Uptown BID Agenda Packet 05-04-16

Uptown Business Improvement District Authority
May 4, 2016 @ 8:15 a.m.
Inner City Christian Federation (ICCF) – 920 Cherry Street SE
Members:
Dr. Lynn Happel, Chair
Jaye Van Lenten, Vice Chair
Stephanie Johnson, Secretary
Joseph Jones
Matt Franko
Vacant
Lori Slager-Wenzel
Jason Spaulding
Heather Van Dyke-Titus
Staff Members:
Kara Wood (Executive Director), Jana Wallace (Treasurer),
Neighborhood Ventures (Recording Secretary)
Legal Counsel:
Jessica Wood
Copies To:
Eric DeLong, Scott Buhrer, Uptown CID Board Members, Uptown
Business & Neighborhood Associations, Uptown Committees
AGENDA
1. Call to Order
Dr. Lynn Happel
2. Public Comment on Agenda Items
Dr. Lynn Happel
3. Review and Approval of March 9, 2016 Meeting Minutes*
Dr. Lynn Happel
4. Board Review – FY2016 Budget Year to Date
Mark Lewis
5. Board Review – Calendar Year 2016 Attendance Year to Date
Kaleena Kowalkowski
6. Report – Organization Committee
Pamela Benjamin
7. Report – Marketing Committee
Lori Slager-Wenzel
8. Report – Design Committee
Baird Hawkins
9. Report – Economic Restructuring Committee
Matt Franko
10. Board Consideration to Rename Economic Restructuring Committee to the
Business Development Committee*
Matt Franko
11. Other Business
Dr. Lynn Happel
12. Public Comment
Dr. Lynn Happel
13. Adjournment
Dr. Lynn Happel
*MOTION REQUIRED TO APPROVE
Upcoming Committee Meetings
rd
Design – 3rd Thursday
Business Development – 3 Monday
rd
May 16, 4:30pm
Marketing – 3 Tuesday
May 19, 8:30am
Brewery Vivant – 925 Cherry St SE
May 17, 8:00am
Bazzani Associates – 959 Wealthy SE
Reagan Marketing – 912 Wealthy SE
Executive – 3rd Wednesday
Organization – 4th Wednesday
May 18, 8:00am – Neighborhood Ventures
May 25 8:30am Neighborhood Ventures –
– 1514 Wealthy St. SE, Ste. 214
1514 Wealthy St. SE Ste. 214
Board Members please RSVP to Kaleena Kowalkowski at 616-301-3929
Email: kowalkowskik@neighborhoodventures.org
NEXT UPTOWN BID MEETING:
June 1, 2016 @ 8:15 a.m.
Inner City Christian Federation (ICCF) – 920 Cherry Street SE
CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS
UPTOWN BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT AUTHORITY
Meeting Minutes – March 9, 2016
Wealthy Theatre Annex – 1120 Wealthy Street SE
Members Present:
Lynn Happel (Chair), Matt Franko, Lori Slager-Wenzel, Heather
Van Dyke-Titus, Jaye Van Lenten
Members Absent:
Rosalynn Bliss, Stephanie Johnson, Jason Spaulding
City Staff Present:
Jessica Wood
Others Present:
Pamela Benjamin, Marissa Sandahl, Kaleena Kowalkowski, Mark
Lewis
1.
Call to Order
Dr. Happel called the meeting to order at 3:07pm.
2.
Public Comment on Agenda Items
Dr. Happel asked for comments on agenda items. There were none.
3.
Review and Approval of February 3, 2016 Meeting Minutes
Jaye Van Lenten made a motion to approve the meeting minutes for
February 3, 2016, as presented. Ms. Van Dyke-Titus seconded the motion.
The motion was approved unanimously.
4.
Review Annual Assessment Request
Mr. Lewis presented a detailed review of the proposed Annual Request of the
Uptown Business Improvement District Board as developed by the Uptown
Organization Committee with support from Neighborhood Ventures.
It was noted that timing the annual strategic planning session during the month of
February meant that review by the full board has been limited to date. Mr.
