09/11/2018 Minures - Laserfiche WebLink

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Present: Glee Emmite, Chair Shelley McDowell Laurie Redus Carolyn Patterson John Brazile Jane Helberg City Staff Cheri Bedford, Main Street Manager REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MAIN STREET ADVISORY BOARD Tuesday, September 11, 2018 4:30 PM Absent: Kevin Ashmore Becky Semple Clayton Pilgrim — Council Liaison 1. Glee Emmite called the meeting to order at 4:31 PM. 2. Citizens Forum — No one present for the forum 3. August minutes — Minutes had been emailed earlier to all board members and were available on the monitors for viewing. The secretary was asked to include a signature line at the end of the minutes for the Board Chair to sign and date. A motion to approve the August 14, 2018 meeting minutes was made by John Brazile, second by Jane Helberg, motion carried. 4. Discussion on Work Plan — Glee Emmite reported that Cheri Bedford was required to turn in the Work Plan for October 1, 2017 — September 30, 2018 by the end of November. For new board members, the Chair read the vision and mission statements of Main Street and explained the layout of the Work Plan. Comments on various sections of the Work Plan follow: A. Downtown image is appealing • Laurie Redus reported that the Organization Committee decided to delay action on this goal until after the downtown utility construction is completed. Spring 2019 will be an excellent time to focus on things such as plants to enhance the appeal of downtown. • Market Square is successful this season, and the mural has been restored. The Toole Design Firm included some major renovations to Market Square which fits with this goal. Activities are planned at Market Square to bring attention to the space. John Brazile reported that the Pumpkin Patch will be relocated to Market Square this fall. The board discussed the effectiveness of coupons given out at Market Square from the Paris Downtown Association with ideas suggested for next year to track the effectiveness of the coupons for downtown merchants. B. Improve the business environment • Laurie Redus has researched American Independent Business Alliance (amiba.net), a nonprofit resource which has a focus on "Shop Local" with posters, strategies etc. This would be a good match for Kevin Ashmore and his committee. It is broader than PDA but does include downtown merchants. Materials are available for starting an Independent Business Alliance (IBA). Only three cities in Texas have an IBA. • John Brazile suggested an incentive to encourage building owners and perspective business partners to work together. Cheri Bedford shared that Red Wing, MN created a successful incentive retail package to attract new businesses for downtown. Cheri has shared this info with Kevin Ashmore because there is a huge interest in downtown after the Toole Design Firm report. • All awards for local businesses have been submitted. Finalists for the Texas Downtown Association President's Award should be announced very soon.