Board Meeting Minutes - October
Board of Directors Meeting Chattanooga BID/Downtown Chattanooga Alliance
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Time: 2:00 p.m.-3:51 p.m.
Location: By Zoom
1. CALL TO ORDER
Steve Hunt, Chairman of the DCA, called the meeting to order. Board members attending were Kelly Fitzgerald, Walter Johnson, Travis Lytle, Lisa Maragnano, Matt McGauley, Donald O’Connor, Charles Perry, Darian Scott, Ember Souchet, Gordon Stalans, and Erskine Oglesby.
Not attending were Pierre Dabit, Todd Gardenhire, and Robin Smith.
Also present were Julia Bursch of River City Company and Steve Brookes, Executive Director of the Chattanooga DCA.
2. The Board minutes of September 16, 2020 were approved. The Executive Committee minutes of October 14, 2020 were approved.
3. OLD BUSINESS
(a) K. Fitzgerald and L. Maragnano are at work on the nomination process for new Board members. The issue of state representatives on the Board is to be revisited.
(b) A motion to form a Strategic Initiative and Planning Committee passed unanimously.
4. NEW BUSINESS
(a) S. Hunt & S. Brookes reported on their October 16 meeting with Maura Sullivan on the Base Level of Services.
S. Brookes reported on the following matters: an October 23 meeting with EPB will be held to move the sponsorship forward, the almost complete website transition, work to liaison with Chattanooga Climbs, and a future presentation at BOMA. Recent work by Ambassadors included the painting of parking meters, power washing, removal of graffiti, the cleaning of 62 biohazards, and the collection of 236 trash bags. The Hospitality Team continues to provide directions and recommendations to the public.
Brookes also discussed the issue of homeless outreach and his plan to convene a Homeless Task Force meeting.
5. FINANCE COMMITTEE UPDATE
G. Stalans reported that as of the end of September, the DCA had approximately $726,000 in bank accounts and $787,000 in total assets. A Block by Blocks bill of $112,000 for August and September is expected. Approximately $800,000 in assessments has been collected with $100,000 not collected.
Stalans reported on discussions with the four non-profits.
The following motion was made: “for 2019, that assessments on the church buildings of Second Presbyterian and St. Paul’s be waived, but not the assessments on their parking lots since the DCA does not have the authority to waive such assessments according to T.C.A. 67-5-212 and that the YMCA and the United Way should pay 10% of their assessments.”
The motion passed with 9 affirmative votes (Hunt, Fitzgerald, Perry, Stalans, Johnson, Lytle, O’Connor, Scott, and Souchet), 1 negative vote (McGauley), and 2 abstentions (Maragnano and Oglesby).
6. M. McGauley reported on the 1 October meeting of the Strategic Initiative and Planning Committee. Topics covered include animating the district, landscaping, wayfinding, branding, vacant storefronts, safety issues, and the validation of the place of pedestrians downtown.
A motion to allow the committee to spend up to $25,000 on animating activities and other matters passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 3:51 p.m.