Franko attended the February 24 committee meeting. In years going forward the
project calendar will mandate that a draft of the plan will be submitted at the
regular February meeting for review and comment prior to final approval at the
March session. This ongoing schedule will provide ample feedback opportunity
while still meeting the July 1st summer invoice schedule.
Mr. Lewis continued with his summary by explaining that this will be the fourth
annual special assessment request. Each of the prior requests has been for one
Uptown Business Improvement District Authority Meeting Minutes
March 9, 2016
Page 2 of 4
year periods and the initial special assessment formula was not modified for the
first three annual requests. He explained that the request from the BID Board to
City Commission is to seek approval of the necessity to continue the special
assessment district.
The boundaries of the special assessment district will not be modified from years
prior. A very small number of parcels have changed ownership over the past
twelve month’s yet Neighborhood Ventures research indicates that there was
minimal change to the parcel classification such as commercial or non-profit as
registered with the City Assessors office. One additional “voluntary” property will
be included as Grand Rapids Public Schools has indicated potential support this
year. As a direct response to property owners’ feedback and concerns the
current or FY2016 plan made a number of revisions to the formula in the way that
parcels with frontage on two sides are treated. There will be no modification this
year of the formula that treats the “front” side as 100% of the formula and the
“rear” side as 50% of the property class rate. There will also be no modification
to the treatment of corner lots.
In this fourth year of the BID a modest 5.2% increase in the special assessment
formula is being proposed to accommodate increasing annual costs for
supporting development district activities. While permissible to extend the
request up to seven years; the Uptown request will be limited to one year based
on the modified formula and offering the opportunity to show stakeholder impact
and allow for further comment.
The FY2017 special assessment request estimates $86,585.20 of revenue based
on 16,485.08 of assessable liner curb frontage. Commercial and Industrial
properties will be assessed $5.46 per linear foot. Non-Profit properties that fit the
assessable definition will be treated with a rate equal to $2.73 per linear foot. Mr.
Lewis explained the Formula for Property Assessment including the Formula for
Unique parcels.
Voluntary Properties are estimated to offer up to $10,622.10 additional revenue
for the development district in FY2017 based on 3,155.00 linear feet of curb
frontage. The City of Grand Rapids has nine properties included in the district
and they have traditionally participated each year. A member inquired as to the
voluntary participation rate for the current year. Neighborhood Ventures
researched that question previously and records indicate that only two of the
voluntary property owners invited to participate, opted out – LINC Community
Revitalization for their property at the corner of Wealthy and Diamond, and, Inner
City Christian Federation of Cherry Street. There was a brief discussion about
Uptown Business Improvement District Authority Meeting Minutes
March 9, 2016
Page 3 of 4
evaluating what services should be provided to these parcels in the next year
considering that both entities were invited to participate yet opted out.
Mr. Lewis reviewed the list of Proposed Service Enhancements for the next year.
These tasks remain unchanged as they are all affiliated with the initial marketing
and development plan previously approved. Ms. Van Lenten suggested revising
the heading “Economic Restructuring” to “Business Development” and add
workshops and seminars to the task list. There was consensus on that
suggestion.
There was review of the corresponding FY2017 operating budget associated with
the annual request. The current year request can be compared to prior year
requests. Mr. Lewis stressed that the numbers associated here are in support of
the annual City Commission request to continue the district. A formal FY2017
budget will be submitted by the BID to City Commission for approval in a few
months. The estimated expenditures were derived from requests that each of
the Uptown Committees submitted as requested. Mr. Lewis referred to a
supplemental memo that explained the request increase by Marketing to support
that task, Streetscape Enhancements to support approximately four additional
weeks of services on the beginning and tail end of each growing season,
additional support for Business Development to conduct seminars, and a 3%
increase in part-time Corridor Management support. A $5,000 request for
additional Organization Committee support is not being recommended.
The group discussed the increase in costs. It was noted that after three years of
static revenue it is clearly represented that some expenditure categories would
necessitate decreased funding if others were to increase financial support.
