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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CAB-1995 i _��tt=O TH9�,y "AC"' 11 was¢ gla I gym; Amoy- CITY OF ITHACA 108 EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 OFFICE OF nootousainunag ITHACA COMMONS COORDINATOR WONOSX 1t EPHONE 607-274-6546 FAX: 607-272-7348 COMMONS ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES APRIL 7, 1995 PRESENT: BOYD, CALHOUN, GEARHART, CHAIRMAN GILLIS, HOGUE, MARTINS, PATZ, SHENK, SMITH, WETMORE. EXCUSED: LIEBERMAN. OTHER: DAVID NUTTER, BAC. The minutes of the March 3, meeting were amended to include the approval of the D.P. Dough sign request. The minutes were then approved as amended. OLD BUSINESS: THE 20th YEAR CELEBRATION COMMITTEE REPORTED sub committees are: Merchant Participation: Hogue, Patz,Wetmore; Refreshments/Hospitality: Calhoun, Harrison, Martins, Smith; Media/Advertising/PR at After Hours: Gearhart, Gillis, Lieberman, Shenk. Activities will take place as follows: Thurs.evening,6/22 with cake,refreshments, bands, awards and disco dancing; Fri. lunchtime, 6/23 entertainment & treats for downtown employees; Sat 1 lam-3pm, 6/24 family entertainment with treats for children. Sponsors are WTKO and The Ithaca Journal. NEW BUSINESS: THE FOLLOWING OUTDOOR DINING PERMIT APPLICATIONS were approved: Cafe Decadence, Benchwarmers, Bangkok House, and Simeon's. The fee increase from $5 to $7 per sq. ft per 6 month season on the primary Commons was approved and a fee of $3.50 per sq. ft for secondary Commons was approved for recommendation to the Board of Public Works for consideration. A PERMIT REOUEST FOR WALKING A DOG ON THE COMMONS was made by Steve Cariddi. Mr. Cariddi works on an upper floor of the Fleet Bank Building and wants to CAB minutes of April 7, 1995 continued \./ bring his "well behaved" dog to work with him. A very lengthy discussion followed, members agreed that the request should be considered, and a policy that could be sent to the Police Dept., City Attorney and Board of Public Works for review and approval needed to be developed. Allison Hogue will work on it, incorporating some of Mr. Carriddi's suggested dog guidelines such as Certificate of Training, license, Certificate of Vaccination etc. BUILDING DEPT. PERMIT REQUESTS FOR: Beam Travel, Benchwarmers, and Borealis Books were approved pending Building Dept. approval; Clinton Hall Cafe's awning request was left to ILPC for a decision. DAVID NUTTER OF THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, asked for a change in the CAB's recommendation for the placement of racks on the Commons. The members stated that the locations would remain the same, as the intent was to keep the racks near the entrances for pedestrian safety and to use interior spaces for many of the temporary activities that take place. Members recommended that support be given for bicycle lockers located in the Seneca St. Garage. The next meeting will be on Friday May 5, 1995. Respectfully submitted, it'av Jean S. Dem' Commons Coordinator pTf,IT.HA JJr 177511, ,,!PoiUTfcO—- CITY OF ITHACA 108 EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 141350 OFFICE OF MIGOGSMOOEMCOM ITHACA COMMONS COORDINATOR XXIOGOLVOC TELEPHONE: 607-274-6546 FAX: 607-272-7348 COMMONS ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES June 2, 1995 PRESENT: Boyd, Gearhart, Gillis, Hogue, Patz, Wetmore ABSENT: Calhoun, Martins. EXCUSED: Lieberman, Shenk, Smith. OTHER: James Brynes, Art Pearce, Charles Schlough, Mack Travis. The minutes of the April 7, 1995 meeting were approved as written. MEMBERS OF THE BID COMMITTEE REPORTED that they had met with property and business owners who funded an $8,500 study for a smaller area, more focused mission BID. They were directed to design a BID package that will pass. Survey results are in with a 41% response; 69% of the respondents were positive, 28% said " No", and 3% were undecided. Survey results: clear consensus that retail needs more variety,better hours and broader offerings; City needs to take care of parking and traffic problems; parking enforcement is too aggressive; cleaning, maintenance, and security needs to be better and if so, then recruitment might take care of itself. Respondents seemed to be willing to support an efficient effort. The underlying theme was, " The business community needs to be an attractive place to SHOP/WORK/VISIT ". The CAB members encouraged the committee members to continue their good work, stated that all parties involved should cooperate, and pledged to support a program or organization that would improve the downtown. THE BANNERS UP PROJECT IS IN THE HANDS OF A