ASK THE BORED: Anti-climactic paving bids, Elm Street speedway work and the forthcoming W. 1st and Main intersection.

The minutes from May 23 are in, and the low bid for this season's citywide paving extravaganza ... like always ...

MAC! MAC! MAC!

No word on the inevitable re-dos, do-overs, or other famous stuffed-envelope-driven hallmarks of beak wetting borne of annual paving -- but guys, low bid!

Meanwhile, two other items about grid modernization (i.e., paving) and the W. 1st and Main work.

Elm Street paving begins now. There'll be a second street where average traffic speeds increase by 15% prior to the two-way restriping.

Finally, the quarter-million dollar W. 1st Street and Main Street Crosswalk project, photos of which follow, draws nearer to completion.

For a reprise of the long exhausting march toward a human-friendly intersection, with Team Gahan resisting every step, consult this popular previous post.

ASK THE BORED: It's a pretty penny, but safety for humans at the intersection of Main and W. 1st draws nearer.

This is welcome news, and takes on added importance given the resistance with which City Hall initially greeted the idea. I'll never forget being informed in detail as to the absolute impossibility of such a human-friendly notion -- although negotiating with INDOT to ensure 2015 election-year street paving on Main rather than substantive dialogue about safety proved to be a very do-able priority.

They do excel at certain things.

(Updated) Looking for the Redevelopment Commission's minutes? Guess where they're NOT?

Go ahead, click that link.

Is anyone surprised?

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3:30 p.m. update: An City Hall apologist has forwarded a link for NARC Minutes. The last complete set of minutes is from August 25, 2015. As noted recently, the most recent city council minutes are from March, 2015. 

It's April, 2016. How long does it take, Jeff? 

Minutes from the March "merchant mixer" meeting.

That's the Carnegie over yonder.

I've passing these minutes along verbatim; as noted elsewhere, I don't have the list of questions prepared for Mickey Thompson, answered by David Duggins, and supplemented later by a more complete mailing.

The next merchant "mixer" meeting will be on Tuesday, April 19, at 8:30 a.m. It will be hosted by the Carnegie Center, on the corner of Spring and Bank.

Police Chief Todd Bailey is being invited to the next meeting. If you're reading this and have a question, send it to me and I'll forward to the right persons.

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Merchant/Business meeting (at Wick’s Pizza)

Date: March 15th, 2016

Call to order: Kim Johnson

In Attendance: 38

New Business & Updates:

Thanks to everyone that attended our March meeting. We want to thank Brad again for hosting our meeting.

Mickey Thompson was unable to attend our meeting but Dave Duggins was at the meeting and answered some of the questions. Dave will get with Mickey and they will be sending us the additional answers. 6 Will put extra trash pickup on schedule, 8 yes painting of parking will happen 9 yes they will let us know, 10 once weather stays warmer, street cleaners will be back. Call 812 948 5352 for street department regarding potholes or clean up. Dave and Mickey will compile more answers and send out.

It was suggested we need additional trash cans and a question was ask about possible bike racks. The City is currently working on a plan. Another question ask if you were allowed to put your own bike rack at your business? If you were going to put your own bike rack up, you would need Board of Works approval.

Several broke down vehicles are parked in Downtown; this would be handled by the traffic department, 812-948-5303.

Stacy asked if parking lot owners could have a tax benefit to open up for public parking, the city cannot offer discounts except on New business but Dave said he would see if there is other benefits that could help. It is bad for parking lots to be closed off for all how zones. City is currently in the process of buying empty lots behind the brewery, hopefully will be adding some parking. It was suggested if a 1st street sign could be added to the corner, they felt that would solve some of the problem.

Roger brought up the importance of utilizing public parking for business owners and customers it is not that far. Matt asked how many people at the meeting actually park in the garage. Only 2 people said they use the garage, so remember if you park in front of your neighbors they are doing the same. It was suggested to park in the garage and if you have safety concerns one solution could be to move your car closer to your business/shop later in the day or call the police department and they would escort you to your car. The lights in the garage are checked frequently but if you see a light out please contact the city immediately. The second and third level of the garage is free all the time; we need to help spread the word to other business owners, employees and customers. If you are hosting an event please encourage parking in the garage and if you are expecting a large group call the city and they may be able to reserve spots for you. The more people out walking the more eyes out for a safer place.

