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Downtown Muskegon Business Improvement District
Meeting Minutes
March 28, 2017
380 W. Western Ave., Suite 202 Muskegon, MI at 4 PM
1) Call to Order: 4:05 PM
2) Attendance:
Doug Pollock (chair arrived late to provide a quorum), Gary Post (acting chairman), John
Riegler, Mike Hennessy, Bob Tarrant (via conference call) and Phyllis Watson-
Laudermill
Excused Absent(s): Justin Clark (VC), Frank Peterson and Bruce Lindstrom.
Guests: Dave Alexander, Downtown Muskegon Now director; Megan Jones, DMN
events and promotion; Cindy Larsen, Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce,
Dennis Lohman, Northwest Industrial Supply and Muskegon DPW Director Mohammed
Al-Shatel.
Cindy Larsen and Megan Jones gave Western Market and event updates until a quorum
of the board was obtained for official action.
3) Election of 2017 officers
A motion was made to elect Doug Pollock board chairman and Justin Clark board vice
chairman.
Motion: John Riegler
Support: Mike Hennessy
Vote: All voted in favor
4) Consent Agenda I
a) Approval of Agenda, minutes from Jan. 24, 2017 meeting, acceptance of the financial
statements as of Feb. 28, 2017,
Motion: John Riegler
Support: Mike Hennessy
Vote: All voted in favor
5) Consent Agenda II (formal approval of actions from Jan. 24, 2017 meeting)
a) Meeting minutes from Nov. 22. 2016
b) Consideration of a DMN-BID letter of understanding for 2017
c) Direction on spending $3,000 in community foundation grants for downtown message
signs
d) Consideration of BID’s First Fridays sponsorship for winter quarter of 2017 -- $2,500
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e) Request to contribute $5,000 from the streetscape account for Pop-Up Shops project
on Western Avenue
Motion: John Riegler
Support: Phyllis Watson-Laudermill
Vote: All voted in favor
6) Public Comment (on an agenda item) – None. The board chose to leave the floor open for
the whole meeting allowing attendees to participate as they like.
7) Unfinished Business
a) Report from the city on sidewalk snow removal from DPW Director Mohammed Al-
Shatel: He told the board that actual costs came in at just under $16,000 for the 2016-
17 winter season. The BID agreed to pay $8,000 a month for four months or $32,000
total. The additional revenue to the city will be put toward equipment upgrades to
better service downtown sidewalk snow removal in future years, Al-Shatel reported.
8) New Business
a) The board received and reviewed proposal on planters and landscaping services for
the downtown for spring through fall 2017.
The BID received five quotes from flower shops and landscape companies. Dave
Alexander recommended Barry’s Flower Shop & Greenhouses for $9,854 total cost for
planting, maintaining, fertilizing, watering and removing materials in the fall. The
recommendation was based upon price, a flat fee and past work of the company with
the flowers in Hackley Park. Other board members said they have used Barry’s for
such work with good results.
The BID received for quotes from private vendors and an offer from city DPW to
provide the work within the BID’s $16,000 landscaping budget. The quotes from the
private vendors ranged from $10,850 to $15,415. Dave Alexander recommend
contracting with the city DPW to provide landscaping services based upon the city’s
commitment to downtown beautification, the city’s performance on sidewalk snow
removal and willingness to go beyond the contract to keep downtown looking good
throughout the season. If chosen, Dave will work with the city as was the case for
winter services to create a letter of understanding on services and costs.
The motion was to approve Barry’s Flower Shop for downtown planters and the city
DPW for downtown landscaping.
Motion: Bob Tarrant
Support: Doug Pollock
Vote: All voted in favor
b) A special committee of Bob Tarrant, Doug Pollock and Mike Hennessy worked with
Dave Alexander to make a recommendation to the board on renewal of the BID
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beyond 2017. A summary of the group’s recommendation for a three-year renewal
request to the Muskegon City Commission is attached to these minutes.
Bob Tarrant said that everyone needs to step up to the plate and together support
downtown going forward. Doug Pollock said that everyone must keep in mind the big
picture of downtown improvements pushing all property values up, benefiting every
property owner in the BID.
The committee addressed the difference in A properties and B properties rates by
raising B properties and by moving the maximum assessment limits.
The BID board received the recommendation and Phyllis Watson-Laudermill said the
topic needed more discussion. John Riegler wants the BID board to explore the BID
district boundaries and definitions of the two property classifications. Board members
asked Dave Alexander to provide an spreadsheet showing the 2017 assessments by
property and the proposed assessment for 2018-2020 under the committee’s
recommendation. The BID board also wanted a district map and legal clarification on
exempted properties such as government, churches, non-profits and residential. No
action was taken at this time.
The BID board asked for a special meeting April 25 at 4 p.m. to continue deliberating
on BID renewal beyond 2017.
9) Adjournment
5:13 PM
No Objection
Minutes produced and submitted by Dave Alexander, executive director of Downtown
Muskegon Now.
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