Additional special assessment revenue might alleviate some of that. There was
also the valid suggestion that other sources of income can be derived from tax
increment financing in the Corridor Improvement District, sponsorships, and
potentially grants. Mr. Lewis indicated that the annual 3% increase is something
that is recommended by the Organization Committee. He noted that even with
the increase total cost recovery of a ½-full time equivalent is not being achieved.
The board should be made aware of the cost associated with staff support
especially if future expansion of manpower is something that might be under
consideration.
There was brief discussion on the budget request and associated cost increases.
It was confirmed that the refuse services contract is in the third year of a three
year contract so that line item is assumed to remain unchanged this year. Ms.
Van Dyke-Titus and Ms. Benjamin provided comments with regard to the
deliberation process at the committee level in making this recommendation. A
Uptown Business Improvement District Authority Meeting Minutes
March 9, 2016
Page 4 of 4
memorandum from Stephanie Johnson showing her support was distributed.
There was further clarification that the cost increase for landscaping is a better
reflection of when the growing season first begins and final clean-up is
conducted.
The group reviewed the project calendar with specific regard to City Commission
consideration, notices, and public hearings.
Heather Van Dyke-Titus made a motion in support of a Board Resolution
Recommending City Commission Establish Necessity for FY2017 Special
Assessment Roll No. 8716 in the plan as reviewed today. Ms. Slager-Wenzel
supported the motion. Dr. Happel called the vote. Those in support were
Slager-Wenzel, Van Dyke-Titus and Happel. Those opposed were Franko
and Van Lenten. The motion passed by majority support.
5.
Other Business
There was no additional business for board discussion.
6.
Public Comment
Dr. Happel commented that she would like to see Uptown pursue additional grant
opportunities to assist with funding the increasing cost of providing services to
minimize the annual financial impact to small business owners.
7.
The Meeting was adjourned at 4:02pm
As submitted by Mark C. Lewis
CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS
UPTOWN BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT AUTHORITY
Meeting Minutes – April 6, 2016
Inner City Christian Federation (ICCF) – 920 Cherry SE
Members Present:
Dr. Lynn Happel (Chair), Matt Franko, Stephanie Johnson,
Secretary, Heather Van Dyke-Titus
Members Absent:
Joseph Jones, Jaye Van Lenten (Vice Chair), Jason Spaulding,
Stephanie Johnson, Lori Slager-Wenzel
City Staff Present:
Jonathan Klooster
Others Present:
Baird Hawkins, Paul Lee, Amy Ruis, Pamela Benjamin, Kaleena
Kowalkowski (Recording Secretary), Mark Lewis
Legal Counsel:
Jessica Wood
Copies To:
Eric DeLong, Scott Buhrer, Kara Wood, Jana Wallace
The meeting was cancelled due to a lack of quorum.
There was group discussion as each committee provided a report to those
present about their current projects.
The next meeting of the Uptown Business Improvement District Authority Board
will be held at 8:15am on Wednesday, May 4, 2016 at ICCF (920 Cherry Street
SE)
As submitted by Kaleena Kowalkowski, Recording Secretary
CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
UPTOWN
BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
FY2016 BUDGET REQUEST
Recommended by the Uptown BID Board
on June 4, 2015
Approved by City Commission on June 9, 2015
Submitting for Adoption by the Uptown BID Board
on July 1, 2015
Proposed
FY2016
Budget
Resources
Special Assessments
$
Interest
From / (To) Fund Balance
Total Uptown BID Resources $
90,243
20
27,558
117,821
Appropriations
Audit and Annual Report 1
$
City Administrative Fee
Corridor Management
Economic Restructuring
Marketing and Branding
Organization
Streetscape Enhancements
Streetscape Maintenance
Total Uptown BID Appropriations $
UPTOWN BID EXCESS / (DEFICIT)
$
2,500
2,500
26,500
1,000
18,000
500
48,181
18,640
117,821
-
Note 1: Annual report required by PA 120 of 1961, as
amended, and by City Commission Policy 900-54.
