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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCoconut Grove BIDCoconut Grove BID Board Meeting, July 2009, Page 1 Coconut Grove BID Meeting - July 21, 2009 Doubletree Hotel, Coconut Grove (11:00-1:15 p.m.) Members in Attendance: Members Absent: Others in Attendance: Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, Co -Chair, BID Board Maurice Wiener, Co -Chair, BID Board (Member, Operations Comm.) Art Noriega, Chair, Finance Comm. Sue McConnell (Member, Capital Improvement Comm.) Mia Stierheim, (Member, Sp. Events & Mktg. Comm.) Ed Prelaz, Chair, Operations Comm. (Member, Finance Comm.) Gail Baldwin (Member, Capital Improvement Comm.) Joe Harrison (Member, Capital Improvement Comm.) Manny Alonso-Poch (Member, Capital Improvement Comm.) Scott Silver, Chair, Capital Improvement Comm. Barbara Wendel (Member, Finance Comm.) Sylvano Bignon (Member, Capital Improvement Comm.) Lalo Durazo (Member, Sp. Events & Mktg. Comm.) Bob Whelan (Member, Finance Comm.) David Yoblick, ex officio (Member, Finance Comm., Operations Comm.) Anthony Noboa, ex officio (Member, Operations Comm.) Lee Marks (Member, Operations Comm.) Monty Trainer, ex officio; Vice -Chair, Sp. Events & Mktg. Comm. Valerie Davis -Bailey (Member, Operations Comm.) H. H. Bredemeier (Member, Capital Improvement Comm.) Steven Anton Rehage (Member, Sp. Events & Mktg. Comm.) Sam Kelly (Member, Finance Comm.) Veronica Xiques, Assistant City Attorney David Hernandez, Public Works Marshall Steingold, Chair, Special Events & Marketing Comm. Fred Bredemeyer, Chief Operations Officer, MPA David Collins, Executive Director, Coconut Grove BID Richard Issa, Senior Executive Assistant, Coco. Grove BID Manny Gonzalez, Projects Director, Coconut Grove BID Scott Simpson, Chief Financial Officer, MPA Margie Carmenates, Controller, MPA Paul Dastugue, CocoWalk (Member, Operations Comm.) Coconut Grove BID Board Meeting, July 2009, Page 2 The meeting was called to order by BID Board Co -Chair Maurice Wiener at 11:05 a.m. Approval of Minutes for May 26, 2009 Maurice Wiener asked if there were any comments on the minutes for the Board meeting of May 26, 2009. Manny Alonso-Poch said that "on the second page, bottom right of three, when we talked about the authority to select members of committees, I think we also said that that would be something to be considered by the by-laws committee and that should go in there." Further, Mr. Poch did not recall making the motion related to POW WOW. Maurice asked the Board if there was any objection to the Pow Wow wording. Hearing none, he asked for a motion that the minutes be accepted with the exception/addition of the by-laws comment. Gail Baldwin made the motion. Art Noriega seconded. Motion passed unanimously. A discussion of the BID's logo was begun by Mr. Alonso-Poch. Art Noriega recommended that in deference to our guests from the McGladrey & Pullen certified public accounting firm that this subject be forwarded back to the Special Events and Marketing Committee. Independent Accountant's Report on Applying Agreed -Upon Procedures Scott Simpson, the Chief Financial Officer for the Miami Parking Authority, gave a short presentation on the assets and the accounting of the BID which he coordinates. Donnovan Maginley of McGladrey & Pullen was introduced as the lead CPA in charge of the BID report. A short report was distributed to the board that gave a summary of their work on the analysis of the BID's finances. He showed the balance sheets, statement of revenue, and P & L as of March 31, 2009. From these statements, they performed procedures to assist the BID in evaluating general ledger account balances and account activity of the Coconut Grove BIC for the six month period ending March 31, 2009. Art Noriega said that this accounting activity was made in light of the recognized need for a financial transition point between the activities of the BIC and those of the BID as of March 31, 2009. The purpose was to take the balance sheet and validate all of those numbers that make up that report. He said that there have been meetings with the staff to go over the formatting of the financial reports to make them easier to read and more accessible. This can be a little complicated as portions of some revenue are allocated only to certain uses. The Finance Committee and staff are working towards making this a little clearer in future financial reports. Art further noted that our procedures have changed over the last few years and that they are going to continue to change. Feedback is always welcome in these times as we move forward to make the format of these documents and the procedure in the budget an easier process. Maurice Wiener asked that the Board study the information from the financials and ask questions to the committee and to the full Board. Art Noriega said that there will be an orientation for the full Board of Directors on all policies and procedures from the City, to MPA. The Board is accountable to the property owners and Coconut Grove BID Board Meeting, July 2009, Page 3 members have to have a good grasp of the organization-- a retreat will bring them up to date as quickly as possible. Scott Simpson reviewed the portfolio for the Board. The BID has about $4 million in cash. The methodology for the cash has been a "passive portfolio". This amount of cash is with SunTrust. There has been some concern with SunTrust holding the assets but the funds are in a legal trust that is separate from the commercial portion which is currently considered at risk. Our investments