General Meeting January 20, 2010 Iron Horse
Attending: Gail Denise, Sherri Kohnle, Beth Lauter, Robin Thomas, Donna Wesselman, John Smith, Dave Agricola, Scott Stacey, Jack Buescher, Susan Kreuzmann, Joe Hubbard, Chuck Day, Dave Warman, Catherine Fitzgerald, Jenny Kilgore, Bill Clegern, Hague Atkinson, Ralph Hoop, Diane Agricola, Steve Dinnerstein
Meeting opened by Gail
Dave Warman, chief of Glendale’s Police department, asked to address the chamber first regarding the recent concern over the parking signs in front of some businesses.
Treasurer’s Report Donna distributed the treasurer’s report to all present. Checking account balance $5801.18; Savings account balance $2920.71; total balance $8721.90. Donna reported that to date the 2009 Street Fair has netted $1890.36.
Scott Stacey inquired about the profit margin of the beer sales and whether we could look at how we could improve the 2010 sales. Gail said she would look into it and John Smith added that 2009 sales were in line with previous years.
Committee Updates
Economic Development: Catherine Fitzgerald reported that to date she had met with 80 Glendale business owners.
The discussion turned to the current status of the streetscape project. Mayor Joe Hubbard explained that the actual start date cannot be set by the Village. He has had discussions with TEC to ask that access to businesses and parking always is a consideration, however, the state, ODOT, is running the show leaving control of the process out of the hands of all. He also stated that funding is now being funneled through the stimulus package which on one hand is great because it gives us additional funds so that the money that was coming from the village for the project is no longer necessary and those funds can be put toward other projects. The down side is that the funds from the stimulus package are federal funds and must meet criteria that the state might not call for. One is an environmental study. There are a few areas that will be looked at to determine if there are environmental considerations. Those concerns can be
addressed as the project proceeds so they should not hold up the schedule unless a problem is discovered.
General discussion of the concerns of all the businesses regarding the timing of the construction and its impact followed the Mayor’s comments
The new signs that the village is buying for the business district might be installed as early as February.
Marketing:
Robin Thomas explained the I75 billboard opportunities that several Glendale businesses and the chamber are currently using and how we might look in to setting up as one for Glendale only with enough participation. The digital billboard nearest the Glendale exit would be the most attractive to our needs.
General
Thanks and recognition to Sherri Kohnle for an amazing job on the Christmas on the Square. The weather was challenging, however, the spirit of the crowd was not “dampened”.
Gail reported that there will be a Training luncheon held at the Grand Finale on January 27th. The topic is Managing Search Engines. There are some seats still available.
Goals & Ideas for 2010
Gail plans on setting up a newsletter on line for the chamber. The village newsletter and the chamber’s needs are not the best fit and she feels we can reach out in a more timely and efficient way by going on line. She will update as we proceed.
Discussion of social networking was also addressed. Chuck Day, the manager at the Running Spot, graciously offered his much needed and skilled expertise to any chamber member who could benefit from the opportunities now being opened by the internet and the growing world of social networking. Just contact him at the store.
Gail announced that the 2010 Street Fair will be held on Saturday, September 25th. She feels based on her experience that we should set up various committees alleviating the burden of the job from the shoulders of a few.
Speaker: Mr. Hague Atkinson
Robin Thomas introduced Hague Atkinson, sales manager for By Design Productions. Mr. Atkinson has had conversations with Mayor Hubbard, Robin and Steve Dinnerstein about the possibility of the village and the Glendale restaurants sponsoring the “The Glendale Better Wine and Food Festival”
He feels that the square would be an ideal venue for such an event. His company has organized similar outdoor festivals and events in the West Chester area and has experienced great and growing success even during the depressed economic times. With the cooperation of the village and the businesses, he sees the possibility for an annual event that could draw crowds from around the tri state.
He feels that May 2010 would be an ideal time and would like the chamber to Look at his proposal and consider if there is support for this idea.
There was general enthusiasm expressed by attending chamber members however the looming Streetscape project and its start and completion dates are a big concern for all.
Gail thanked Mr. Atkinson for his proposal and assured him that we would get back to him.
Meeting Adjourned
Next Meeting: Wednesday, February 17, 8:30AM, Depot