest was very successful and very well attended. For the first time in 35 years, there was overnight rain that washed away the vendor booth markings but volunteers were able to assist during check -in. The shuttle bus had good utilization. Twilight Tuesday is upcoming in July and Sidewalk Sale in August. (c) Membership Relations — G. Lucas reported that flowers were sent to Enniskillen General Store for the grand opening. The Chair reported that he expressed his regrets that Enniskillen was a target of property damage so soon after moving downtown. (d) Streetscape — E. Lucas reported that the summer flower vendor has sought out some different varieties for use this summer. A resident near Boss Nails hosted a large yard sale on the sidewalk this past Saturday. Bylaw was alerted and have indicated that they will send inspectors downtown on weekends. G. Lucas shared that the business pricing for flowers is still being worked out. Approximately 15 businesses expressed interest, but it varied in the types of requested. PFLAG banners will be installed before June 1. (e) Communications— L. Holmes reported that relevant information has been shared with members. (f) Website & Social Media — L. Holmes reported that the business directory will be updated. L. Knox will share KPI and analytics from past campaigns conducted by Tourism. There are target audiences already created that may be useful for BIAS. 8. New Business (a) OBIAA's proposed changes to Municipal Act The link to the document outlining the proposed changes was shared with Board members in advance of the meeting. There are numerous proposed changes. L. Knox provided a synopsis and explained that many of the proposed changes are clarifying wording and expanding definitions. Since the changes will affect all BIAS within Clarington, but only Bowmanville is an OBIAA member, it was suggested that a letter of support may be better to come from Council. Moved by G. Lucas, seconded by E. Lucas THAT L. Knox be directed to move forward with obtaining a letter of support. CARRIED (b) Durham Region cancelled paving work May 3-6 Historic Downtown Bowmanville 4 Business Centre (BIA) MAY 2024 The Chair thanked members of Council for reaching out to Regional Council when the paving work was scheduled for the same weekend as Maplefest. Improved communication has been promised in future. The revised date for paving work has not been announced. (c) Crime, property damage, thefts, break & enters downtown Based on communications from BIA members who have been impacted, it appears that there is one individual that lives in the downtown area that is responsible for many of the shoplifting and tip jar thefts. This individual is well known to police. There continues to be reports of broken windows, doors, and BB gun shots into windows. There have also been reports of break-ins during non -business hours. The Chair stated that there was a discussion about security cameras and/or presence during an OBIAA call and wondered if there may be funding from government to install downtown. (d) In -person visits to Board members In the past month, several board members have been approached by community members, other business owners, or prospective vendors at events at their place of business. These visits have been deemed to be inappropriate. Persons should not be directed to go to specific businesses or to speak to specific persons on the Board. Any inquiries on BIA related matters should be directed to reach out via the website contact form or by email. A letter of reminder may need to be sent to community partner organizations if the issue continues. (e) Report on feasibility of historic designation for downtown Councillor Rang shared during the April meeting that he had been approached by a concerned business owner regarding possibility of loss of character of downtown if buildings became sold and torn down. Question raised about designating the downtown as historic to give a layer of protection from development. Concerns about historic designation creating unnecessary barriers for building owners. Moved by L. Holmes, seconded by E. Lucas THAT Municipal staff be asked to investigate the pros and cons, feasibility, and implications of a historic designation for downtown Bowmanville. CARRIED 9. Date of Next Meeting The next meeting of the Board of Management is scheduled to be held on Tuesday June 11, 2024 commencing at 6:30pm, virtually. 10. Adjournment Moved by E. Lucas, seconded by L. Holmes Historic Downtown Bowmanville Business Centre (BIA) THAT the meeting adjourn. CARRIED The meeting adjourned at 8:04pm. MAY 2024