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Home My WebLink About2026-01-20Historic Downtown Bowmanville Business Centre (BIA) Board of Management Meeting Minutes Tuesday January 20, 2026; 6:30pm Virtual Meeting 1. Attendance In Attendance: Ron Hooper, Chair Laura Holmes, Secretary Gerri Lucas, Treasurer Cathy Holmes, Director Edgar Lucas, Director Bonnie Wrightman, CBOT representative (departed 7:40pm) Paul Pirri, MOC Invest Clarington Director Glen Macfarlane, MOC Invest Clarington representative (departed 6:43pm) Natalie Dookheran, owner Roam Coffee Nadine Herron, owner Nest Desserts Regrets: Lloyd Rang, Council Representative Erin Kemp, Director Delegations Present: none 2. Call to Order The Chair called the meeting to order. 3. Land Acknowledgement The Chair read the land acknowledgement statement. 4. Presentation by Delegations The Chair recognized that no delegations were present. 5. Updates from Community Partners (a) CBOT B. Wrightman shared that CBOT’s seasonal shop local campaign will start soon. The CBOT website contains a shop local page with videos, links to BIAs, etc. Invitation to attend event Feb 19, 5-7pm at Markets open to all. Hosting address from the Mayor on March 24, 5:30pm at CTMP – tickets required. (b) Invest Clarington G. Macfarlane shared that work is ongoing with the CIP Update. The survey should be launched soon and will be distributed to the BIAs. Looking to collect feedback on CIP experiences, ideas for future programs. Expecting draft of program in April. Statutory public meeting in May. Review needs completed prior to election drop or program changes will need to be deferred to 2027. P. Pirri shared that Newcastle funded two CCTV cameras for their downtown. Clarington is exploring grant opportunities for 2026 and is in communication with DRPS. Provincial funding typically released in October. Historic Downtown Bowmanville 2 JANUARY 2026 Business Centre (BIA) Clarington offers to split cost if BIA wishes to move forward without grant funding. Working with Planning on the Patio Program for 2026. Two stream approach – private property & public property. Looking to best practices from other communities for safety recommendations. Planning/Infrastructure update either in February or March. Clarington will continue to advocate and speak with partners on the recycling issue but claims it is a regional responsibility. The BIA requests to be included in consultations about the new patio program. BIA has previously raised concerns about safety, aesthetics, and utilization of one patio from 2025. Regarding CCTV cameras, concern over recommended priority locations for cameras in Bowmanville. If BIA pays, would require camera to be placed in downtown. DRPS would be consulted on recommended location and number of cameras downtown. 6. Adoption of Minutes Moved by L. Holmes, seconded by E. Lucas THAT the minutes of the meeting of November 10, 2025 be approved as circulated. CARRIED 7. Business Arising from Previous Minutes (a) Recycling Regulations The Secretary provided an update on what happened from November meeting to now. Durham Economic Task Force meeting in November had a presentation on recycling. Durham Region confirmed they will not provide service for non-eligible sources and any ongoing service will be up to Municipalities. Durham Region is looking at possibility of waiving fees for drop off at depot. Region representatives hand-delivered letters & FAQ sheet to each affected business. BIA also sent same documents by email to member businesses. In mid-November the collaborative letter from Clarington BIAs was sent to Clarington Council. The Mayor, BIA Chairs, & CBOT met in December to discuss the issue. Clarington has no plan to offer an alternate level of service to affected businesses in Clarington’s BIAs/Downtowns. In late-November a letter of response was received from Minister McCarthy. This letter confirmed that the Province was unsuccessful in their request for Circular Materials to continue collection in mixed-use areas. The Minister stated that the Province will continue to engage on the issue and hinted that changes to the program may be forthcoming. CBOT compiled resources for businesses and placed a dedicated page on their website. This information was distributed to all BIA members. In late-December, Durham Region confirmed that fees waived for depot drop-off in January 2026. Regional Council will vote on an any extension of fee waiver in the new year. This information was distributed to BIA members. Final blue box collection for downtown businesses was December 19, 2025. BIA members were sent several reminders. Historic Downtown Bowmanville 3 JANUARY 2026 Business Centre (BIA) Since the transition on January 1, 2026 there are various experiences with collection. Some eligible sources (residential) blue box materials are not being collected downtown. There are some concerns that loose materials are currently buried under the snow banks. 