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Downtown Development Steering Committee Minutes - 12/04/2017 M INUTES OF THE DDSC(DDSC) OWNTOWN EVELOPMENT TEERING OMMITTEE December 4, 2017 P: RESENT Mayor Stephen Santellana, Chair § Deandra Chenault § late Danny Ahern § Rick Hatcher § Scott Poenitzsch § Bobby Whiteley § Darron Leiker, City Manager § City Staff Paul Menzies, Assistant City Manager § Dana Schoening, Director, Community Development § Jim Dockery, Deputy City Manager § R. Kinley Hegglund, Jr., City Attorney § Tracy Norr, City Clerk § Henry Florsheim, Chamber of Commerce A: BSENT Ripley Tate § Dave Clark § Cody Magana § Dusty Potter § Jesse Brown, Vice Chair § Delores Culley, Wichita Co. Heritage Society § ______________________________________________________________________ 1. Call to Order Mayor Santellana called the meeting to order at 3:30 PM. There was no quorum present. Those present continued with reports, but no action was taken. 2. Approval of Minutes of Meeting of November 6, 2017 3:34 PM Minutes were not approved due to lack of quorum. 3.Committee Reports 3:34 PM Streetscapes: Scott Poenitzsch reviewed sub-team engagement activities which included input from the Lifestyles, Downtown Wichita Falls Group, and downtown business groups. Street Typologies of the core development area were submitted DDSC Minutes of November 6, 2017 2 to Freese & Nichols. The subcommittee has started developing the street elevations for the core streets. He said parking, bike zones, and pedestrian zones were planned. Feedback from Freese and Nichols is expected in mid-January. Regulatory Danny Ahern said he has been meeting with stakeholders and downtown building owners. The committee is working to identify issues. Councilor Chenault joined the meeting at 3:39 PM. Marketing Becky Raeke, Interim Director of Downtown Wichita Falls, said the Downtown Wichita Falls Facebook page is live now. Branding will be out in January. They had a good attendance at a merchants meeting and got responses from many of them. Finance Jim Dockery reported that the development of a public improvement district was discussed with Freese & Nichols. The key issue is when to approach the property owners in the district to start explaining the costs and benefits of a district. The subcommittee determined to wait until streetscapes and regulatory committee have determined the goals before approaching the property owners. The finance subcommittee decided to forego the next meeting with Freese & Nichols. A document listing financial options and resources for property owners is almost ready. Discuss Next Freese & Nichols Meeting Scheduled for Thursday, January 18, 2018 4. 3:44 PM Dana Schoening said the next meeting with Freese & Nichols will be held on January 18 at the Travel Center for the Streetscapes and Regulatory subcommittees. He said preferred design schemes will be fine-tuned at the upcoming meeting. Renderings and cost estimates will be given to the finance subcommittee. A downtown zoning diagnostic report has been prepared and will be refined at the next meeting. This report has 21 points for regulatory schemes and recommendations. Mr. Schoening said the timeline for the Freese and Nichols meetings will include three months of development, a stage of fine-tuning and recommendations. He said it is d the staff input to gain a consensus for moving forward. He said the goals need to be health and safety minded as the process goes forward. Mr. Ahern said the regulatory committee would like to take the consultants on a downtown tour to discuss specific sites. DDSC Minutes of November 6, 2017 3 5.Public Comments 3:53 PM Henry Florsheim, Chamber of Commerce, said the Half Pint Brewery soft opening was held over the weekend. A ribbon cutting will be held later today. 6. Other Business 3:53 PM Danny Ahern said the Mayor of Oklahoma City was a great speaker at the recent Chamber of Commerce meeting. Mayor Santellana said he went to Oklahoma City. He said he took pictures of the public art. It shows the possibilities that we could do in Wichita Falls. Scott Poenitzsch said the subject has come up at some of the meetings of driving business to the downtown area. He asked if there is a bus route from the base to the college to downtown. John Burrus said there are not enough buses available but there are three buses on order. Expansion will be reviewed with the next budget. The public buses are not available for rental due to FTA requirements. He added that Midwestern is the biggest customer base and students ride for free. He said the share ride companies are putting a damper on the bus system. Mr. Burrus said the city works closely with SAFB on events for the base. 7. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:04 PM _____________________________ MayorStephen Santellana, Chair Downtown Development Steering Cmte.