2015-01-08 Edmonds Downtown Alliance (BID) MinutesEd! Alliance meeting 1/8/2015
8 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Board Meeting
Note taker: Mary Kay Sneeringer
Attendees: Pam Stuller, Cadence Clyborne, Sally Merck, Juliana van Buskirk, Robert Boehlke, Cindi Cruz,
Patrick Doherty, Jordana Turner, David Arista, Clayton Moss, Alexandra Rousu, Bill Lambert, Dave
Buelow, John Dewhirst, Jeff Shearer, Mary Bess Johnson
Call to order 8:02
Minutes for meeting on 12/11/14: Sally moved to approve, Robert seconded the motion. Motion
approved unanimously.
President's Report:
Pam has not been getting responses to emails and has set up the new email system on several people's
phones. If you are not getting emails be sure to talk to her. She & Paul will meet to launch ideas for
gathering input from members.
Treasurer's Report:
Cadence reviewed the estimated revenue and expenses for 2014. We carry approximately $47,382.83
balance forward for 2015.
David asked about what we might need to do to prepare for audit purposes. Patrick said it would be part
of the city audit and that all the records we currently have are sufficient. Pam asked about the carryover
from the previous year and whether or not we would need to seek council approval if we apply that
balance to amounts in excess of the approved 2015 budget amounts. Patrick said it would be a good
idea to mention it and perhaps in the future we should have a pre-set amount (say $5000 or so) under
which would not require approval.
City Update:
Patrick gave kudos for the holiday activities which were pulled together on short notice and were a big
success. The small grants program proposal is sitting with council, not yet on the agenda. Maybe will be
on Jan. 27 agenda. Council wants some information on the rate structure for assessments. Issues
regarding the boundary and collection were not forwarded for further work. There is still no word on
whether or not Edmonds has been selected to host the Conference on Historic Preservation.
Museum Improvement Project: Dave Buelow
He reviewed the benefits the Museum provides. The farmer's market provides 70% of the museum's
funding. The small market brings approximately 2500 people to downtown, the big market about 9,000.
All told about 150,000 come to the market over the summer. The museum itself draws about
400/month. The Scarecrow Festival is growing each year and the Haunted Museum is very popular. The
newly remodeled upstairs is available for rental for groups of up to 50 people. A remodel of the space in
front of the museum is being proposed. Clayton Moss has designed a people -friendly plaza and
renovation of the landscaping to highlight the historic building. Pamphlets with the proposed design
were available to board members. They asked for input on the design. The museum is seeking funding
partners and felt their project aligns very closely with Ed!s mission.
Action Item: Put on agenda for discussion at board meeting on Jan. 22.
Website Update: Cadence
The website is up and running. Turnstyle provided training on how to do updates and edits. Nicole, a
temporary worker, is currently handling all the data input. Cadence encouraged linking to the website
from our own websites. Pam asked about a business that has one business license covering 3 different
people and whether or not they should each get a listing. It was decided that only one listing per license
was fair, but that they could embed individual links in the description. Email addresses are being
collected on Mailchimp to provide updates and information. David asked about photos. Nicole is
contacting people who don't have photos to get them added. Changes or edits should be sent to
hello@emondsdowntown.org
Action item: Bring Nicole to next meeting.
Committee Updates:
Marketing: Pam
Preliminary ideas are to do a big splash ad campaign in summer, tote bags could be self-sustaining
program, maybe a bus wrap or bus ads. Kimberly Koenig may be a good source for info since she has
experience in media. It would be great to have a restaurant person on the committee.
Appearance and Parking: Jordana
The committee talked about bike racks, share bikes, parking lots, alleyway projects, umbrellas. Robert
said that there are many umbrellas out in circulation and not so many in the bins right now. Jordana
pointed out that other projects have more potential for collaboration with the city. After some
discussion Robert moved to approve spending up to $6,000 to purchase an additional 250 umbrellas.
David seconded. Unanimously approved.
Cadence pointed out that all committees should do preliminary budget allocations to be sure we are on
target.
Education: Juliana
Matt is still available for presentation on social media. Pam suggested adding questions on the member
survey to get feedback on what seminars members would like to have offered.
Public comment:
Alexandra asked if the Downtown Edmonds Merchants Association could be absorbed into the Ed!
Alliance. Perhaps there could be a Merchants committee, a Restaurant committee, a By Appointment
committee that could serve an information function for interested like-minded businesses. Board
members will attend the DEMA retreat.
Action item: Discuss at our next meeting. Adjourned 9:40