Ribbon Cuttings
April 4th Gospel Bird 11am
April 8th - Green Earth Outdoors 3:30 pm
April 21st - Eventful 203 4:30 pm
Adrienne’s has not yet scheduled ribbon cutting, so stay tuned.

STREET CLOSURES/EVENTS
Car Show - May 15, some streets will be closed.
Tri at the Y has been CANCELLED
Fest of Ale - June 4th 3 pm to 7 pm – Held at the Riverfront Amphitheater - Possible vendor opportunity. This is fund raiser event for the WHAS Crusade for Children. More information will be given as we receive.
April 23rd the great diaper event at the Farmers market.
July Hair Spray the Musical
Please see attached letter from Fire Chief Matthew Juliot

Jason Applegate with Extol Magazine talked to the group about advertising opportunities. They cover from Madison, Jasper, Scottsburg they target larger businesses ads because of the look of the magazine they want. He loves local small businesses though so they are offering 12 businesses a month, your name goes in the pool they are offering heavily discounted prices $200 and one free let him know If you want in the pool jason@extolmag.com 502-338-5083. Again he loves local and wants to help. One business will be featured monthly too.

We are proud to announce Today's women has nominated Angie Fenton, Adrienne and Stefanie Griffith, please support them.

Tourism updates from Luanne they are hosting adult softball May 12th to the 15th; they are promoting to bring in more people. They will be playing in Clarksville, Jeffersonville and in New Albany at Anderson Park. Tourism will be promoting national travel week the 1st week of May. She also visited Midwest Living Magazine to promote our area, Ian Hall and Matt McMahon also attended.

April 16th Brunch menu at Brooklyn and the Butcher will launch.

Courtney with the City is working on a volunteer clean up day. She asks if you know of an area that needs attention or if you would like to volunteer to help, please contact her. Clean up date is set for April 23rd from 8 am to 1 pm.

Larry Ricke was on the Board of Develop New Albany when first started and we appreciated his comment at the meeting. Larry said when Develop New Albany was first started this right here was the Vision. And now the Vision has become Reality. Thanks Larry, we can all be proud of what we have in New Albany

Question with Answers are attached.

We will continue to send out the minutes from the meetings but we would love for you to come and be a part of the discussion and suggestions. Hope to see you in April.
If you are interested in hosting one of our meetings, please let us know.

Next meeting:
April 19th – 8:30 am – The Carnegie Center

Adjourn: Kim Johnson

A status report from Southern Indiana Equality.

For those who missed the last Southern Indiana Equality meeting, or are curious and would like to be involved, here is the report from the vice president, Hannegan Roseberry.

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Greetings from Southern Indiana Equality!

Thank you to all who joined us for our Quarterly Meeting last week! If you were unable to make it, mark your calendars now for our next quarterly meeting on April 14th, 2016.  

We were pleased to welcome representatives from both Freedom Indiana and Indiana Competes, who discussed the current legislative session and what we can do to prevent discriminating legislation from moving forward as is, specifically SB-344, which leaves out discrimination protection for the transgender community. We highly suggest you follow these two organizations on Facebook and subscribe to their email mailing lists. We look forward to continued partnerships with both!

We are also thrilled to announce that we have combined forces for the upcoming Jeff Pride in June 2016. Here's a message from Jeff Pride founder, Evan Stoner: 

"Jeff Pride is very happy to partner and marry these 2 organizations together.  At this time we are still looking for social media volunteers and help in getting the word out."

If you are a business owner and want to be a part of Jeff Pride get in touch through Facebook at facebook.com/jeffpride2016 or on twitter: @jeffpride1

How can you help now? By helping us spread the word. Invite your southern Indiana friends to visit and like our Facebook page. Forward this email to others and encourage them to attend the next meeting and get added to the email list. Make a donation to our GoFundMe account to support us in raising the funds for the filings fees needed for our non-profit status. A non-profit status would enable us to pursue grant funding, empowering us to broaden our impact significantly - we hope to be applying for our 501(c)(3) in this upcoming quarter!