8. Consent Items - Correspondence Correspondence was received from i. Copy of CIP presentation from November meeting & statistics on historical usage of CIP grants ii. Durham Economic Task Force recycling presentation & related documents iii. Durham Region notice to small business re: recycling changes & FAQ document iv. Traffic Notice: Bowmanville Santa Claus Parade v. Traffic Notice: CPKC Holiday Train vi. Traffic Notice: Moonlight Magic vii. Copy of collaborative letter sent to Council by Orono BIA & associated email viii. Invest Clarington notification of funding opportunities for BIAs ix. Letter of Response from Minister McCarthy regarding recycling changes x. Proposal with Quote from Miller Waste Systems for recycling collection xi. Durham Region notice regarding fee waiver for recycling depot drop-off in January 2026 Moved by L. Holmes, seconded by E. Lucas THAT the correspondence be received for information. THAT items 8. iii., iv., v., vi. xi., were time sensitive and were distributed to members upon receipt. CARRIED 9. Consent Items – Discussion none 10. Treasurer’s Report The Treasurer presented the following: i. $302708 in current account, includes 2026 levy deposit of $189442 ii. The Audit has started iii. Proposed 2026 budget shared on-screen. See Addendum A. Moved by G. Lucas, seconded by C. Holmes THAT the Treasurer’s Report be adopted as presented and 2026 proposed budget be approved and sent to Council. CARRIED 11. Directors’ Reports (a) Council Liaison – The Chair shared that Camp 30 renovation was approved. Courtice waterfront development approved. (b) Events – Historic Downtown Bowmanville 4 JANUARY 2026 Business Centre (BIA) C. Holmes reported that Visit Santa was very successful and $4775 collected for Salvation Army. The reindeer were a huge draw. 2026 Event dates proposed as follows Visit Easter Bunny Apr 4, Late Night Shopping Apr 16, Maplefest May 2, Twilight Tuesday Jul 14, Sidewalk Sale Aug 14/15, Applefest Oct 17, Late Night Shopping Nov 5, Moonlight Magic Dec 4, Visit Santa Dec 5/12/19. Dates will be shared with members. (c) Membership Relations – G. Lucas reported that The Gift Hunter has vacated. Autism Home Base has expanded into the former Big Brothers house on Scugog. A financial tech business moved into Veltri building. The Pilates Boutique opened on Temperance Street south of King. Discussion on how the one year anniversary of the fire be recognized. Moved by E. Lucas, seconded by L. Holmes THAT a respectful gathering be planned for March 6, 2026 to commemorate the 1-year anniversary of the downtown fire. CARRIED (d) Streetscape – E. Lucas reported that the welder is going to produce a sample of the new plant hangers. Will measure plant baskets and distance from poles to ensure proper sizing. Is awaiting a response from BMO regarding the tree. Summer flowers on order. The Chair asks if the Municipality has been consulted. Once sample is prepared it will be shown. (e) Communications – L. Holmes reported that all relevant communications were shared and will send CIP survey once available. (f) Website & Social Media – L. Holmes reported that website business directory updated with new and closed businesses. New storefront photos required but will wait until spring when street looks tidier. Social media during holiday season focused on shop downtown. New businesses are being featured on more recent posts. 12. New Business (a) OBIAA updates The Chair shared that he attended the best practices call. Focus was mainly on Executive Director difficulties with staff and how to approach human resource issues. Challenges of some Toronto areas with new recycling collection. Shop Local gift cards and the various ways downtown areas offer shopping dollars. 13. Date of Next Meeting The next meeting of the Board of Management is scheduled to be held on Tuesday February 10, 2026 commencing at 6:30pm, virtually. Historic Downtown Bowmanville 5 JANUARY 2026 Business Centre (BIA) 14. Adjournment Moved by E. Lucas, seconded by C. Holmes THAT the meeting adjourn. CARRIED The meeting adjourned at 7:51pm. Historic Downtown Bowmanville 6 JANUARY 2026 Business Centre (BIA) ADDENDUM A Proposed 2026 Budget Administration 44,010.00$ Events 86,332.00$ Marketing/Website 43,000.00$ Streetscape 47,450.00$ Capital Works 48,825.00$ Contingency Fund -$ Office Expenses/Utilities/Rent 11,500.00$ Total Budget 281,117.00$ less variable 72,216.00-$ less budget surplus 19,460.00-$ NET TOTAL = levy 189,441.00$