Board Meeting Minutes - June

Board of Directors Meeting Chattanooga BID/Downtown Chattanooga Alliance 
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Time: 2:00 pm-2:55 pm 
Location: Waterhouse Pavilion, Miller Plaza, Chattanooga, TN 37402 1

1. CALL TO ORDER

Steve Hunt, Chairman of the Chattanooga BID, called the meeting to order.  Board members attending were Travis Lytle, Matt McGauley, Donald  O’Connor, Charles Perry, and Gordon Stalans.  

Not attending were Pierre Dabit, Kelly Fitzgerald, Todd Gardenhire, Walter  Johnson, Lisa Maragnano, Erskine Oglesby, Darian Scott, Robin Smith and  Ember Souchet.  

Also present were Julia Bursch of River City Company and Steve Brookes,  Executive Director of the Chattanooga BID. 

2. The Executive Committee minutes of June 10, 2020 as amended were approved. As there was no quorum, the Board minutes of May 20, 2020 need to be approved later.

3. OLD BUSINESS

a. The contract with Block by Block was discussed. It was decided that Block by Block would supply the truck. August 1 is still the scheduled start date. 

b. There are on-going discussions as to office space and the scheduling of a  downtown walk. 

4. NEW BUSINESS

a. The Solidarity statement circulated by the Executive Director was discussed. It was emphasized that the DCA seeks to foster an inclusive downtown for all Chattanoogans and visitors. 

b. It was suggested that two new committees-one on Community Outreach, a  second on Strategic Planning- be established. M. McGauley has agreed to chair the Strategic Planning committee. It was further pointed out that a  Nominating Committee for new board members needs to be established.

5. COMMITTEE REPORTS

i. G. Stalans of the Finance Committee reported that $746,000 of the  $912,000 assessment had been collected. Of the uncollected amount, approximately $20,000 is the sum owed at this point by several nonprofits, which have petitioned for waivers. The $100,000 grant from the  Lyndhurst Foundation has been deposited in the DCA account for a total of  $846,000 on hand.  The application for 501 C3 status has been filed.

6. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPDATE

S. Brookes reported on the following: work on an insurance policy and a handbook, programming on cleaning and hospitality concerns, ambassador training, uniforms, the transition of the website from River  City Company to the DCA, and ways to publicize the work of the DCA. He also addressed the peaceful demonstrations downtown.  

The meeting adjourned at 2:55 pm.