Thank you for your interest in walking alongside us.

BOW -- wow. Board of Works' refusal to communicate reaches bold new lows.

At the Tuesday, January 19 meeting of the Board of Public Works and Safety, Jim Ziegler of the Blackberry Ridge Homeowners Association returned (again) to speak with the board about the dangerous entrance to his subdivision, and the lack of action in addressing it.

(The BOW minutes are reprinted below as images. The weekly minutes are disseminated in the .pdf format, although certain other city boards use the far handier Word)

Ziegler first brought this to the board's attention on August 18, 2015, at a time when board's de facto dominatrix, Warren Nash, was busy seeking ways to thwart the street piano. On January 19, Ziegler noted his difficulty in keeping up with the board's apparent non-progress on his issue. In short, he's reading those .pdf files just like the rest of us.

Can there be a better way?

Following a lengthy digression, during which Ziegler tried his best to hold a recalcitrant city's feet to the fire, making the point that while the city didn't botch these safety issues in the beginning, it's the city's responsibility to correct them now, he asked who his point of BOW contact should be.

Nash replies: Why, these meetings, of course, and only these meetings, the Internet being a figment of the imagination of some geek who probably never attended a basketball game in his life.

As my colleague MC eloquently summarizes:

Yes, the meetings that always occur at 10 a.m. on weekdays. Yes, the board that has no e-mail address, no contact information for members of the board, no phone number, etc. Yep, lets make it easy for the public to communicate with the administration. Sickening.

That's right. Sickening.

The Board of Works currently exists for the convenience of city employees, not the general public. City Hall insists there is nothing wrong with BOW's non-communicative tradition.

City Hall is mistaken. Again.

UEA asked to foot the bill for $18,000 "luxury apartments" study. Somewhere, Maalox belches.

Two items of interest from the November Urban Enterprise Association meeting minutes.

First, the economic impact study reported earlier by the Green Mouse -- you know, the one prefacing the city's next Mainland-style, big-bucks giveaway to outside developers, even as the streets run one-way (shouldn't we implement THAT study first?)  ... and yes, the word "luxury" actually is used.

That's just garish, don't you think? Are we NuLu, or something?

Crowe Horwath Economic Impact Analysis Agreement
Tonya explained this is the next step from Crowe Horwath for downtown housing, they would be doing a more in- depth analysis on what the actual economic impact of residents and the construction of new luxury apartments would do for the entire downtown area. Banks have requested such a study since there has been no previous data for them to use to base a lending decision on. Questions from several board members were asked regarding the background on the first step of Economic Impact Analysis such as "why so much, $18,000 is quite a bit of money; why does the NAUEA have to pay the entire amount?" The board requested a written narrative that would include a more defined scope of the work, if any other department within the city would be sharing the cost, who's the company looking at purchasing the property, etc.

Of a more routine nature, there's a facade grant for the building slated to be Chef Israel Landin's future home. There'll be a different appearance than when it was his previous (La Rosita's) home.

Facade Grants:
1. 1513 & 1515 E. Market St., Sprigler Company, repair & fix overhang, new gutters, paint all overhang, new doors & fencing, as well new deck, remove existing broken glass, install new lighting, repair windows and new landscaping. Motion to approve $5,000 made by Matt Bergman, seconded by Ian Hall pending copies of cancelled checks for at least $2,500 worth of work to the property. Motion to approve fa9ade grant for amount above passed by unanimous vote.

The crappy .pdfs are below. Unless a UEA board member speaks for attribution, I'll be a month behind, seeing as the minutes cannot be shared until they're approved.

She left out something ... can't put my finger on it ...

Reprinted below is my correspondence yesterday and today with Tonya Fischer, whose official municipal job title is City of New Albany Economic Development Business Coordinator.

Previously, I'd asked her for the minutes of the Urban Enterprise Association meeting in November, to which she replied that she could send them only after their approval at the December meeting (3rd Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. up on the Third Floor of Horrors).

I thought a friendly reminder was merited, along with a helpful point about Thursday Top-Down Meeting notifications ...

Tonya

A reminder that I'd like to get those UEA minutes after next week's meeting, thanks.

