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 Q1 2015 ­ Business Improvement
District Newsletter
DOWNTOWN
INDIANA Launches
MOBILE APP
Available for Android,
iPhone, and other mobile
devices.
Thank you for being a part of the Downtown Indiana Community!
Thank you for reading the first edition of
The Downtown Direct!
Keeping you in the loop is the goal of this newsletter. At the
end of each quarter it will appear in your e­mail box to update
you on activities and projects from the last quarter. As always,
if you have any questions or comments, please contact us at
office@downtownindiana.org. Thank You!
2015 FIRE & ICE FESTIVAL
The 2015 Fire and Ice Festival
was warmly received by the
community. We were excited to
received a lot of positive
feedback from our business
owners, and those who
attended the festivities. We are
certain that we have laid a solid
foundation for the event, and
look forward to making it an
annual occurrence!
The day began with our pancake breakfast at Gatti Pharmacy. Our thanks to Stephanie Smith­Cooney for allowing
Downtown Indiana the use of the facility. Chefs Noah Shank
and Steve Holliday created culinary delights and we feel that
the experience is one we can grow for next year. After
DeMartino Ice Company unloaded the beautiful crafted
precarved ice sculptures throughout downtown, they began
their live exhibition. The program lists events,
store listings, contact
information, and we are
excited to announce that on
May 7th, 2015 we will be
launching exclusive, and
unique Mobile Deals ­
available only through the
Mobile App! If you are a
retailer and would like to offer
Downtown Shoppers a mobile
deal, please contact the office!
Downtown Indiana Business Office
Sean M. Howard, Director
39 N. 7th Street
Indiana, PA 15701
(724) 463­6110­Office
(724) 463­1293 ­ Fax
office@downtownindiana.org
In all, Demartino Ice
carved 6 giant ice
sculptures consisting of 4 ­ 6 blocks of ice in IRMC
Park, turning the
community space into a
gallery of art. In addition,
17 individual blocks were
pre­carved, and displayed
throughout town.
At noon, our chili cook­off began. 11 contestants competed for
the title of Best Chili in Indiana. Thanks to our judges Steve
White, Gerald Smith, Laurie Kuzneski, Josh Widdowson, Bob
Piccirillo and to Diane Wagoner who was snowed in. We also
need to extend to Tom Zaucha our thanks for the use of the
Atrium. This being our first chili cook­off, we know there is
room for improvement ­ not in the recipes but in the logistics
and we have noted your suggestions for next year.
The interactive ice sculptures were "facebook" and "Instagram"
posting friendly to be shared with family and friends. The
throne held out in IRMC Park for weeks and the store­fronts
had their sculptures visible through midweek. We feel that we
have created a good buzz in the community for next year's
festival.
We would like to thank the Indiana County Chamber of
Commerce and the Indiana County Tourist Bureau for
partnering with us on this event. In addition, First
Commonwealth Bank was a major sponsor and CNB Bank
sponsored the chili cook­off. We would like to also
acknowledge the following businesses who participated with
purchasing ice carvings for their store­fronts: Lucy Rae's,
Chateau Christines, Indiana Eye Associates, Michael B Shoes,
Taze and Romeo's Restaurants, The Black Horse Steakhouse,
Grubs, Gatti Pharmacy, The Coney and lastly the Indiana Free
Library and the Jimmy Stewart Museum.
The festival also had donations provided by, Crooked Creek
Creations, The Distillery, Turners, Lowes, Third Wave Sound,
the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex.
Lastly, no event can be accomplished without the help of
volunteers. A special thank you to Mary Jane Chakot,
Stephanie Zorabedian and the entire Holliday family!
2015 SPRING PLANNING & PRUNING
Downtown
Online:
Our Website
www.downtownindiana.org
2015 Snow Removal
Statistics
Indiana recorded 25 inches
of snow in 2015. The last
time Indiana received 25
inches of snow was in
2009. With snow comes
snow removal for our BID
property owners. Two
Downtown Indiana, Inc.,
BID, (Business
Improvement District) PT
staff workers clocked 137
hours in snow removal in
2015 ­ resulting in 100+
truckloads of snow
removed. As a reminder, the
below is the process
between the property
owner, the Indiana Borough
and Downtown Indiana in
how the snow gets removed
Winter is giving spring a tough time entering Indiana;
however, that doesn't stop the work that the Downtown
Indiana BID staff are completing in the district. Starting
March 10, 2015, the BID (Business Improvement
District) staff has worked 37 hours to clean up the winter
mess and prepare for spring. Beyond picking up trash,
scrubbing off graffiti, finishing weeding to prepare for
spring planting, and cleaning around the tables at IRMC
Park, the BID staff reported the following completed
tasks:
Cut off broken limbs from trees from Philadelphia 5th
and 6th.
