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Downtown Muskegon Business Improvement District
Meeting Minutes
March 23, 2016
380 W. Western Ave., Suite 202 Muskegon, MI at 4 PM
1) Call to Order: 4:00 PM
2) Attendance:
Doug Pollock (Chair), Bob Tarrant, Gary Post, Bruce Lindstrom, John Riegler and Frank
Peterson
Excused Absent(s): Mike Hennessy, Justin Clark (VC), and Connie Taylor
Guests: Dave Alexander, Downtown Muskegon Now director; Ellen Berends, Downtown
Muskegon Now events coordinator.
3) Consent Agenda
a) Approval of Agenda
Motion: Frank Peterson
Support: Bruce Lindstrom
Vote: All voted in favor
b) Approval of Minutes from the Feb. 23, 2016 Meeting
Motion: Frank Peterson
Support: Bruce Lindstrom
Vote: All voted in favor
c) Acceptance of the financial statement from Feb. 18, 2016
Motion: Frank Peterson
Support: Bruce Lindstrom
Vote: All voted in favor
4) 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.
5) Unfinished Business
a) BID update from Dave Alexander, Downtown Muskegon Now: The BID has gotten
through the snow season with few issues. An RFP has been prepared and shared with
the BID board concerning seasonal landscaping for 2016. It will be sent out with
proposals due back to the BID by April. 5. The board moved to authorize Dave
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Alexander in consultation with Chairman Doug Pollock to negotiate with the most
appropriate landscape company among the proposals and sign a contract for 2016 that
is in line with the BID budget for that work. Dave will also receive a quote from Ole Henry
Gardens to provide plants and seasonal maintenance to the 27 planters in the BID. He is
authorized to sign a contract for the planter work.
Motion to authorize: Frank Peterson
Support: Bob Tarrant
Vote: All in favor.
6) New Business
a) Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce President Cindy Larsen – a member of
the Downtown Muskegon and Downtown Muskegon Development Corp. boards – joined
a conversation with the BID board on the plans for 10 cruise ships coming to downtown
Muskegon through the Muskegon County Heritage Landing dock. She discussed how
the chamber and DMN has devised a Heritage District from the Depot to the Farmers
Market in which to focus the interest and activities of the cruise passengers.
b) Larsen also raised the issue of a letter of understanding between Downtown Muskegon
Now and the Business Improvement District as to how the two organizations would work
together to further the economic development, events and promotions, district
improvements and general maintenance of downtown Muskegon. The DMN board has
asked for such a document. Chairman Doug Pollock, also a member of the DMN board,
said that the BID was established by the Muskegon City Commission to put a funding
mechanism in place to carry out the needed work and improvements in downtown
Muskegon. The BID has authorized DMN to provide staff services and carry out the work
plan in line with the BID budget. Such a system has been established and should be
reflected in the letter of understanding. DMN will then provide regular updates to the BID
board as to how specific items in the budget are being spent and work accomplished.
Gary Post said right now there are just too many organizations and it was his hope that
the BID would provide a consolidation of those groups and functions. The board directed
DMN’s Dave Alexander to work with the chairs of DMN and the BID to create the letter of
understanding, presenting it to both boards. Alexander said he would have the letter
before the DMN board in April and back to the BID board at its May 24 meeting.
Motion for a letter of understanding: Frank Peterson
Support: John Riegler
Vote: All in favor.
c) The BID board heard from Ellen Berends on the First Fridays events planned to begin in
May and a request to use $2,500 out of the BID’s 2016 events, promotion and marketing
budget to sponsor the first four months of First Fridays. These are family-friendly events
that will be spread throughout the district on the First Fridays of every month all year
long. The first is a family dance party at the Farmers Market May 6 from 6-8 p.m. with
street performers June 3, the Lakeshore Art Festival 1 and the street performers
returning Aug. 5. The BID support will go to general promotion and marketing, insurance
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and some costs of the events. A motion was sought to approve the $2,500 for the initial
First Friday events.
Motion: Gary Post
Support: Frank Peterson
Vote: All in favor
7) Other business
DMN’s Dave Alexander gave an update on a few downtown issues. He said that DMN
continues to encourage and foster good cooperative relations between downtown’s Rebel
Road and the Muskegon Bike Time organizations for the motorcycle event in Muskegon July
14-17. Bike Time’s establishment of downtown’s West Western Avenue and continued use
of that venue for the festival by Rebel Road and its non-profit the Child Abuse Council of
Muskegon County is critical to downtown businesses. Only through cooperation and
coordination will Muskegon County’s leading festival be sustainable and grow in the future,
he said. The BID website, once hosted on the Downtown Muskegon website of DMN has
been moved to a more secure location on the city of Muskegon’s website. DMN looks for
ways to simplify and upgrade the outdated Downtown Muskegon website. DMN is working
on replacing the map sign in front of the Holiday Inn at the Johnson Circle at Third and
Western in conjunction with the new downtown map brochure. The plans are to create the
same sign map at the Depot and Farmers Market.
8) Adjournment
4:42 PM
No Objection
Minutes produced and submitted by Dave Alexander, executive director of Downtown
Muskegon Now.
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