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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-11-09 Main Street Advisory Board Meeting THE MAIN STREET ADVISORY BOARD MET THIS THE 11 TH DAY OF JUNE, 2009 AT 6:00 PM IN CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 604 W. F AIRMONT PARKWAY, LA PORTE, TEXAS, WITH THE FOLLOWING PRESENT: Present Bill Manning Maggie Anderson Ronda Lunsford Debra Gallington Mark Follis Paul Larson Staff: Stacey Osborne 1. CALL TO ORDER-The meeting was called to order at 6:09 pm. 2. CONSIDER AND TAKE NECESSARY ACTION TO APPROVE MINUTES-The May 14,2009 minutes were approved with an adjustment to the numbering of the minutes, which was off. Board Member Maggie Anderson made the motion and it was seconded by Board Member Mark Follis. 3. MAIN STREET COMMITTEE UPDATES, CONSIDER AND TAKE NECESSARY ACTION AS NEEDED: A. ORGANIZATION - no updates were given. B. PROMOTION - no updates were given C. DESIGN - Board Member Mark Follis said that the Design Committee is still working on recommendations for way-fmding signs, but that those recommendations will be available for the next meeting. Board Member Paul Larson said that the Design Committee needed more time to work on signage recommendations. Main Street Coordinator Stacey Osborne presented the striping for parking that the City was planning to implement on the South side of Third Street off of Main. The Board members reviewed the plan, with the input of Mr. Horace Leopard who was attending the meeting as a public citizen, and expressed concerns that the street would not be approachable from the alleys on either direction-they were concerned that the actual street dimensions were too narrow. They wanted to know if the City planned to get the input of the people who were going to be affected by the parking plan. Mr. Follis expressed a desire to meet with the City Planners to discuss the parking plan in depth. D. COMMUNICATION - no formal updates were given, but Main Street Coordinator Stacey Osborne told the Board Members that Shar Lynch needed a photograph of the Advisory Board to accompany a story she was writing in the Bayshore Sun. The Board members discussed the best date and time for a photograph, and agreed to have a further discussion via email so they could arrive at a date and time that worked for everyone. E. ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING - no updates were given. 4. DISCUSSION OF DESIGN PACKAGE SURVEY - Board Member Bill Manning presented the 14-page survey packet that the Board plans to distribute to Main Street property owners. He proposed that the Board members review the survey in four parts: the cover letter, the history of the Main Street program, the survey itself, and the map that accompanied the survey. Board members agreed to proceed as recommended. There was an additional discussion about the need to include homeowners in the survey who live in the Main Street district and who may be affected by the design guidelines should they pass. Board Member Debra Gallington recommended not adding homeowners to the survey distribution list because they mayor may not be affected, and she felt it was adding confusion and an additional layer of complication to the issue. Main Street Coordinator Stacey Osborne agreed. The Board agreed to discuss the issue of adding homeowners to the survey further before mailing the survey. 5. CONSIDER AND TAKE NECESSARY ACTION TO APPROVE THE DESIGN SURVEY AS PRESENTED-the fIrst item reviewed was the cover letter to the property owners that explained the purpose of the design guidelines and the survey. Board Member Maggie Anderson moved to approve the letter with some amendments, and Board Member Paul Larson seconded. The survey itself was the next item discussed. After reviewing and making some amendments, Ms. Anderson moved to approve the survey with amendments, and Mr. Larson seconded. The history of the program was discussed next. Board Member Debra Gallington moved to approve the history portion with amendments, and Mr. Larson seconded. The fmal discussion was about the map that was to accompany the survey. Ms. Anderson moved to approve the map with amendments, and Board Member Mark Follis seconded the motion. A. DETERMINE A DATE TO MAIL DESIGN SURVEY PACKETS - a date was not determined for fmal distribution of the survey, although several Board members expressed a desire to distribute it as soon as possible. B. DISCUSSION OF TOWN HALL MEETING - The Board discussed the need for a town hall meeting to discuss the results of the survey once they had been submitted, although no date or time were determined. 6. STAFF REPORTS AND UPDATES A. ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS WHOSE TERMS ARE ENDING IN AUGUST - Main Street Coordinator Stacey Osborne showed the Board Members the list of Board members and their term limits, pointing out that the terms of three members will expire this August: Mark Follis, Shar Lynch, and Jerry Carpenter. B. ADVERTISING/PR CAMPAIGN - Ms. Osborne told the Board that she is planning an extensive advertising and public relations campaign beginning in July that will include frequent press releases, ads in the Bayshore Sun, and a monthly newsletter to Main Street property owners. C. NEW WEBSITE - Ms. Osborne told the Board that the new website would be launched the following weekend, and she encouraged them to review the site and to pay special attention to the Main Street section. D. UPDATE ON VISITS WITH BUSINESS OWNERS - Ms. Osborne told the Board Members that she had met with 27 business owners and tenants on Main Street and that she intended to continue meeting with them and the owners she had not yet met on a regular basis. She said that she intends to write up a summary report of what she has learned about the business owners' concerns, and she will share that report at the next meeting. E. DETERMINATION OF WHEN TO USE CLUTCH - there was a brief discussion of when to use the Rocket's mascot Clutch, and the Board members agreed that Ms. Osborne can determine a date for the Christmas on Main Street event and reserve Clutch for that date. F. TOWN PLAZA UPDATE - Ms. Osborne told the Board that construction has begun on the Town Plaza, and that the expected completion date will be in December of this year. G. VIDEO PROJECT - Ms. Osborne told the Board about the Tell Us Your Story video project that she is planning. With this project she will solicit stories about the history of La Porte, with an emphasis on Main Street, and document those stories in a video series that she will then broadcast on Y ouTube beginning in October, after a kick-off presentation at the Fall Back Festival. She said that she will solicit stories using advertising and press releases, as well as resources from the La Porte-Bay Area Heritage Society. H. FALL BACK FESTIVAL - Ms. Osborne said that she will be using a festival coordinator once again this year to help plan the Fall Back Festival. When questioned, she said that the festival coordinator costs $8,500, but that the festival coordinator will take care of the festival details, such as lighting, port-a-jons, etc., so that she (Ms. Osborne) and the organizing committee can concentrate on the important details of the festival itself. She said that the festival is tentatively set for October 10, and that there will be a poster art contest for artwork for the Festival poster beginning in July. Several Board members expressed concern that there may be a football game on October 10, and Ms. Osborne said that she will check the calendar to ensure that there is no conflict with the athletic schedule. 7. PUBLIC COMMENTS - no public comments were given 8. BOARD COMMENTS A. FUTURE AGENDA ITEM REQUESTS - no requests were made B. MATTERS APPEARING ON AGENDA - no action was taken C. INQUIRY OF STAFF REGARDING SPECIFIC FACTUAL INFORMATION OR EXISTING POLICY - no inquiries were made 9. ADJOURNMENT - a motion was made to adjourn by Board Member Mark Follis and seconded by Board Member Maggie Anderson. The meetin adjourned at 8:28 pm. ?r~