Board Meeting Minutes - August

Board of Directors Meeting Chattanooga BID/Downtown Chattanooga Alliance 
Wednesday, August 19, 2020 
Time: 2:00 pm-3:10 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, Lisa Maragnano,  Matt McGauley, Donald O’Connor, Erskine Oglesby, Charles Perry, and  Gordan Stalans.  

Not attending were Pierre Dabit, Travis Lytle, Darian Scott, Ember Souchet, 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 Executive Committee minutes of August 12, 2020 were approved. The Board minutes of July 15, 2020 were approved.

3. OLD BUSINESS

Renovation of the new offices at 407 Broad St. is almost complete.

A chair for the Community Outreach Committee is still needed.  

K. Fitzgerald will chair the Nominating Committee, which will be established by the end of September. In addition to nominating new members, part of the charge of the committee is to inform those joining the board as to expectations of membership. 

4. NEW BUSINESS

D. O’Connor made a motion that the DCA adhere to the requirements of the  Tennessee Open Records Act. The motion passed unanimously. 

M. McGauley, Chair of the Strategic Initiative and Planning Committee,  outlined his work to launch the committee and recruit members from across the district. The committee will hold its first meeting in September. 

For the Finance Committee, G. Stalans reported that $770,000 in assessments has been collected with $140,000 yet to be collected. The IRS  has approved the BID’s application for 501(c) 3 status. Also discussed were plans with the Office of Chattanooga City Treasurer for next year’s collection and the status of discussions with the four non-profits which have applied for reduction/abatement of their assessments. 

Executive Director S. Brookes reviewed aspects of his Smart Report on  DCA activities and his goals for the next 30 days. 

S. Hunt proposed that in future meetings there would be an opportunity for board members to share their comments, observations and concerns. 

The meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.m.