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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-09-09 Main Street Advisory Board Meeting THE MAIN STREET ADVISORY BOARD MET THIS THE 9th DAY OF JULY, 2009 AT 6:00 PM IN CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 604 W. F AIRMONT PARKWAY, LA PORTE, TEXAS, WITH THE FOLLOWING PRESENT: Present: Jerry Carpenter Paul Larson Mark Follis Maggie Anderson Debra Gallington Ed Matuszak Ronda Lunsford Staff: Stacey Osborne 1. CALL TO ORDER-The meeting was called to order at 6:05 pm. By Debra Gallington, who was acting as Board Chairman in the absence of Chairman Bill Manning. 2. CONSIDER AND TAKE NECESSARY ACTION TO APPROVE MINUTES-The June 11,2009 minutes were approved. Board Member Maggie Anderson made the motion and it was seconded by Board Member Ronda Lunsford. 3. VIDEO PRESENTATION: COMMUNITY OF CHOICES - Main Street Coordinator Stacey Osborne presented a video by the Dunn Foundation, "Community of Choices." There was a brief discussion about the video, with Board members agreeing that it was a good message to present to the community. Ms. Osborne said that she would be showing the video at the upcoming Main Street Morning Brew coffee event on July 15. 4. MAIN STREET COMMITTEE UPDATES, CONSIDER AND TAKE NECESSARY ACTION AS NEEDED: A. ORGANIZATION - no updates were given. B. PROMOTION - there was no meeting of the Promotion committee, but Main Street Coordinator Stacey Osborne said that she is recruiting volunteers for planning the Fall Back Festival, schedule for October 10, and that she will be in touch with the Board as meetings are planned. C. DESIGN - The design committee, represented by Board Members Paul Larson and Mark Follis, presented four recommendations to present to City Council, which were voted on by the Board. Mr. Follis made a motion to recommend the pursuit of sign age on the feeder road and Highway 146 recognizing Main Street as a Historic District-the motion was seconded by Board Member Maggie Anderson and approved by the Board. Mr. Follis made motion to recommend the implementation of traffic calming measures on Main Street-the motion was seconded by Board Member Ed Matuszak and approved by the Board. Ms. Anderson moved to recommend the addition of20 - 30 additional parking spaces and to add sidewalks on Broadway and Main Street-the motion was seconded by Mr. Larson and approved by the Board. The Design Committee presented an additional recommendation to add signage on the La Porte City Limit signs welcoming visitors to "Visit our Historic Main Street District," but was tabled after a brief discussion. D. COMMUNICATION - no updates were given E. ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING - no updates were given. 5. STATUS OF DESIGN PACKAGE SURVEY - There was a discussion of the Design Package Survey and the fact that Board Member Bill Manning was still gathering information about who should receive the survey. Acting Chairperson Debra Gallington said that she would call Bill and get the list, then send it to Stacey so she could create labels. Board Member Maggie Anderson made a motion to make arrangements to make copies of the survey, stuffand fold, and send it out no later than July 18. The motion was seconded by Ms. Gallington and approved by the Board. 6. REVIEW OF ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION 106-443- This item was tabled due to the absence of Chairman Bill Manning who had put it on the agenda. 7. STAFF REPORTS AND UPDATES A. MAIN STREET MORNING BREW - Main Street Coordinator Stacey Osborne announced a new Main Street program, Main Street Morning Brew, which will be held once a month at a location on Main Street. The purpose is to bring business owners together and to educate them about the Main Street Program and communicate information about Main Street happenings. The first event was to be held on July 15 at the Economic Alliance from 8:30 - 9:30 a.m., and all Board members were welcome to attend. B. REPORTE FROM BUSINESS OWNER VISITS - Ms. Osborne said that she is still working on completing the report of her visits with business owners on Main Street, and that she will have a full report to deliver at the next meeting. C. NEWSLETTER - Ms. Osborne said that she has begun the production and distribution of a monthly newsletter that will go out to all Main Street business owners and anyone else who has an interest in Main Street. The first edition was mailed on July 1. D. FALL BACK FESTIVAL UPDATE - Ms. Osborne said that plans are underway for the Fall Back Festival, scheduled for October 10,2009. She said that she planned to have an organizational meeting on July 22 and would notify the Board members so they could attend. E. STACEY ON BOARD OF BAY AREA HOUSTON CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU- Ms. Osborne reported that she was recently appointed by City Council as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau. She expressed her satisfaction with the appointment, and said that the Bay Area CVB is a great resource for Main Street. F. TOWN PLAZA UPDATE - Ms. Osborne reported that construction has begun on the Town Plaza, and that it should be completed by December, 2009. 8. PUBLIC COMMENTS - Mr. Don Hulen spoke regarding his business, Real Cheap Tools. He indicated that his business is on 8th street, and wants to put up a facade in the 50's style. He asked if he is in the Main District and, if so, ifthere are any resources available to him for his design. The Board said that while Mr. Hulen is not in the Main Street District, they welcome any facade improvements around the area and told him that they would try to help in any way possible. 9. BOARD COMMENTS A. FUTURE AGENDA ITEM REQUESTS - There was a discussion of electrical hookups on Main Street and tree trinuning, and Board members asked that these items appear on future agendas. B. MATTERS APPEARING ON AGENDA - No action was taken. C. INQUIRY OF STAFF REQUIRING A STATEMENT OF SPECIFIC FACTUAL INFORMATION OR A RECITATION OF EXISTING POLICY - No action was taken. 10. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made to adjourn by Board Member Jerry Carpenter and seconded by Board Member Maggie Anderson. The meeting adjourned at 7:47 pm.