Also, I didn't get a meeting notification for today's shindig at The Exchange.

Cheers,

R

 As you can see, she promptly replied ...

Roger,

I do remember you would like the minutes and I'll hopefully have approval after next
Wednesday meeting. I'll email them to you then.

Tonya

... to one of the two points.

Then again, batting .500 is better than her immediate superior has managed lately.

"Merchant Meeting today at 8:30 at the Culbertson Manson, 914 E. Main Street."

I meant to post this yesterday; better late than never. These merchant meetings are an extension of the ones that used to be hosted by Curt Peters, and have been a pleasure to attend.

According to the organizers:

We keep the meetings limited to one hour, so that you can promptly proceed with your day. We hope that you will join us as often as your schedule permits. It's been a wonderful opportunity to familiarize ourselves with our fellow business leaders, and their place of business.

Below are minutes from the July meetings.

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Minutes from Meeting - July 15th

Upcoming Events :
Family Fun Fest – August 24 from 1-6 at Community Park. Booth space available.
Indie Fest – September 21. Booth space available. Contact, New Albany First
Seussical the Musical – July 25, 26 and 27th.

News from the Mayor’s Office :
Mike Hall thanked everyone for supporting Boomtown Festival. All agreed that it was a great asset to New Albany and a successful event for everyone. Mike reported that the Independence Celebration with Fireworks and The Crashers concert at the Amphitheater, was the largest crowd to date.

Parking :
Parking issues were discussed at length. There is an everyday concern with parking spaces being occupied by those that work downtown, including business owners. This makes it problematic for our customers to park, who want to support our businesses. It was suggested that we each talk to businesses within our own block, make them aware of the free parking lots downtown and encourage them to utilize them. Put together a map showing the free parking areas. It was suggested that we contact the Street Commissioner and give him a list of items we would like to have addressed. The need for official “Parking” signs with arrows was discussed, to direct people to designated parking lots.
Business owners and staff, please “lead by example” and park in these designated parking areas. There is a parking garage on corner of State and Market as well as a large, free parking area near the Amphitheater/flood wall.

Christmas Lights/ Holiday Decorations :
Discussion took place regarding the possibility of putting together some guidelines for businesses; if they wanted to decorate trees and outer areas in front of their businesses, in order for us to have a cohesive look and feel during the Holidays. The City will put up lights in the median and light poles. The exorbitant price and manpower involved in outlining the buildings with lights was mentioned, as this is no longer done.

Parks Department :
Alicia, with the Parks Department spoke about the different tournaments hosted by Community Park throughout the year. We need to utilize the Parks Department to spread the work on our businesses and support one another.

Hotels, Visitors & Tourism :
Discussion took place in regard to our nearby hotels and providing them knowledge and information pertaining to our businesses and upcoming events. Perhaps we could have a map listing restaurants, retail and services available to hand out to Best Western and The Hampton Inn. Someone needs to make a presence every quarter to showcase and bring to their attention, all of the good things our New Albany offers to their hotel guests.

Next Meeting :
Our next meeting will take place Tuesday morning, August 19th at 8:30. The Culbertson Mansion will host our group, located at 914 E. Main St.

Two-way traffic: "Most merchants ... want to see traffic stop and shop."

Earlier in the week, I posted my unofficial Merchant Mixer notes.

Merchant Mixer notes (1): New businesses, landscaping, parking, signage and dog poop.
Merchant Mixer notes (2): Empty storefronts, Harvest Homecoming and Bob Caesar's all-way street confusion.


Following are the official minutes, as submitted by Pam Peters. Your attention is drawn to one passage:

It was mentioned that one way streets are the best way to move traffic through. However, most merchants don’t want that. They want to see traffic stop and shop.

Mama, there goes that word: "Most." Let's now return to Bob Caesar's utterance during the same meeting:

"Change every street to two way (but) not Pearl Street. Pearl Street will NOT be two way."

So, don't just take my word for it: These official and generally dispassionate meeting notes deftly reiterate that Bob Caesar is completely out of touch with what the new generation of downtown merchants really wants when it comes to revitalization that's good for business.

How does Caesar's self-centered position constitute leadership?

