2022-04-14 Ed! Board MinutesEd! Board Meeting 4.14.22
Meeting called to order: 8:03
Board Members/Administration in Attendance: Jen Lawson, Matt McCulloch, Cheryl Farrish,
Kimberly Koenig, Olivia Brown -Latham, Robert Boehlke, Beth Sanger, and Carrie Hulbert.
City of Edmonds Representative in Attendance: Susan McLaughlin and Megan Luttrell
Guests: Liz Morgan (FIELD), Devyn Cox (Body in Motion), Pam Stuller (Walnut Street Coffee),
Annika Samuelsen.
Approval of Previous Meeting's Minutes: Kimberly moved to approve the minutes from
March 10, 2022. Robert seconded. All approved, none opposed.
President's Report: Cheryl presented. We are in the middle of the Green Edmonds promotion.
Downtown merchants are doing a great job of posting to social. Enjoyed seeing what
businesses are doing to stay Green. Once the governor rescinds the emergency health
proclamation, Ed! will offer hybrid meeting options. We are currently looking for meeting
spaces. Carrie, Pam and Cheryl will with city task force investigating the Ed! payment
delinquencies. The task force appears to have a narrow scope and is primarily looking for ways
to resolve the delinquent accounts. Vivian Olsen and Susan Paine have RSVP'ed to the
meeting. Cheryl will be sending out an email to the businesses that are delinquent. Carrie did
include a blurb in the last newsletter urging businesses to bring the accounts up to date.
Stopped by Bank of America and hopes they will be up to date. The annual meeting will be
virtual on zoom, April 26 at 9am. The board will be electing new officers next month. This is
Cheryl's last meeting as president. Feels invested in the community.
Introduced Devyn Cox who is nominated to fill Blake Fisher's open (by -appointment) position.
Devyn said she works as the operations and marketing manager at Body in Motion. She has
been instrumental in the Edmonds Moms podcast and the newsletter. She is really interested in
joining the board.
Cheryl nominated Devyn to the board. Kimberly seconded. No discussion.
Treasurer's Report: No updated report.
New Businesses Added to BID: No new businesses added this month. There may be new
openings, but Lacy (with the city) is out right now.
City Report: Megan Luttrell presented. She has been more time at then new City of Edmonds
Highway 99 location. The interim position that Doug was filling has been phased out. Interviews
are scheduled for next Friday to fill Patrick's vacancy. The streeteries are ending April 30.
Restaurants have until May 15 to deconstruct them. Hope to enable additional outdoor dining
through sidewalk cafes and temporary tents. The 15-minute pick up spots have technically
sunset-ed. Council would have to pass an ordinance to continue the program.
Susan McLaughlin presented. She introduced the new concept of People, Streets, and Public
Spaces — this is the mayor's priority, to look for additional public space by looking at our streets.
Want to utilize our streets so people can come together to socialize. The city has engaged the
consultant Environmental Works. Twelve neighborhood round table discussions will take place
in six of our districts, including downtown. There is interest from the mayor to talk about how
Walkable Main can be adapted. How we can scale it differently will be part of the discussion.
People were not jazzed about the entire weekend. Sunday seemed like the preferable day.
Wants to minimize concerns of retails. Feedback has been heard. They may want to limit
Walkable Main to a single block. She is excited to share the concepts. Kimberly asked for really
cohesive signage and a professional look. Robert added that the discussion between retailers
and restaurants agreed that Sunday was a better day then the entire weekend. Saturday is a
commerce day and retailer count on all types of traffic. Susan wants Walkable Main to be a
community -led event. Liz voiced concern from last year - the safety aspect. Cars would be
going up and down Main Street despite the closures and barriers. Would like to know the
precautions to close the streets and would they be monitored. Susan hopes to have more
activates visible and people in the area and will look at the barriers. She noted there is great
confusion about the water fountain area - between cars and pedestrians. Jen asked who and
how will people be chosen for the round table? Susan wants stakeholders to be present for the
local districts, including downtown. Steering Committee will have a smaller number then the
roundtable discussions. The first meeting will start in May and may be virtual. Starting from
scratch in other neighborhoods. Lots of different strategies will be utilized in public spaces.
Committee Updates
• Admin: Cheryl talked about board positions. Deandra whose term ends in 2023 has
started a new position outside of the BID. Board members must work at an alliance
member. Her role will need to be filled. Ricky from Santa Fe will be nominated to fill
Kali's open door position. She asked how many want in -person meetings versus virtual.
Robert likes the personal connection of in -person meetings. Jen likes in -person as well.
8am is prohibitive for some. Matt said it's easier to be fully engaged when face to face.
• Marketing: Carrie presented. Green Edmonds is going well. She encouraged everyone
to grab a chalkboard and post! She said the article about getting your garden ready for
spring by Whitney Poppa has been published. A loving summer article is coming up.
Content to be determined.
• Communication & Outreach: Post cards have been sent out for annual meeting and
survey. Olivia suggested that Ed! host a social event a couple of times a year - like a
happy hour or coffee meeting. No agenda other than meeting other business owners.
Gateway to cross over retail and restaurants.
• Appearance & Environment: Carrie presented. She is ordering the umbrellas. Late
summer or fall arrival. After hours lot wants a "Hold Harmless" agreement from the city.
It's on hold until Patrick's position has been filled. Coastal Community bank lot might be
an option. Hoping to find more before the summer. Need to update the parking map.
May want to add the EV charging areas. The online map gets a good bit of traffic. Lovin'
Summer directional flags will be used again this summer. May want to buy sturdier
poles.
New Business: Pam asked if Ed! needs to put the budget together earlier this year.
Cheryl thinks we may need to have a budget submitted to City Council earlier this year,
perhaps July. Megan has not heard anything about the budget. Usually hears something
around June. She will keep us in the loop as to expectations.
Meeting Adjourned: 9:00am