Board of Directors Meeting Minutes- November 2021 - Downtown Milton Business Improvement Area

Board of Director’s Meeting – Minutes

Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Location: online 6:30 p.m.

Attendees: Sara Bergsma (SB), Eric Chabot (EC), Alan Cooke (AC), Margaret Lara (ML), Rachel Shuttleworth (RS)

Regrets: Colin Best (CB), Miguel Gonsalves (MG), Joe Taglieri (JT), Kristina Tesser Derksen (KTD)

EC called the meeting to order at 6:37 pm.

EC asked the board if there was any declaration of pecuniary interest or conflict of interest. None were made.

Review of previous minutes

Treasurer’s Report (delivered by RS)

Expenses on track based on recent trends. Expenses for October were around $30k (includes $10k not yet reflected in Town reports, related to HolidayFest, with some for beautification and Tiny Tots).
Total expenses to date are $209k. We’ve spent 82% of budget so far.
Anticipating $44k in expenses for November & December, as well as HolidayFest expenses.
Anticipated deficit is $2k, but does not take into account vendor and sponsorship revenues for HolidayFest. That will put us in a positive position.
- AC moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report. SB seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Council Report (delivered by RS)

Visit the Region’s website regularly for COVID-19 updates.
Two planning applications currently with the Town – Cedar Hedge Road and Fourth Line. They are for a total of 1,079 new homes, which is approximately 4,000 new residents in the next 2-3 years.
- SB moved to accept the Council Report. AC seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Executive Director’s Report

My Main Street Funding – Did not apply for Round 1 of the grant. Spoke with Town Operations and Economic Development – too rushed to come up with a plan so we’ll revisit for Round 2 (Dec 1, 2021 to Feb 1, 2022). Possible projects include parkette, mural, safety barrier, Ivy Walkway, etc.

Tiny Tots Trick or Treat

Took place on Saturday, October 30. Great turn-out and overall, a very successful event despite the wet weather. Had counters on the street – 4,000 attendees. Also, 36 BIA businesses participated, great support from sponsors and partners. Good interest from the community and media.
ML – Came out to the event. Some stores run out of candy early. More visitors than expected.
AC – Handed out candy on the street. Great to see so many people out. Positive experience for everyone. Had to go buy extra candy.
SB – Ran out of candy close to 11:30, great turn-out.

Santa Claus Parade

DMBIA is a Platinum Sponsor for the 2021 parade. Registered for a float for the parade, will be used to promote HolidayFest. AC assembling the float for the event. EC tried to get Winterhawks involved but they are not available.

Downtown Flashback Tour

Self-guided tour of historic downtown buildings and the businesses operating there today. Launching next week. Developed in partnership with Milton Historical Society and the Chamber’s Shop Local campaign. Includes info on our website, QR codes in garden beds. Funded through Shop Local and individual churches sponsoring to be a part of it. Fun activation to showcase the businesses and tell the history of downtown. Helps people connect with downtown. Will run till end of January.

Chamber Shop Local

Creating a promotional video encouraging people to shop, dine, visit downtown Milton, using footage from photo shoots this past summer (businesses, parks, etc). Editing funded through Shop Local campaign. Will get one version that recognizes Shop Local, and another version that doesn’t so we can keep using it afterwards.

Downtown Milton HolidayFest

Happening Saturday, November 27. Lots of interest from community and media. Encouraging members to come out on the street or set up a display to help showcase their businesses and fill up the street. Two members working on extended patio applications. Last minute outreach to a few vendors. Full entertainment line-up posted. Some sponsorship support coming in. Need a few more ‘experienced’ volunteers for the day of the event to work in key positions. Harder to get members out in this weather than in the summer. Some businesses doing indoor activations (MHS ChristmasFest, Forest Hill Christmas Village, etc.)

Seasonal Patio Program Meeting

Meeting scheduled for November 22 to get feedback from restaurants on the seasonal patio program and recommendations for the future. Will also include opportunity for retailers to join if they want to discuss possible sidewalk retail space. Several months ago some of our retailers said they might be interested in having DIY workshops outside, or displays, periodically. Today Toronto announced that CafeTO will be a permanent program – heard they are waiving the fees for year one at least.

Beautification

Forest Hill is putting up a Christmas tree (12 feet high) in the parkette. Great to see that space being used in creative ways.
Old bench and planters removed from parkette. Picnic tables will be in place there for the winter. New furniture will be added in 2022.
No update on Canada Communities Revitalization Fund (mural project). Adam Van Koeverden’s office is following up on our behalf.
Next week, wreaths will be installed and string lights will be replaced where necessary.
Banner project – Banner hardware still in production. Remaining banners will be installed when wreaths are removed (January 2022).
Garden bed receptacles will be repaired next week so they can be used for HolidayFest.
Litter management & other support – Our new ambassador comes on Saturdays once or twice a month to pick up litter downtown and doing a great job keeping the street looking tidy. He also helped with event logistics at Tiny Tots.

Update on our request for Town’s 2022 Budget

Town staff is requesting dollars for some new bollards (not a safety barrier) for Main & Martin intersection for 2022. They plan to work with the urban design team to come up with a more permanent solution for that intersection and cost that out for 2023 budget.

Human Resources

Sophia will be continuing in her role until February 2022 (mid-Dec to mid-Feb covered through Canada Summer Jobs Grant).
Request for cost of living adjustment for full-time employees. Board to have discussion on adjustment amount.

December board meeting

Adjournment