Don't waste your time looking for excuses, because it does not. Nothing new there, either -- and that's the recurring, eternal problem. If CM CeeSaw can't or won't lead, here's a timely suggestion: Get the hell out of the way.

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Merchant Mixer Minutes
July 26, 2011
An overflow crowd was present at the 8:30 a.m. mixer. Thank you to Don and Kathy for continually allowing the group to meet at Prestons, which is celebrating the 70th anniversary this year! Congratulations. The coffee pot was on and several brought breakfast items, including donuts from Sweet Stuff. Thanks!

Downtown business items discussed were the following:

1. HARVEST HOMECOMING: C. Peters reminded everyone that now is the time to apply for Harvest Homecoming booth space—especially if you want one in the front of your store. Contact the Harvest Homecoming office at 944-8572 or email to harvesthomecoming2@sbcglobal.net if you did not receive a packet of material.

The cost of a 10’ x 10’ booth has gone up to $350.00 since it is after the June 30 deadline. (People to contact: Beth and David White and Patty Fischer

2. I-64 SIGNAGE: Ed Clere is working with INDOT toward options on getting “Historic Downtown New Albany” signage on I-64 westbound. Signage is problematic since the exit to downtown New Albany is right after the I-64 bridge. A bi-state contract will be needed. He is also exploring the possibility of signage on I-64 eastbound but that is equally problematic because of the cut-off to 265 there. Ultimately, signage would, hopefully, include attractions. Restaurants would have to pay but official historic landmarks qualify without payment.

3. NEW RETAIL: Mike Kopp announced that interest in new retail and restaurant venues in the downtown area continues. “Dress and Dwell” on Spring and Louie’s French Restaurant on Market will open in September. The Reitz Building on Main is being sold to become a senior citizen living facility. A coffee shop will be opening in the Fair store on Market. The condo project at the river is moving forward. 209 E. Market will house a mineral/jewelry store and 6 loft apartments are going into 213 Pearl.

4. LANDSCAPING: The mayor reminded the merchants to water the flowers which were funded by Horseshoe at the tune of $6,000. Peters asked for a list of those areas not being watered by the fire dept. or others. Michelle Christiansen said that MainSource Bank had approved replacement of all dead trees along their lot on State and Market and new landscaping done.

5. PARKING: Mayor England announced that the 2 hr. parking signs will be removed and “Parking for Customers and Clients Only” signs put up. He also passed around a map to be distributed to merchants showing the free parking areas. England reiterated that downtown residents must buy a $100/yr. parking sticker.

6. WAYFINDING SIGNAGE:: Places for the 29 wayfinding signs are site-ready. Cost of each sign is $1,100 and they will be put in as soon as the Louisville company is finished producing them. The signs can be modified and kept current.

7. DOGGIE BAGS: These are ready to be placed on the litter containers as soon as the street dept. has time.

8. EMPTY STORE FRONTS: Building and property maintenance codes are out of date. The city will contact the Urban Enterprise zone about paying for vacant window treatment. Dave Thrasher offered to work on a plan for putting public art in those windows; this would reflect dialogue with people on the street.

9. TWO-WAY STREETS: Spring and Market Streets are slated for going from one-way to two-way streets. A federal grant of $2 million is available but needs a 20% match. The question about also making Bank and Pearl two-way was discussed. It was suggested that there be a public hearing scheduled to discuss the pros and cons of this controversial issue. There is a question of money. It was mentioned that one way streets are the best way to move traffic through. However, most merchants don’t want that. They want to see traffic stop and shop. No preliminary study has been made by the City of NewAlbany. However, studies on this issue have been done for different communities and results are available.

10. The City of New Albany web page is being upgraded and redeveloped.

11. The downtown farmers’ market is thriving with 45 vendors. Timperman has been commissioned to design a new market for the bicentennial. Susan Kaempfer was thanked for the job she is doing with the market.

12. The lot at the corner of Spring and Pearl has been purchased for the purpose of creating a bicentennial park

13. First Tuesday in August will be at Marvin’s Auto on 8th street compliments of Dane Smith.

The next Merchant Mixer meeting will be on Tuesday, August 23, at Prestons’ at 8:30 AM?

- Pam Peters