Old Buildings, New Attitudes

Archive for the ‘Meeting Recap’ Category

Hi Everyone~

Last evening was our Annual Dinner & Awards Recognition meeting at Arnold Hall.  Thanks to everyone who came out – it was a great evening!  We heard it might be the last special event held in Arnold Hall before the move to the Gamber Center – how bittersweet.  Special thanks to Gene Gamber for all his help setting up.  We look forward to a future meeting in the Gamber Center – I hear it is beautiful!

First I want to thank a few more people who helped make last night such a great evening – Dan & Lynn from Ciao Bella for the wonderful catering, Diane Forte from Dean’s Trophies for the speedy turn around on the beautiful plaques, board member JR Buckner for presenting the awards, and board President Steve Tominia for running the show.  Stacy, our intern, helped with set up and collecting money.  Jeanine did a great job with the Year in Review, and Gina as always did a great job with her ‘fun’ awards to the Downtown Days committee!  And Steve Arbo and Ron Cox with the City helped us clean up afterwards – they are both so great and we appreciate their support.  There were so many others that helped – thank you for the support!

Here is a list of the award winners:

• Special Recognition – Kathy Hofmann, Outgoing Board Member and City Council Liaison 
• Volunteer of the Year – John Kelly of Jerry’s Bait Shop
• Downtown Champion – Dave Eames
• Business of the Year – Cameron’s Home Furnishings
• New Member Dynamo – Gabriel Garner of Pophearts
• Dale Hartley Service Award – Amy Robertson of Cameron’s
• President’s Award – Downtown Days Committee

Congratulations to all the winners!  There were so many amazing dedicated volunteers this past year, and we thank you and recognize all the hard work you do.  We are truly appreciative.

Last night was our Quarterly Meeting.  Couldn’t make it?  No worries!  I’m going to do a quick recap.

President Steve Tominia started the evening off with a nice introduction of DLSMS board members.  We also had a couple new faces attend, including Brookie Lee Glaser of Happybottomus and Dan Phelps of Ciao Bella.  Happybottomus is located at 225 SE Douglas – they just opened up so stop by and check them out.  And if you haven’t stopped by Ciao Bella you’re really missing out!  My favorite is the Ahi Tuna sandwich.  And on a related note, new clothing store Pophearts located at 311 SE Douglas (in the new Vogue condos) has an open house this Saturday, March 22nd from 11 am – 7 pm.  Stop by and say hi!

Promotions Committee Update 

Gina gave an update from the Promotions Committee.  First she thanked Chuck Denton and Mary Pechar for their hard work at the parade.  Throughout the night several people mentioned how great it was to see so many people lining the streets downtown!  She reminded everyone about the Bunny Hop this Saturday.  She also stressed that ANYONE is welcome at our promotions meetings.  A group of 10 die-hard retailers meet twice a month.  The next meeting is tomorrow, March 20th at 8:30 am in the Main Street office. The more the merrier so please join us!

Accepting Nominations for DLSMS Board of Directors

Jeanine announced that there will be two open positions for the DLSMS Board of Directors.  We have nomination forms here in our office and they are due by April 7th.  If you or someone you know is interested in serving on the Board, we can get you a form.

CID Update

Brad and I gave a quick update on the CID.  We have probably spoken with 35-40 business & property owners, and we are seeing about 77% support for a sales tax CID.  There are still plenty of people we want to reach out to, so if we haven’t talked with you we will try to contact you soon!  Many people have asked what the CID would do here, and really there are lots of options to choose from!  As Brad mentioned last night, we are trying to build the plan from the inside out and really want everyone involved to see benefit.  We plan to hold Focus Group meetings to help develop the five year plan, and our first one is tentatively scheduled for the first week in May.  CID policies were recently discussed at a City Council Work Session, and Brad and I attended.  It seems the Council generally supports reviewing CIDs on a case-by-case basis, and Councilman Jim Hallam stopped in to reiterate that fact.  As things move forward, we will continue to follow any developments at the Council level.  Brad also wants everyone to know they can contact him if they have any questions.

Wayfinding Signage Update

I gave a quick update about the wayfinding signage.  As discussed in a previous post, Bowman Bowman & Novick presented concepts to the DLSMS Board of Directors in early March.  We showed the Board’s top picks for the perimeter markers, vehicular directional signs, and informational kiosks.  BBN is currently refining those concepts.  We also showed off two different logos in three different color schemes, and asked for everyone to vote for their favorites.  If you’d like to see any of the concepts, logos, or color schemes, stop by our office!

Business Safety Tips

Community Interaction Officer Mark Wiesemann was our key note speaker, and he gave us all great tips on keeping safe in a business environment.  In light of recent break-ins downtown, his presentation and advice was very timely.  Below are some tips he gave us for Burglary Prevention.

• lighting, lighting, and more lighting
• have solid doors and deadbolt locks with 3-inch screws
• have windows that lock and consider laminated glass
• keep windows clear so others can see in
• reduce the amount of cash you have on hand
• consider an audible alarm system and post the alarm sign where it can be seen
• trim landscaping

Officer Wiesemann provided us a copy of his presentation.  For a complete list of all his tips, please call or e-mail the office and we would be happy to make a copy of it or e-mail it to you!

Construction Update

Ron Cox, Director of Redevelopment with The City of Lee’s Summit, gave an update on 4th Street construction.  He said all underground utility work has been completed!  Now the paving is to begin – as soon as the weather cooperates.  The intersection is the biggest priority. 

Ron also mentioned that in the last five years, $64 million has been reinvested in Downtown Lee’s Summit.  Around $19.1 million was private investment.  WOW!  And did you know that our streetscape project has won two awards?  One was the 2007 Missouri Paving Award for Municipal Streets & Intersections.  Ron expects many more great things to happen in the next five years.

2007 DLSMS Summary of Accomplishments

The DLSMS Board of Directors, volunteers, and staff have had a very busy year!  Jeanine passed out the 2007 Summary of Accomplishments and highlighted a few projects.  We would be happy to share this with anyone – let us know and we can drop it by or e-mail it to you.

SAVE THE DATE: June Annual Meeting and Awards Presentation 

Thanks again to everyone who attended the meeting last night.  SAVE THE DATE for our June Annual Meeting tentatively scheduled for June 24, 2008.  You will have the opportunity to vote for two new Board members, will hear a short ‘year in review’ presentation, and annual awards will be handed out to some hard-working volunteers!