Board Meeting Minutes - November

Board of Directors Meeting Chattanooga BID
Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Time: 2:00 pm-3:45 pm
Location: River City Company (Large Conference Room) 
850 Market Street, Suite 200, Chattanooga, TN 37402

1. CALL TO ORDER

Steve Hunt, President of the Chattanooga BID, called the meeting to order. Board members attending were Kelly Fitzgerald, Walter Johnson, Travis Lytle, Donald O’Connor, Lisa Maragnano, Matt McGauley, Charles Perry, Darian Scott, Ember Souchet (by telephone), Gordon Stalans, Erskine Oglesby, and Todd Gardenhire.

Not attending were Pierre Dabit and Robin Smith. 

Also present were Julia Bursch and Amy Donahue of River City Company, April Holland of Miller and Martin, and Brad Segal and Yvette Freeman of P.U.M.A. (by telephone).

2. Corrected Executive Committee 11/13/19 meeting minutes were approved.

Board 10/23/19 meeting minutes were approved.

3. OLD BUSINESS

(a) The status of the lawsuit concerning the BID, which has been dismissed, was announced. 

(b) It was decided that notice of future meetings should be placed in The Chattanooga Times Free Press two weeks before board meetings.

(c) A motion that the Chattanooga BID should retain 501(c)(3) status was passed unanimously.

4. NEW BUSINESS

(a) Y. Freeman of P.U.M.A. reported on the status of the search for an Executive Director. The deadline for applications is December 27, 2019. Approximately twenty applications have been received. Issues discussed included what kind of qualifications should the BID look to in seeking a director.

(b) Y. Freeman led a discussion of which BID priorities should be included in the RFP for Vendors.  The consensus of the board was that “Clean and Safe” considerations should come first, but also discussed were issues of deferred maintenance, beautification, animation and technology.

It was agreed that an off-cycle board meeting should be held on February 5, 2020 to select an Executive Director.

(c) J. Bursch announced that the BID has received a $100,000 grant from the Lyndhurst Foundation to help cover start-up and implementation expenses.

J. Bursch also distributed business cards to board members. 

(d) A. Holland of Miller and Martin updated the status of an engagement letter of that firm with a 10% discount for non-profits included. S. Hunt executed the engagement letter on behalf of the board.

(e) A motion to accept the by-laws as distributed was passed unanimously.

(f) There was a discussion of walking tours of the district as a means to familiarize board members with pressing issues and hear feedback from tenants and property owners as to their concerns. 

It was suggested that these tours might focus on the following quadrants: 4th Street to the River, 4th to 7th Streets, 8th to MLK, and MLK south. J. Bursch was asked to work on this idea. These tours might start in February or March of 2020.

This discussion broadened into other means the BID might use to solicit input on needs and concerns.

(g) The Treasurer G. Stalans reported that a federal ID number has been acquired. Next steps for the Treasurer and the Finance Committee will be contacting banks in the district as to where the BID account will be placed, filing for tax exempt status, and preparing an annual budget.  A Finance Committee of the Treasurer, Donald O’Connor, and Matt McGauley was formed.

After several statements from the public, the meeting was adjourned at 3:45.