DII FUND RAISING COMMITTEE under the direction of Beverly Apgar. The committee is in the midst of a well received and supported fund raising campaign. s minutes of the June 2, 1995 CAB meeting continued A DRAFT OF A PROPOSED ANIMAL PERMIT WAS SUBMITTED BY THE COMMITTEE and distributed to the members. Deming will send it on to the City Attorney to see if it is legally correct and if so, then send it to all involved departments and groups for comments. COMMONS PLANTING DAY WILL BE HELD ON JUNE 8. Cooperative Extension employees, City of Ithaca employees and community volunteers will plant $10,000 worth of anneals and perennials in the flower beds on the primary and secondary Commons. Monica Roth of the Cooperative Extension and Linda Tsang of the Planning Department have worked very hard on the design, planting schedule, and volunteer program. SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS WILL BE ADDED TO THE 20TH YEAR CELEBRATION and awarded to the following: Thys Van Cort, John Schroeder, Royal Lipscomb and Jim Bilinski. MEMBERS ARE ASKED TO BE PREPARED FOR DUTY AT THE 20TH YEAR CELEBRATION ON JUNE 22. Members will be called and given their assignments. THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 1995 Respectfully submitted, Jean S. Deming; Coordinator p 11 .14 ,` . .• III• �r I giB ik_! 1i . .../4)_-= CITY OF ITHACA 108 EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 OFFICE OF ITHACA COMMONS COORDINATOR =WOO= TELEPHONE: 607-274-6546 FAX: 607-272-7348 COMMONS ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES August 4, 1995 PRESENT: Gearhart, Hogue, Lieberman, Martins, Shenk, Wetmore. ABSENT: Calhoun. EXCUSED: Gillis, Patz, Smith. The minutes of the June 2 meeting were approved as written. JOSEPH WETMORE REPORTED ON A BID CONFERENCE, held in Auburn and sponsored by the New York State Conference of Mayors. In Utica businesses refused to pay their assessments and in Buffalo the City cut back on services, neither of these actions were legal. The following noteworthy suggestions were made: 70-80% support gives you a BID that works, should be fully planned and written out; don't rush it, get plenty of input and support ahead of time; have a vision of what the Downtown should be before designing BID; know your audience, day time business.. tourist...evening after dinner, each means different marketing; look at natural assets like waterfront, a river or stream, historic buildings; keep City and Federal services; don't fill storefronts with professional offices...keep them upstairs; be aware that banks will reduce their space up to 80% over the next 5-10 years. THE DRAFT OF THE DOG PERMIT WAS DISCUSSED. The draft was amended and sent to a committee of Common Council. THE 1995 BUDGET REQUEST was reviewed and supported. There were no suggestions for major changes in the programs or events proposed in the request. Support was given for continuing a high level of funding for Apple Harvest Festival as an important Commons event. THE NEXT MEETING IS TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 15. Respei} fully submitted Jear{/S. Dem)ng, oordinator "An Equal Opportunity Employer with an Affirmative Action Program" IT °' i^�r• VC�tttil ;i1. CTi i ui ; CITY OF ITHACA 108 EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA, NEW YORK 14650 OFFICE OF XXIMIMOI ITHACA COMMONS COORDINATOR TELEPHONE: 607-274-6546 FAX: 607-272-7348 COMMONS ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES OCTOBER 20, 1995 PRESENT: Gearhart, Chairman Gillis, Hogue, Martins, Patz, Smith, Wetmore. ABSENT: Calhoun. EXCUSED: Lieberman, Shenk. OTHER: Mayor Nichols, Chief McEwen, R. Searles DPW. Due to a computer mishap minutes from the last meeting are not available. A letter to the Chamber of Commerce from John Hunter and Family, who were visiting Ithaca, was discussed. Mr Hunter expressed his disappointment with the rude and vulgar behavior of a group of young men on the Commons. He also expressed surprise at the fact that the Commons was dirty with litter everywhere. A group of young men have spent time throughout the summer on the Commons acting in this manner. They have been rude, throwing food and food containers at people passing by, in addition to making ungentlemanly comments to women. Their behavior was called to the attention of the Police by the Coordinator and it was requested that police officers enforce the no littering law and fine. Searles said that Commons trash cans are emptied twice a day and enforcement of the litter law would help to cut down on the amount of litter generated by the groups that hang out on the Commons. Staff is limited for both Police