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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-06-23Orono D.B.I.A Meeting Minutes — June 23, 2025 Next Meeting Date: July 21, 2025 Time: 3:00 P.M. Location: Orono Town Hall, lower level 1. Welcome and Call to Order a. Land Acknowledgement Statement 2. Roll Call Present: Brad Beckstead, Karen Lowery, Laura Knox, Will Davies, Heather Maitland, Julie Cashin-Oster, Peter Klose, Kallijsta Klose, Chris Austin, Scott Story, Susan Atkins, Shelly Rivers and Chad Harmer 3. Approval of Agenda Motion: Brad Seconded: Karen Carried: Approved 4. Approval of April Minutes Motion: Brad Seconded: Heather Carried:Approved 5. Treasures Report - Financial Statements/ Bank Balance a) Financial Report. The bank account balance is $6521.75. $2147 was contributed for the D.B.I.A's half of the social media campaign. Receipts for the "Meet me on Main " campaign are still pending. 6. Agenda: Presentations/Delegations Derek (Durham Regional Police Service) Presentation on the CCTV Program: Overview of the initiative, its goals for improving public safety, how local businesses can participate, and expected implementation timeline. Directed by council to buy into these services from Invest Clarington and place a camera in each of the municipalities downtown core.There is funding from the province. The cost is $4800 per camera with the province funding 50%. Invest Clarington is prepared to put all of the municipalities together in a single proposal to the government with partnerships of each BIA. Invest Clarington require's a letter of support and funds to cover the 50% that the province does not cover. Laura will take this proposal back to council for their approval. DRPS services the cameras. Footage can only be pulled by request to DRPS. Businesses can request a temporary camera at no charge for any events being held. Laura Knox (Invest Clarington) Economic development updates, new business attraction strategies, and available support for small businesses in Orono. No updates from Laura other than DRPS cameras initiative. The CIP program is still open if any business needs signage and applications are still open. 7. Follow Up Business - DBIA downtown Brad Beckstead — DBIA Meeting Schedule Update Proposal to shift regular DBIA meetings to Mondays at 3:00 PM to improve consistency and attendance. Discussion and vote on implementation. Moving forward we will meet on Mondays at 3pm. Chad Harmer — "Meet Me on Main" Campaign a. Update on the media selection process for the campaign b. Discussion of potential dates for media team engagement and content creation c. Overview of campaign goals: increasing foot traffic, promoting local businesses, and enhancing community visibility d. There is lots of good traction for the media initiative and there's 12 businesses that will move forward in participating. e. There will be two different video crews creating b-roll footage looking at the park and downtown core with different highlights of Orono. This footage will be used as the intro for each of the individual videos for each business participating. f. There will be four different teams that will take photos, video footage and interview questions. Chad will email the details to the businesses ahead of time. g. The team is looking for an intro and something that makes your business unique. It is an opportunity to showcase what your business does best. Shooting will all be done one day with b-roll footage being captured at an earlier date. h. The target date for shooting is Wednesday July 9 and will require less than 25 minutes per business. 8. Funding Approvals — Central Counties Tourism a. Confirmation of funding approval for two submitted applications: i. "Meet Me on Main" Social Media Marketing Campaign ii. Promotion of Orono Townhall as a Wedding Venue b. Discussion on next steps for utilizing the funds and launching both initiatives c. They were successful in both initiatives. $2000 in funding for each initiative. The Town Hall was submitted as an event space. The goal is to sell the Town Hall as a package with other businesses for weddings and events. d. Brad will set up a time to talk through packages, he has a wedding planner on -board that can provide insight into what the packages will look like and opportunities for other businesses to collaborate. e. Brad has a meeting with Brad from the Town Hall board to review this. 9. Brad Beckstead — Orono Sign Project Update a. The Orono sign has been officially donated to the Clarington Library b. Installation date is TBD; currently coordinating with the municipality to obtain necessary permits c. Discussion on unveiling event and promotional opportunities d. Prior to the D.B.I.A having the sign it was donated to the library. e. Brad has been in conversation with Tim from the municipality on the cost to get the sign installed. The sign is ready to go and work was done to get the CSA approval. 10. Brad Beckstead — Social Media Management Proposal a. Executive proposal to solicit bids from local marketing businesses to manage DBIA's social media presence b. Objective: maximize exposure for the "Meet Me on Main" and Townhall wedding venue campaigns c. A robust and transparent bidding process will be developed, prioritizing value for dollar spent d. Only businesses based in the local area will be invited to participate e. Motion to vote on proceeding with the proposal and initiating the bidding process f. Brad and Chad have tabled getting a social media and marketing company to manage the D.B.I.A's social media pages and drive SEO to help promote the downtown businesses. The funding was approved but more funding will be opened to apply for in September. There is an opportunity for the local businesses to benefit from having a company provide the best way to create SEO for Orono. g. Vote passes to get quotes from different companies and move forward. 11. Brad Beckstead — Public Washroom Signage Initiative a. Proposal for a voluntary signage system for local businesses to indicate washroom availability: • Green Sign: Public washroom available • Red Sign: Washroom not available to the public • Goal: Improve visitor experience and reduce confusion • Participating businesses will receive signage and be listed on the DBIA website • Discussion on implementation and promotion • Window sticker, for if bathrooms are available. Owners of the building should be notified if businesses opt in. • To be voted on at a later date. 12. Events Committee Orono Downtown Antique Festival a. Planning updates and logistics b. Vendor coordination and promotional strategy c. Volunteer needs and community engagement d. The Application process has changed to apply for the road closure. Laura will follow up with Vanessa about the road closure application. The Municipality has changed their application process for fire services as well. Scott has deposited $2300 for everyone registered for the event and this money is in the bank. Scott is working on a new banner for the festival. Scott proposed an Orono Santa Claus parade banner as well. These items will be discussed amongst the sub -committee. Pumpkin Walk (Julie Cashin-Oster) e. Early planning and theme ideas f. Community involvement and sponsorship opportunities g. Marketing timeline and event enhancements h. The Pumpkin Walk will be on November 1. We have an opportunity to use the Town Hall as the stage will be decorated like a haunted house for a rock and roll Halloween show Saturday night. Timing is still TBD. If we're not able to use the Town Hall we can use the gazebo. 13. Open Floor Shelly presented the design of the Santa Claus parade button for the 2025 Orono Santa Claus parade. A child from the Orono Public School designed it and the student was given a pass to Jungle Cat World. The Pride flags are still not up in the downtown core. Brad to call Sam or Gavin regarding where the flags are. Adjournment - 4:11 p.m.