uptownfy2016budget.xls 06152015
FY2016 Q3 UPTOWN BID TO DATE
Through 3/31/16
$ 117,821.00
ANNUAL
RESOURCES
ANNUAL
APPROPRIATIONS
Audit & Annual Report
City Administrative Fee
Corridor Management*
Economic Restructuring
Marketing & Branding
Organization
Streetscape Enhancements**
Streetscape Maintenance***
COMMITTED
*Corridor Management
**Streetscape Enhancement ‐ Tazzia
***Streetscape Maintenance ‐ 61st District
Reimbursements to Date
July August September October November December
January
February
March
$ 2,500.00
$ 2,500.00
$ 26,500.00
$ 1,000.00
$ 18,000.00
$ 500.00
$ 48,181.00
$ 18,640.00
$ 117,821.00
$ 26,500.00
$ 16,680.00
$ 18,525.00
$ 34,898.95
$ 5,123.15
$ 4,137.73
$ 6,085.71
$ 7,827.26
$ 7,371.56
$ 8,856.13
$ 10,035.34
$ 4,116.73
$ 88,452.56
YEAR TO DATE
$ ‐
$ ‐
$ (19,800.00)
$ (584.44)
$ (18,000.00)
$ (500.00)
$ (37,088.12)
$ (12,480.00)
$ (88,452.56)
BALANCE
$ 2,500.00
$ 2,500.00
$ 6,700.00
$ 415.56
$ ‐
$ ‐
$ 11,092.88
$ 6,160.00
$ 29,368.44
UNCOMMITTED
$ ‐
$ ‐
$ ‐
$ 415.56
$ ‐
$ ‐
$ 6,466.35
$ 2,000.00
$ 8,881.91
Uptown Business Improvement District
2016 Meeting Attendance
Lynn Happel (Chair)
Jaye Van Lenten (Vice-Chair)
Stephanie Johnson (Secretary)
Rosalynn Bliss
Matt Franko
Lori Slager - Welzel
Vacant
Jason Spaulding
Heather VanDyke-Titus
Joseph Jones
Kaleena Kowalkowski (or staff)
Mark Lewis
P - present, but not yet appointed
Y - indicated yes, attended
N - indicated no, did not attend
Rep
EBA
EBA
EFBA
City
EHBA
WSBA
Term Through
12/31/2016
12/31/2018
12/31/2017
12/31/2016
12/31/2018
12/31/2019
6-Jan
Y
Y
N
N
Y
NA
3-Feb
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
2-Mar
N
Y
N
N
Y
Y
6-Apr
Y
N
Y
EHBA
WSBA
City
12/31/2016
12/31/2019
N
Y
Y
Y
Y
N
P
N
Y
N
Y
Y
Y
Y
NV
NV
Y
N
4-May
1-Jun
6-Jul
3-Aug
7-Sep
5-Oct
2-Nov
7-Dec
Uptown Organization Committee
Meeting Notes – Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Neighborhood Ventures, 1514 Wealthy St SE Ste. 214
Members Present: Pamela Benjamin (Chair), Stephanie Johnson, Heather Van Dyke-Titus
Members Absent: Mary O’Neill, Tammy Sytsma
Staff Present: Kaleena Kowalkowski
1.
East Fulton BID Representative.
Kaleena updated the group that the Executive Committee would like to work with the Organization
Committee in the BID candidate search. They suggested that since the search for East Fulton has gone on
since January with no solid leads that they could consider a representative from another district at this time
and then continue to engage East Fulton and replace the representation in December when other Board
member’s seats open up.
Members of the committee identified possible candidates and will have conversations with those leads this
month.
2.
BID Renewal - Update
The public hearing to take comment on the proposed FY2017 Uptown Business Improvement District Plan
took place at 7:00pm on April 12. Baird Hawkins spoke to the City Commission on behalf of Uptown. There
were no individuals who came to speak in opposition. Uptown received four letters/calls with questions
about current projects and questions about the special assessment. Those letters/calls were followed up
with a formal letter signed by the BID chair along with a copy of the Uptown annual report.
3.
Projects for 2016/2017
 The committee would like to start a volunteer recognition segment in the Uptown e-newsletter
 The committee would like to work on internal marketing in the coming months and is considering
hosting an event/competition for Uptown business owners/representatives to take part in.
 The committee is investigating how a year-long sponsorship program would look for Uptown.