performed very well and are conservative. Mr. Simpson's remarks were greeted with approval by members of the Board. Special Events and Marketing Committee Report Richard Issa reviewed the Special Events and Marketing material that was distributed to the Board, including: • Date Approval of Special Events applications for Coconut Grove Bed Races (Sept 6, 2009), and FAM Festival (March 20, 2010) • Billboard Co-op advertising for July two-month period, participants including: CocoWalk, Chili's, Britto Gallery, Aladdin's Grill, Taurus, Jaguar, and Cita's. • 4th of July Celebration deemed successful partnership with the Coconut Grove Chamber, the Grove Merchants Group, the City of Miami and the Barnacle. Coconut Scavenger Hunt, Hot Dog Eating Contest, 4th of July Celebration with fireworks in Peacock Park, and the kick off of Summer Rendezvous Block Party altogether attracted some seven -to -ten -thousand people, and continued into a Sunday Pool Party at the Doubletree. • Summer Rendezvous Block Party series has picked up momentum and created large buzz and excitement on Commodore. It will continue through August 1. BID has successfully put together the restaurants, music and art to create an atmosphere that invites people to "Fall in Love with the Grove Again". Positive feedback garnered from restaurants, locals and regional visitors. Wrap-up meeting to be scheduled after August 1 with businesses and the City to discuss the continuation of the closure. BID continues summer campaign marketing efforts with the Coupon Book (valid until November 25), Pay -Per -Click program, and the Billboard on SW 27 Ave and US1. Campaign assists merchants, hotels, and restaurants during slow summer season. Statements and Motions from the Special Events and Marketing Committee Meeting Board action was taken on some of these items later in the meeting: Coconut Grove BID Board Meeting, July 2009, Page 4 1. The Committee reported that the Coconut Grove Billboard at US1 and 27 Ave will continue through September 30, and further reports that we have nine co-op partners for months of May through September at a $13,000 level of support. 2. The Committee reported that our Summer Campaign includes a $5000 level of support for the Hotel Pay per Click Program. 3. It was the recommendation of the Committee to the Board that we continue advertising on the Coconut Grove Billboard during the period from 10/1/09 through 3/31/10. 4. It was recommended by the Committee that the BID appropriate $250,000 during FY'10 for marketing efforts. Further it was the stated intention of the Committee to match these monies with an additional $250,000 in cash or trade from the merchant, restaurant, and hotel community to effectively double the marketing budget for the year. 5. Committee recommended a motion to provide the Coconut Grove Bed Race the amount of $15,000 with the condition that it be matched with dollar for dollar cash match. 6. Committee recommended motion to accept Kiskinis as the PR agency of Coconut Grove BID through 9/30/09. Other matters discussed during the Committee report were: effectiveness and cost of billboard; effectiveness and costs of Commodore closure; suggestion to continue Commodore closure without interruption. Finance Committee Board action was taken later in the meeting on this item: 1. Committee recommends the Board increase Executive Director's authority to spend budgeted funds from $3,000 up to $5,000 per instance without formal authorization from Board of Directors. Operations Committee Highlighted Issues: • Holiday Lighting Junction Box & Outage Resolution • Florida Ave light bulb exchange pricing • Parking Map Finalization & Procurement for Printing • Security & Sanitation updates & RFP's for future • Blue Signage, maintenance agreement, RFP & Paint • Trolley Service Implementation Ideas (Agenda Created in July) Coconut Grove BID Board Meeting, July 2009, Page 5 Revisiting the South Bayshore Beautification Police Overlay Report was distributed, detailing specific hours of public and private security coverage in Coconut Grove In another issue, David Collins reported that the County was planning to use sodium vapor "highway lighting" rather than white metal halide "pedestrian lighting" in the BID area along Grand. David Collins indicated he was in touch with the staff of County Commissioner Carlos A. Gimenez on this matter. Capital Improvements and Infrastructure Committee Manny Gonzalez reviewed the items from the Committee's meeting: • Holiday Lighting Consistency and Ideas for future installation • Installation of parking signs • Pedestrian Street lighting & Ideas • Underground electricity consideration • Ten new City sanitation receptacles in place Report on blue signage: Coconut Grove has been working on the blue -street & way -finding signage project for some years now. As of 2009 the BID has 72 pieces of street signage in 8 different models and now the BID has added two new bicycle racks. The City of Miami requires the BID to enter into an agreement to maintain its non standard blue street signs. An Agreement has been drafted and is awaiting signature. Furthermore, we have asked the Assistant City Attorney to advise us as to whether we will need liability insurance with the signage, and, if so, how to proceed. Updating FY'09 Budget and Approving FY'10 Budget Art Noriega explained that we must approve an FY'10 budget today because it must be in front of the City Commission by September 2009. He recommended that in the future we have a budget workshop. This whole process of the budget must start earlier—at the