20210708 - CBDAC Minutes

Central Business District Advisory Committee  (CBDAC)

Minutes

Thursday, July 8th, 2021;  Zoom Call: 8:30 – 10:00am

present: Anastasia Bamberg, Pam Perron, Jordan Kaufman, Jacqueiline Luthcke, Steve Aspero, Philip Davis, Jeanne Johnson, Paul Vagianos, Jack Panico

• The Barricade Beautification project will start soon. The Art director of RHS and former/current members of the Arts Council are consulting. Barricades will be painted white with a stencil design during PP this weekend.
• Village had the opportunity to purchase barricades. Restaurants will reimburse. Old barricades were getting worn out--water freezes during the winter--and they weren’t designed to last a long time. New barricades can also be stacked. The new barricades will be in place through the date that corrals were approved--Oct. 31. They may be continued later in the fall---depending on the restaurants; determination of usefulness. Restaurants pay for parking spaces that are used for dining corrals.
• There is an opportunity to engage the Ridgewood Newcomers, especially with the connection Jordan has with Kerri (sp?), who is the community relations lead for the Newcomers. Jeanne will meet with Kerri on July 12. Pam offered to run a downtown tour for the Newcomers that will  include the Westside, CBD, and the new apartments. The RPD also has an opportunity to engage with the Newcomers.
• CBDAC agreed that we should have an ordinance that prohibits the releasing of balloons..
• Jack Panico, who owns Panico salon, joined the meeting. He is Interested in getting businesses in town to help each other. partner, and do cross promotions or ads.
• During Pedestrian Plaza, the Chamber is promoting demonstrations at retailers---make a bed, set a table, etc. These will be advertised via table tents at restaurants.
• CBD marketing kit is at the printers. The kit will be provided to real estate agents, landlords, etc. Each CBDAC member will receive a few. This is no longer a CBDAC project, and it is being funded mostly by the developers. The kit is a two part folder with pockets. Looking for donations to make up a shortfall of about $2000 to fund the printing of the kits. The digital assets and language could be used in other ways, such as on a website.
• The group discussed having a kiosk with digitized information. In the past, the Village would not fund a traditional kiosk. Perhaps we could get businesses and others to fund a digital one? Could also be funded via COVID relief funds?
• Funding of projects like the kiosk are more of an organizational problem rather than financial. These projects  would best be done through a SID or 5013C. Real estate owners should be very involved because they have stake in the game. Summit  has a paid business development consultant funded by the SID.
• The groups discussed the challenge of Village organizations/entities operating in silos--CBDAC could help with this.
• Upcoming events we should think about/help other organizations collaborate:
  • Pedestrian Plaza (Opens July 10^th)
  • Chamber Car Show (Sept 10^th)--Could we help the organizers get bands?
  • RHS Reunion Weekend and bar crawl (Oct 8, 9, 10)--this is to support RPS, helping students get internships, networking, etc., and it also helps downtown businesses