20200903 - CBDAC Minutes

Central Bustiness District  Advisory Committee

Meeting Minutes

September 3, 2020

Members in Attendance: Jordan Kaufman, Chief Luthcke, Kathryn Schmidt, Gary Kolesaire, Anastasia Bamburg, Philip Davis, Michael Velicu, Michael Pickholz, Pamela Perron.

Comments for the Public:  Jeanne Johnson shared the work that is underway to promote  the West side of the downtown area, now dubbed the West Village of Ridgewood. The focus includes special lighting, Saturday night events, and special signage.  She recommended that a West Side business be represented on the CBDAC.  Councilwoman Perron indicated that she had reached out to some West Side individuals to apply for the opening on the CBDAC.  Jeanne also indicated that the weekend pedestrian mall is drawing visitors from many neighboring and outlying communities. 

Website:  Dylan Hansen, Director of IT for the village, provided information on how the CBDAC could fund a website.  He indicated that the village attorney needs to be consulted if a municipally funded project solicits or receives private funding.  He noted that the Ridgewood Arts Foundation spun off from the Ridgewood Arts Committee because of the Committee’s inability to fund projects.  The Arts council is now 100% independent though both organizations continue to exist.

Dylan indicated also that three bids are required for any purchasing decisions.  In addition, a village sponsored website cannot advertise a business, treat any business differently from another, or link to a 3^rd party website.  It can however provide a directory.  He indicated that these policies were not written anywhere for reference but that he could provide the state policy which the village follows.

Dylan indicated that a vendor had been paid for work on the website project.  The project was halted because the delivered product was not acceptable and there is still money in the “website” account.   He will send a link so that CBDAC member can review the product.  He also indicted that the village was using Burbio as its calendar.

The CBDAC discussed how to proceed with a “Visitor’s Bureau” website in light of the constraints predicated by municipal government regulations.  This will be reviewed further.

Membership: Councilwoman Perron welcomed Anastasia Bamberg the to the CBDAC as the Citizen Safety representative.  Anastasia gave a brief introduction of herself. 

There is another opening on the CBDAC.  All are asked to share the openings and the application process with their networks

Grab and Go Parking: Councilwoman Perron updated the group on the program which has started with ten underwritten spaces.  Signage needs to be recalibrated to make it less confusing. Current pricing is probably not sustainable, though in five weeks the pedestrian mall will be winding down.  Money that merchants are currently contributing to the mall might be reallocated to the grab and go spaces. Assessment of the success of the spaces may need to be anecdotal though it was suggested that some type of survey be implemented. . CBDAC members are asked to spend time monitoring the spots to also help assess their usage.  Parking Enforcement Officers will enforce and monitor he best they can.

Cardboard Recycling: Th CBDAC role will be to compile and provide information but solutions need to come from the merchants and their providers.  Different trash providers have different service and payment levels. Merchants will need to decide how to pay for this service including whether banding together or setting up centralized pic k-up areas might be helpful. 

Budget:  CBDAC members discussed funding for a variety of projects including marketing of the garage, marketing the CBD in general, creating  a Business Improvement District (BID), creating a website, and supporting the grab and go spaces.  After review, a motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed to present a budget that would support research on a BID.  If implemented, the BID could house and drive a number of other projects such as marketing and a website.  It was recommended that we invite members of the BIDs currently in Westfield , Montclair, and Red Bank to visit and discuss their process.

Next Steps:

--A process to monitor and assess the pilot Grab and Go spaces should be established.

--Research will continue for cardboard recycling with a recommended course of action by next meeting.

--Dylan Hansen will provide a document laying out the rules for a public website as well as a link to the website design that was underway for review and comment.

--The CBDAC will submit a Budget Request to fund research into a BID.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathryn Schmidt

September 15, 2020