Members of the committee are asked to research and investigate other sponsorship programs they
might be familiar with and bring those to the Org Committee meeting in May.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 25, 2016 8:30am @ Neighborhood Ventures
Uptown Marketing Committee
Meeting Minutes – Tuesday, April 19, 2016 @ 8:00am
Reagan Marketing, 912 Wealthy St. SE
Members Present: Chris McDonald (chair), Jessica Woolpert, Brianna Forbes, Melissa Parker, Susan
Johnson, Lori Slager-Welzel, Kim Needham, Marta Swain
Members Absent: Jason Kakabaker
Support Staff Present: Kaleena Kowalkowski
1. Budget Review
a. The committee has extended the allocated BID resources. They do not have any
commitments remaining in FY2016 but have the opportunity to grow Eat. Shop. Rock. in
June. The Committee would like to put together a request to the CID for funds to cover
these additions to the event and promotions.
2. Concierge Tour 2016
a. The Uptown Concierge Tour is Tuesday, May 10 from 12-5pm. There are seventeen
hospitality professionals from the area registered for the event. The participants and
tour guides will meet at the Fulton Street Farmer’s Market at noon for a lunch catered
by Mongiamo’s. The tour will then travel: Participants will be dropped back off to the
Farmer’s Market at the conclusion of the tour and will be invited to meet at Elk Brewing
for complementary appetizers.
b. Clothing Matters is donating cloth bags to be filled with Uptown “swag” for Concierge
Tour participants. Kaleena put a call out to businesses in the newsletter and to business
association leadership to have any interested businesses provide their promotional
materials or coupons by Monday, May 9.
c. The tour guides for the event are:
 Chris, Jason, Marta, Rachel and Lori – another for Wealthy Street?
d. Businesses who would like to be featured stops should let the committee know by May
9th. For example Furniture City Creamery will offer a treat when participants stop.
3. WMCAT Update – Uptown Merchandise
a. A small sub-committee is working with Ambrose on creating a merchandise plan that
will accommodate the needs and goals of the Uptown merchandise plan. Chris, Jess and
Kaleena met with Krik and the WMCAT apprentices on 4/26/2016 to work through
details. There are two components to the current process with WMCAT, the Uptown
merchandise for businesses to sell and the potential “pop-up” experience at Eat. Shop.
Rock.
 Jess is going to work with the apprentices on the design.
 Eat. Shop. Rock. pop-up. The marketing committee is working with WMCAT to
design a fundraiser/launch for Uptown merchandise. Ideally the WMCAT team
will be at each of the Eat. Shop. Rock. events with their mobile screen printing
equipment and will sell small souvenir items featuring the event.
 Uptown Merchandise. The committee is exploring t-shirts and shopping bags
for merchandise. Organic/sustainable products will also be priced out. Once
the cost is determined the committee will create pricing and inventory plans
and will solicit feedback from potential retail stores and the CID/BID boards.
4. Eat. Shop. Rock.
a. Sponsorship: Brewery Vivant, Billy’s, The Winchester and Donkey Taqueria have all
committed to sponsoring this year’s event.
b. Business Association Plans:
i. June 2 – East Hills music at ICCF and beer tent provided by beer tent by Brewery
Vivant.
ii. June 9 – Eastown music at Eastown Vet Clinic with beer tent
iii. June 16 – Wealthy Street events taking place at Wealthy Market, Beer tent by
Elk Brewing, and Lee & Birch.
iv. June 23 – East Fulton classic car event down the street and stage possible at
Hair Carrigan
c. Neighborhood Ventures is applying for three temporary liquor licenses for the three
districts planning beer tents.
d. Marketing materials will include posters, bag stuffers, billboard and social media pushes.
Print materials will be delivered the second week of May. The Billboard will be installed
at the intersection of Wealthy and Diamond the last week of May.
