Board Meeting Minutes - February 2024
Downtown Chattanooga Alliance
Board of Directors Meeting
February 21, 2024 - 2:00pm
Location: 721 Broad St (Area 61 Gallery), Suite 100
Call to Order
Todd Philips, Chair of the DCA, called the meeting to order. DCA Board Members attending were Keeli Crewe, Councilman Darin Ledford, Susan Harris, Adam Kinsey, Gordon Stalans, Brandy Burgans, Tom Marshall, Sean O’Brien and Kelly Fitzgerald. Also, in attendance was DCA Executive Director, Steve Brookes, Kelly Allen with Q Strategies and Jim Kennedy
Not attending were Councilwoman Dotley, Rep. Greg Martin, Kevin Love, Evann Freeman and John Clark.
1. DCA Formal Evaluation Presentation
Jim Kennedy gave a very thorough presentation on the evaluation of the DCA. The executive summary is attached to these minutes.
The survey was sent to 184 stakeholders, posted on social media and was included on our newsletter. A total of 86 people responded, and Jim conducted 23 one on one interviews.
The survey showed that 80.6% respondents believe the DCA should be continued. There was nearly universal support for the DCA in the interviews, with 21 of 24 stating that it should continue.
2. Approval of Minutes
The November 8, 2023 Executive Committee Minutes and December 13, 2023 Board of Directors Minutes were approved. The February 1, 2024 Finance Committee Minutes could not be voted on due to lack of quorum.
3. Requests for Proposals
The DCA will be issuing two RFPs, one for the Public Relations services and the other for the Ambassador Program. Adam Kinsey and Tom Marshall will serve on a committee to review the Public Relations while Susan and Todd will serve on a committee to review the Ambassador program.
Keeli stated that she would like for the social media services to be removed from the Public Relations RFP, which Steve agreed with.
The RFPs will be posted online and emailed out.
4. Finance Update
Gordon informed the Board that the cash on hand was down to the reserves and the DCA will need to use reserves in March. The reserves will be funded back to the regular amount once new assessments are collected.
The DCA will start the collection process on past dues on March 1st. The firm O’Shaughnessy & Carter will be used for this.
The board voted, with a motion from Gordon and a 2nd from Adam, to proceed with the collections.
The finance committee voted to waive 100% of the assessments for United Way. The board voted unanimously, with a motion from Councilman Darin Ledford and a 2nd from Tom.
The finance committee voted to waive 90% of the assessments for the YMCA. The board voted unanimously, with a motion from Gordon and a 2nd from Susan.
5. Executive Director Update
Steve gave a quick update on the district and passed out the Conflict of Interest Policy for the Board Members to review and sign.
Public Comments
Meeting Adjourned