Measured and built tree boxes for 7th St. North.
Leveled brick on the side walk between 6th and 8th.
Drove the street sweeper in the entire BID district.
Sheared shrubs down to Gatti Pharmacy from Water St.
As a property owner, annual BID assessments pay for the
labor, equipment and material to do these maintenance
tasks. As a property owner, the Downtown Indiana
office welcomes your input. Please contact the office at
724.463.6110.
Congratulations to a New Business!
A new marketing and business assistance firm is currently
Starting Up here in Downtown Indiana! Planful will be
working with the Downtown Indiana Office to execute a 2015
Business Owner Survey. We ask that you please work with us,
after snow falls:
and fill out the survey ­ if you conduct business within the BID.
Step One: Property owner
removes snow from face of
building to curb.
Step Two: Downtown
Indiana, Inc., paid by BID
assessments, removes snow
around parking meters and
at curb locations. Snow is
disposed of at a time and
location designated by the
Indiana Borough. DI
coordinates with the public
works department. DI also
removes snow on sidewalks
at crosswalk intersections.
Step Three: Indiana
Borough removes the snow
at the designated areas.
Downtown Indiana has a
log book at the office if any
property owner is ever
interested in seeing what is
being done in the BID
district to remove snow
during the winter months. Any comments are
appreciated, and DI
welcomes the property
owner's input to make the
BID a success.
Welcome to Downtown Indiana, Planful! We wish you success.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BID
HOW IS MY ASSESSMENT USED?
The Downtown Business Improvement District has a number of revenue sources. The largest
percentage of revenue comes from assessments followed by fundraising, sponsorship, business
memberships (for those located outside the BID district) and residential membership. When
projecting the budget for 2015, assessments that have not been paid in the past were factored
into the budget.
The expenses for the BID are categorized into three categories: Operations and Management
Expenses, Maintenance and Marketing/Economic Development. Operations and management
expenses include salary and benefits for one full time manager and a part­time administrative
assistant, rent, insurance, travel and training, bank charges and office expenses. Operations
and Management expenses account for 50% of the expenses. Maintenance includes the salary
for the part­time maintenance staff, equipment, snow removal, landscape, repairs and
supplies. The Carpenter Avenue beautification and safety enhancement project falls within the
maintenance budget. Currently maintenance is projected to account for 29% of the expenses. Costs associated with this year's snow removal may increase that percentage. Lastly, marketing
and economic development which includes advertising, the mobile app, costs associated with
promotions and fundraising and other marketing initiatives account for the remaining 21% of
the expenses. For more information on the budget, you can request a budget to actual from the DI office. Upcoming Events:
Our Website and Mobile App offer a community
calendar to our members. Check our online calendar
for a listing of community, and local Downtown
Indiana events. Please e­mail your event listings to
events@downtownindiana.org if you have an event
for us to share. May 7, 8, & 9 ­ Downtown Indiana will host a three
day Mothers Day Retail Event. More details to be
announced soon! May 23 ­ Second annual Westsylvania Jazz & Blues
Festival, hosting outdoor FREE performances in
IRMC park by various artists. This year the festival
will headline The New Mastersounds, and the
Elevations featuring Warren Wolf.
Visit www.westsylvaniajazzandblues.org for more
information.
Announced dates: June 12th ­ Downtown Decathlon
July 16th ­ Downtown Taste & Tour
September 11th & 12th ­ Northern Appalachian Folk Festival
September 26th ­ Downtown Indiana Oktoberfest
November 6th ­ Downtown Indiana Wine Walk
November 20th ­ Downtown Indiana It's A Wonderful Life Parade,
Film, and Festival!
December 11th thru 22nd: Third Annual 12 Movies of Christmas
Please feel free to share this e­mail with those who may be interested! If you have any questions or
comments, please feel free to contact the Downtown Indiana Business Improvement District Office! If
you feel you have received this e­mail by error, we apologize for the inconvenience. You can forward
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office@downtownindiana.org
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Downtown Indiana Business Improvement District | 39 N 7th St, Suite 101 | Indiana | PA | 15701