committee level. This year, as we are just starting the BID organization, will be the exception but this won't be the case in future years. All committees should have their budgets ready by July. Revision of Fy'09 Budget David Collins indicated that this was the first revision of the current budgetary year that began in Oct. 2008, and that it had been a rather complicated year. Three attachments were distributed showing initial budget, actual budget, and variance (under/over) for all items. Footnotes explained significant variances, such as expenses for POW WOW and closing Commodore. Ed Prelaz moved to approve the revised budget with the corrections to the format and to the typographical error on the amount for Grove Events (to be reduced from $437k to $37k). Scott Silver seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Coconut Grove BID Board Meeting, July 2009, Page 6 Approval of FY '10 Budget David Collins presented a proposed balanced budget for the first year of the BID, reflecting diminished expenses to match projected decreased revenue streams in Parking Waiver Funds (from $394,000 down to $321,000), Parking Surcharge Funds (from $287,000 down to $244,000), and City of Miami funds (best possible scenario from $200,000 down to $100,000). Rather than going through each subcategory of the budget, David Collins recommended that larger pools of funding be approved by the Board, and that the Committees would determine how these pools of funds would be budgeted into subcategories, then bring the more developed budget figures back to the full Board for approval at the next Board meeting. There ensued a broad ranging, one-hour conversation that frequently referred to the larger first-year budget included in the Business Plan. Gradually during this conversation, the Board came to consensus that during this first year we should put forward "a more robust budget", or as Commissioner Sarnoff suggested, something much more like the projected budget that was included in the Business Plan. As Finance Chair, Art Noriega agreed with this approach, especially in light of high property owner expectations that will need to be satisfied during our first full budget year. The additional funding for these expenses will be allocated from interest income and from trust fund revenue. It was agreed by the Board that we would re -allocate funds so as to eliminate a contingency line. Further, it was agreed that there would be nothing allocated for the retenanting line for the first year, and that this effort would be deferred unto the second year of the BID. Barbara Wendell moved to approve the FY'10 Budget for 1.4 million dollars. Scott Silver seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Further Items, Actions, and Motions The following matters brought the meeting to a conclusion: It was moved to increase the Executive Director's authority to spend up to $5,000 in previously budgeted amounts in keeping with the procurement guidelines of the City of Miami, without formal authorization of the Board of Directors. Art Noriega moved; Lalo Durazo seconded. Passed unanimously. It was moved by Art Noriega to officially accept Kiskinis Communications as the PR firm for the BID. Motion was seconded by Lalo Durazo. Following questions and discussion, this motion passed unanimously. David Collins indicated that with the PR agreement, the sanitation agreement, and the security agreement, these would all be put out to bid for a longer term relationship. The current agreements all conclude September 30, 2009. Coconut Grove BID Board Meeting, July 2009, Page 7 It was moved that the Board approve $15,000 to the Great Grove Bed Race on a dollar -for -dollar match basis. Scott Silver moved it. Joe Harrison seconded. The motion passed unanimously. It was moved by Lalo Durazo to approve a petty cash level of $2,000. Art Noriega seconded. The motion passed unanimously. David Collins asked for Board acknowledgment of the items one through four --matters brought forward earlier by the Marketing Committee. Maurice Wiener asked for clarity's sake that the Committee was no longer requesting the $250k. He pointed out that the budget request from Special Events and Marketing needs to come forward in a more comprehensive plan. Maurice Wiener indicated that it had been suggested that—in order to have an effective and efficient organization— there should be a Board retreat. Art Noriega said that someone from several departments will come in and speak with the Board, such as the City Attorney's Office, the procurement office, MPA etc.. to give a rundown of each aspect of the BID. It was agreed that the retreat would take three hours on September 19, 2009, and Art asked that everyone pencil it in and an email will be sent out. Next, Art Noriega indicated that an issue had arisen with Christabelle's Quarter and the matter of unpaid parking waiver fees. The debt was for approximately $50,000. The restaurant closed in November. They have appeared in front of Code Enforcement who brought the issue back to MPA to deal with. Their lawyer has offered a settlement offer of $10,000. Art said he believed we should take it. Bob Whelan moved to accept the offer of the parking waiver settlement at $10,000. Lalo Durazo seconded the motion. It passed unanimously. It was agreed in general that we should try to better notice MPA when businesses close. Marc Sarnoff moved to adjourn meeting. Maurice Wiener seconded it. Meeting adjourned at 1:15 p.m. Minutes Respectfully Submitted by: Richard issa, Senior Executive Assistant and David Collins, Executive Director