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MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING
April 9, 2014 – 10 a.m., City Hall Auditorium
Present: Jacque Williams, Ed Cannata, Bill Haygood, Erin Wilson, Mayor Elinor Carbone, Jessica Hodorski, Michael McAllister, Kim Fazzino, Fiona De Merrell, and Sharon Waagner.
The meeting was called to order at 10:10 on a motion by Jacque Williams, second by Sharon Waagner. The meeting was opened to the public on a motion by Kim Fazzino, second by Jacque Williams. On a motion by Jess Hodorski, with second by Mike McAllister, meetings of the previous meeting were accepted. Due to the resignation of Chairperson Lynn Gelormino, nominations for Chairperson were needed. Jacque Williams questioned the date of that resignation and Mayor Carbone replied that it was accepted the day after our last meeting. In addition, not all past ACT minutes with regard to elections were filed with the City Clerk so there is no official long-term record of past practices. It was suggested that
discussion of points of order and commission functions be added to the agenda for the regular meeting on April 30 and that we move forward with naming a chairperson today.
Mayor Carbone and the ACT commission will send letters expressing gratitude to Lynn for all of her time and effort on behalf of the commission. The commission agreed to enter nominations for Chairperson. Mike McAllister, with a second by Fiona De Merrell, motioned to nominate Jessica Hodorski. Ed Cannata, with a second by Jacque Williams, nominated Bill Haygood. Erin Wilson recommended that each candidate be given two minutes to explain why they felt they were good candidates. Bill Haygood withdrew his name, citing that he felt Jessica Hodorski was better suited for the position. The vote to name Jessica as chairperson was unanimous.
Ed had created a full-color brochure which promotes the ACT commission as well as Main Street Market Place. He explained that we had not had a document that fully explains our function and this serves a dual purpose. He is also working on last year’s list of sponsors. Jessica added that there are nightly sponsorship opportunities and she has created a draft of the various options. Erin emphasized that we need to have our funding figured out by the April 30 meeting and there is a need to identify the sponsorships. Ed will add Erin Wilson as the lead contact person for MSMP on the brochure.
Erin also addressed the issue of volunteers, suggesting that different civic groups such as Boy Scouts, Explorer Scouts, etc. could take one night as their responsibility. Jessica has the complete list of tasks to be accomplished. Fiona has asked for assistance with volunteers as she is unable to be at MSMP in the afternoon. Kim will help coordinate. Kim also stated that the Young Entrepreneurs Academy has expressed an interest in having a vendor table. It was suggested that a minimal fee be charged as part of the learning process for YEA. Kim will follow up with Lauren Smith, YEA coordinator.
Erin thanked Ed and Jessica for their work on the updated web site and encouraged everyone to please review for errors or comments as soon as possible so the site can be opened to the public. Erin and Jessica will remain as the ad hoc chairpersons of MSMP. It is their hope to eventually move the event to a steering committee and work on establishing strong procedures and guidelines for the event to make it feasible to turn it over to another organization in the future. Mike and Jacque were asked to compile a list of potential bands and entertainers and to bring a sampling of their work to the next meeting so the commission can vote on them. There is need to formalize all of the steps to produce MSMP. There is also a need to have deadlines for each aspect of the event preparations. A calendar of events with those deadlines, including vendor applications and submissions, should be created. Ed will work on the calendar.
Sharon is the liaison to the business community and she will bring Erin on a walk downtown to meet the business owners. The primary question by those stakeholders to date is where MSMP will be taking place. Currently, we are awaiting word from DOT for permission to close Main Street. If we close Main Street, it is probably that it will need to be closed from Water Street north to Albert Street. Planning placement of vendors and entertainment will await the DOT decision. Currently, the plan is to have nightly entertainment such as jazz bands set up in front of City Hall. Businesses also requested that generators not be placed in front of their shops as the noise is a
detriment.
The use of weekly themes is currently being considered and we are also building connections with the Parks and Recreation Department as we move forward. Ed suggested we conduct weekly surveys to gauge the audience. He also suggested there be consideration of additional “pop-up” restaurants featuring downtown restaurants. He had contacted Ciesco Catering and received a promise of assistance. This is a great idea but with time constraints, he would need to have more detailed information including a breakdown of costs and plans submitted to the ad hoc steering committee and the commission before any decision could be made.
It was established that Jessica and Erin will be the points of contact for all MSMP business and will also be the designated liaisons to the media.
Jessica recommended that we pay Paul Abeling to hire extra people to take down and store the tents. Her estimate of cost is $1000 per night. A motion was made to recommend remaining with Abeling who will set up and take down tents for $1000 per night which will include 10 people and all equipment with the commission reserving the right to revisit the decision in mid-May dependent upon costs. The motion was made by Bill with a second by Jessica. All were in favor.
Erin asked that she and Jessica, as ad hoc committee, be permitted to make the decision on when to open the web site to the public. On a motion by Kim with a second by Ed, all were in favor.
Meeting was adjourned at 11:35 on a motion by Jessica, with a second by Jacque.
Respectfully submitted,
Sharon Waagner, Secretary
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