and DPW. New trash and recycling cans will be ordered through a Capital Project that was approved. Police Chief McEwen reviewed the list of concerns on the agenda. He said he was working with a youth agency to correct the problem of a preteen male selling drugs on the Commons. Adult offenders are being observed with the hope of gathering enough evidence for arrests. Dog and bicycle problems are the result of current laws that allow such problems to exist. There is no longer a curfew so there is little that can be done about teens hanging out late at night on the Commons. Police have a difficult time apprehending the teen vandals because they hang out in groups, then split up and run after they break a window or do other damage. Both the Chief and Mayor supported the idea of a Community Police Officer on the Commons. This Commons "An Equal Opportunity Employer with an Affirmative Action Program" Advisory Board Meeting Minutes 10/20 continued officer would be an addition to the regular police coverage that is provided and would work an 8 hour shift that meets the needs of the Commons. It is hoped that a certain level of behavior, one that respects everyone's rights, could be expected from the people who frequent the Commons. The behavior and manners issue can hopefully be addressed by the Community Police Officer and the Commons representatives that work with the Officer. The Chief said the Community Officer would be selected from a pool of officers that apply. Placing Murals on the large walls that are covered with graffiti might help to eliminate some of the graffiti. Most of the buildings are privately owned. Wetmore is very interested in this project and will talk to building owners and look for sources of funding and artistic assistance. The Sciencenter requested approval for the concept of a series of monuments representing the Solar System. The project would start with the Sun located on the Commons and end with Pluto at the Sciencenter. The inner planets would be located in Bank Alley, in or near planters. The Sciencenter and their design team are working with the Art & Design Commission. The CAB approved the concept and requested that the monuments be vandal proof and that money be designated for maintenance of the monuments. Claes Nyberg of Night and Day requested a permit to rent the Center Pavilion on November 4 for a fee of $25.00. The request is within the Commons rules and regulations. Some complaints from other merchants about the rental for a special sweater sale can be expected. The opportunity to rent a pavilion for a special promotion is available to all businesses in the Tax Benefit District. The request was granted for the rental permit for the sweater promotion. The Draft for the Dog Permit was amended to read Animal where ever the word dog was, and will be on the Budget and Administration Committee Agenda for the December meeting; date and time to be announced. All interested parties and CAB members will receive notices for the December B& A meeting. Respectfully submit , / ` L Je S. Deming, Coordinator CI I1fil_f11fl l) PogptE,O- CITY OF ITHACA 1OB EAST GREEN STREET ITHACA. NEW YORK 14850 OFFICE OF TELEPHONE: 272-1713 ITHACA COMMONS COORDINATOR CODE 607 COMMONS ADVISORY BOARD SPECIAL MEETING NOTES NOVEMBER 22, 1995 PRESENT: GEARHART, CHAIRMAN GILLIS, HOGUE, MARTINS, PATZ, SHENK, SMITH, WETMORE. ABSENT: CALHOUN. EXCUSED: LIEBERMAN. This special meeting was called to review the current draft of the BID proposal and make comments so that J. Wetmore, CAB liaison to the BID Committee, could take comments back to the BID Committee. The following comments were made: 1. Much more emphasis should be placed on marketing and retention. More detail on what is proposed for the above. Have DIE and Center Ithaca propose a marketing budget. 2. Don't cut tenants out of power. Have some property owner board seats for property owner/business owner. 3. Authors of BID should not directly benefit from BID. Executive Director should be selected from a national search. Executive Director should have experience in: directing BID, grant writing, marketing. 4. Pass out draft copy of BID proposal to everyone affected by BID for comment. Members of committee and supporters should go door to door to sell the program. Jim, Art, & Mack with three small business owners should take on this important task. This would maximize the chance for success. 5. The BID Committee should be made aware of the CAB's continuing support for the BID and the CAB's willingness to assist the BID committee. notes by J.Deming, Coordinator BID11225 An Equal Opportunity Employer with an Affirmative Action Program"