Next Meeting: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 8:00am @ Reagan Marketing (912 Wealthy St. SE)
Uptown Design Committee
Thursday, April 21, 2016 @ 8:30am
Bazzani, 959 Wealthy St SE
Members Present: Baird Hawkins, Jerry Meyer, Lee Hardy
Members Not Present: Lee Hardy Rachel Lee, Marisa Sandahl
Support Staff Present: Kaleena Kowalkowski
1. Approval for trash can maintenance.
The committee approved the expense of purchasing two additional trash cans and having one
installed on the can in front of Mulligan’s in Eastown and one saved for future needs. The
committee also approved the cost of removing the broken bike rack in front of the Post Office
on Lake Drive.
2. Benches.
 Style: Kaleena presented samples and ideas from Forms Plus, the same company that
the trash cans were purchased from. The committee liked the quality of the metal
bench option. They prefer the backless bench style with the graffiti coating. The
committee asked Kaleena to look into other potential companies for price and style
comparison.

Locations: Jerry conducted a survey of potential places for benches in East Fulton, East
Hills and Wealthy Street. Marisa spoke with the EBA about possible locations in
Eastown. The committee will engage property owners near the suggested areas this
month for their opinion and support. Rachel is checking with the City of Grand Rapids on
regulations about bench placement.
3. Other Business.
Josh Naramore the new Mobility Director for the City of Grand Rapids will be invited to attend a
future Design Committee meeting to introduce himself and acquaint with the Uptown district.
Next Meeting: Thursday, May 19, 2016 - 8:30am @ Bazzani
Uptown Business Development Committee
4:30 p.m. Monday, April 18, 2016
Brewery Vivant (925 Cherry Street SE)
Members Present: Matt Franko (chair), Christine Lindeman, Jason Spaulding, and Pamela Benjamin
Members Absent: Paul Lee, Betti Allen
Support Staff: Kaleena Kowalkowski
1. Upcoming Seminars
a. Keeping in line with the goals set out of the strategic planning session, the committee is going to host an
“Uptown meets Uptown” type of event in place of the traditional business development seminar for
August. The date is set for Tuesday, August 9. Conceptually this could be a walking tour of districts,
guided by CID/BID board members with Uptown businesses participating. Committee members were
asked to think about what this event could look like over the next month and bring all considerations to
the Business Development Committee meeting in May.
b. The committee discussed the following topics for potential future seminars:
i. Quickbooks 101
ii. Work/Life Balance
iii. Sustainability
iv. Mentorship/Networking Event
c. The committee is exploring alternate locations for future seminars. They are considering approaching
businesses to host the events in some form.
2. Other Potential Projects for FY2017
a. Creating Uptown Videos in collaboration with the Marketing Committee.
b. Extending the internal Uptown marketing with creating more informational folders and possibly
distributing them in other ways.
Next Meeting: May 16, 2016 4:30pm, Brewery Vivant (925 Cherry Street SE)
Uptown Executive Committee
Meeting Minutes – Friday, April 15, 2016 @ 8:00am
Neighborhood Ventures, 1514 Wealthy St. SE
Members Present: Amy Ruis, Dr. Lynn Happel, Matt Franko
Members Present: Jaye Van Lenten
Support Staff Present: Mark Lewis and Kaleena Kowalkowski
1. Review April CID/BID Agendas.
The committee approved the May agendas.
2. East Fulton BID Representative Progress Report.
The committee is concerned that no one is stepping up from East Fulton. With summer coming and vacations
that will likely cause conflicts for board members and meetings, the committee things it’s very important to fill
the spot ASAP. The committee would like to consider a representative outside of East Fulton. If someone else is
interested from one of the other four districts an East Fulton representative can again be looked for in
December when there are two more openings on the CID board and one on the BID.
3. FY2016 CID/BID Budget Review.
Mark Lewis presented the remaining funds from the CID and BID budget to the committee. He also gave a
breakdown of the accounting practices and showed the group the balance sheets for the monthly request for
reimbursement from the City. This was good information for new executive committee members.
4. Review Neighborhood Ventures Contract. – tabled
5. Annual Report.
The committee approved the annual report to be sent to 437 property owners and businesses.
6. Other Business.
At the CID meeting Amy will open the opportunity for each committee to formally make a request for the
remaining FY2016CID funds.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 18, 8:00am @ Neighborhood Ventures