Downtown Main Street Taskforce

MINUTES

June 28, 2006, 7:30-9:15 a.m.

Brainerd office of the Chamber

In attendance: Darren Larson, Lou Anderson, Ed Menk, Tom Norman, Vince Kline, Sheila Haverkamp, David Pueringer, Nila Patrick, Mark Ostgarden, Anne Nelson Fisher, Doug Grout, Lisa Paxton

Organizational Structure Discussion:

The attendees reviewed the pros and cons of the various organizational structures, using the www.mainstreet.org reference materials as a guide. Following were general comments relating to housing a Main Street program within an existing organization, or creating a new organization:

City Government

Pros: Financial support, staff help, resources, communication, benefits for staff, public entity.

Cons: Difficult to change staff if a city employee, big brother perspective possible, funding from private entities might be limited, the organization could be at the whims of the electorate, communication, it could be political, and it might be questioned about whether it is pro business, public entity.

Chamber of Commerce

Pros: Financial support, resources, office location, ability to act quickly, strong Chamber of Commerce

Cons: Support of members vs. non-members in downtown, perception that it is involved in other areas, a change in staff leadership could impact Main Street program.

Economic Development

Pros: Financial support, resources, office location, ability to act quickly, strong economic restructuring support

Cons: BLADC does not own their facility, is totally focused on economic development – not the other areas, has a small staff and limited resources

Merchants or Owners Association

Pros: Could have a stronger volunteer base, greater buy-in for funding

Cons: Higher risk, narrow scope, limited resources for support, benefits, in-kind services

Note: The consensus of the taskforce is that in whatever structure the organization takes, it will be important to involve both property owners and tenants.

Special Assessment District (a way to tax impacted property owners to raise the funds to initiate a Main Street program; used in some other areas; sometimes referred to as BIDs)

Pros: Stable source of funds, a vote of property owners is required

Cons: Requires legislative action, ill will is possible

Note: The taskforce discussed this option and felt it could be a future alternative for funding, but not the preferred path for initial start-up.

Budget Outline & Funding Sources

Mark and Doug prepared a budget outline based on information provided by other Main Street programs. Staff wages were $30-50,000 range depending on the job description and expectations. The task force felt comfortable using a $40,000-$60,000 overall budget for the operation of the Main Street organization (this did not include promotional or project implementation funds).

The task force members were then asked to identify sources for operating funds and to allocate a % of the total funds to that source. Following is the task force consensus:

City/EDA: 60% or more

Members/Contributions: 10%

Fundraising: 5%

Other organizations: 10%

In-kind: 10%

Grants (start-up only) 5%

The Main Street program is a long-term investment and an initial five-year minimum commitment from funding sources is critical. In the future, if a special assessment district was established, funding sources could change. Dave indicated that specific performance measurement was important to guarantee continued funding.

Next Steps:

The majority of the taskforce stated that an organization with existing infrastructure and resources was the best option for the Main Street program. After group discussion and individual input, the Chamber of Commerce was identified as the preferred organization. It was also noted that a steering committee was needed to guide the Main Street Coordinator, and that the composition of that committee was important to funding and support.

Lisa Paxton, Sheila Haverkamp, and Mark Ostgarden will meet on July 11 to outline an organizational structure to present at the next task force meeting on July 12. If the task force approves this structure, it will be presented to the Chamber’s Board of Directors on July 20 for consideration.

NEXT MEETING SCHEDULE:

Lisa, Sheila, Mark: 7:30 a.m., July 11 at the Brainerd office of the Chamber

Taskforce Meeting: 7:30 a.m., July 12 at the Brainerd office of the Chamber