DDP Board Meeting Packet December 2, 2020

DOWNTOWN DOVER PARTNERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS December 2, 2020 at 7:30 AM AGENDA ZOOM: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84935704124 Meeting ID: 849 3570 4124 Additional Zoom instructions next page. 1. Agenda Additions/Deletions 2. Approval of Minutes – Oct. 2020 3. Police report – Sgt. Peer, Community Policing Unit 4. Executive Committee Report/Action Items i. Executive Session i. Item #1 ii. Item #2 iii. Item #3 5. Property Updates - N/A 6. Committee Reports i. Parking ii.Organization: Main Street Assessment. Introduce Guest Patty Cannon, Main Street State Coordinator from Division of Small Business. 7. Updates i. Legislative 8. City Updates (Time-permitting) i. Mayor ii. City Council iii. City Manager iv. Planning 9. Other Business 10. Public Comment 11. Adjourn Next DDP board meeting: January 27, via Zoom

Diane Laird is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: DDP Board meeting Time: Dec 2, 2020 07:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84935704124 Meeting ID: 849 3570 4124 One tap mobile +13126266799,,84935704124# US (Chicago) +19292056099,,84935704124# US (New York) Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 849 3570 4124 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kRFJhysSC

DOWNTOWN DOVER PARTNERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES October 28, 2020 – Online Zoom Meeting DRAFT ATTENDANCE: Pete Bradley, Bill Bush, Mayor Robin Christiansen, Dave Hugg, Councilman Fred Neil, Jonathan Street, Sgt. Peer, Tom Lehman, Mike Harrington, Kim Adams, Todd Stonesifer, Ralph Taylor STAFF: Tina Bradbury, Diane Laird COMMITTEE CHAIRS, PRESENTERS AND OTHER ATTENDEES: Dover PD Sgt. Peer Call to Order: Todd opened the meeting. Agenda and Meeting minutes (September 2020 meeting) – Motion appropriate made and seconded; unanimous approval. DDP Executive Committee Report: Todd discussed having a modest amount of cash that may be better placed in an interest-bearing account. Pete, Todd, Diane, and Tina met with Jason Cook, financial advisor from Citizens Investment Services, to discuss ways to better use the money. Todd mentioned that Jason recommended a liquid account that is a combination of treasury bonds and high-yield corporate bonds. If DDP needs money, there is 48 to 72 hours liquidity. Very low fees. Also, opportunity to save money on mortgage loans that we are refinancing. Awaiting a recommendation from Jason and he will provide a small presentation for a future meeting. Dover PD Update: Sgt. Peer summarized a number of complaints over the past month. No crime - most reports were of suspicious activity and a couple minor accidents. As mentioned during the last board meeting, Sgt. Peer began meeting with business owners to introduce himself but got sick and was unable to complete as many as he anticipated. Sgt. Peer updated that he will start back up on Friday. In regard to cadets, Sgt. Peer reported that they were down one cadet. They are left with two cadets out of the three left because one cadet is in quarantine and further explained that they recently hired two more, and they should be back up to five cadets within the next week or two. Sgt. Peer will meet with Tina and Diane to discuss needs for November 6th event and the First Friday in December event. Property Updates: Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing Diane shared an email letter from the Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing that went out to the broader community requesting sponsorship and October 28, 2020 – DPP Online Zoom Meeting DRAFT 1

donations for renovate the building at 630 W. Division Street in Dover. DIMH is currently involved in rezoning with the city. DSHA is willing to provide some grant funds toward the project. Diane mentioned that the DDP has made contributions to DIMH but says that they will bring it to the executive committee and then back to the board in December for a discussion or update. Councilman Neil updated that this project would go to the planning commission on 11/16/20 and it will appear at the city council for a public hearing on 12/14/20- thanks to Dave Hugg who had the ordinance drafted. South Governors Avenue (Old Acme building). Diane discussed that October 1 was an internal target date to begin prospecting for the property. A prospecting package was sent to Mike Glick of Lighthouse Construction. In addition, a package was sent to Mosaic Development Partners (MDP) who had been working with Kirby Hudson during his role as Assistant City Manager a number of years ago. MDP primarily works in Philadelphia and focuses on development of broader city blocks vs. individual building parcels. Very interesting discussion. He and his partners are looking to visit Dover. Tina added that staff had a very high view of the group. They are familiar with all of the incentives and programs and a strong understanding of how to “layer” them successfully. They also use crowdfunding to engage investors at a broad range of investment amount. More to come, but we believe there is a real possibility with them in a variety of ways. MDP was recently awarded the Navy Shipyard redevelopment project. Committee Reports: Parking Committee: Diane provided an update that DDP is ready to proceed with Colonial Parking Inc. and has signed the MOU. This will provide a holistic comprehensive parking solution that the city and public is invited to take part. The Parking Committee is targeting implementation very early in fiscal year 2022 (potentially July.) Todd added that the need for this plan is based on consistent complaints from investors, business owners regarding three major issues with downtown - parking is one that prevents residents from coming downtown. Perception is there is no place to park. One of the solutions will likely be metered parking downtown. The idea is enforcing parking that is currently being abused because there will be technology which will allow consistent and efficient enforcement. That in turn will create more turnover in front of businesses and disincentivize those that “abuse” on-street parking. There is a lot of support, and there will likely be a lot of discussions. So, the board should be prepared to get a lot of questions. Appropriate responses to the questions are important. Design: Two murals are being celebrated and dedicated on First Friday, November 6. The mural projects were made possible due to a grant from the Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund. The Mayor will kick off celebration of the two murals Backyard Birds at the back of Mitten & Winters, CPT and the scenic mural inspired by a historic post card depicting the word “Dover” on back of the Dollar Store. Board members were encouraged to come to support the event. October 28, 2020 – DPP Online Zoom Meeting DRAFT 2

Marketing & Promotion: The mural celebration, along with First Friday activities will begin a gentle kickoff of Christmas season. With COVID, we need to spread events over more “time and space.” Christmas season will feature Small Business Saturday, then First Friday’s tree lighting, and street closure in December. The Fig Tree Band has been playing at several First Fridays. They are local and very engaged and include a couple of DSU students and a UD student. Then the Cartoon Christmas Trio will play Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas''. 180 tickets available and 45 sold to date. There are many “COVID measures” in place. Working with Sgt. Peer to ensure presence of cadets. The volunteer Downtown Dover Ambassadors will also be there to make sure the sense of safety. Tina added that they were able to open the Schwartz Center – that Christmas is happening! Todd asked Tina to share flyers to board and board to share with their spheres of influence and get a lot of people downtown. Diane stressed that they are exceptional musicians, and she has seen the group several times. Tina pointed out the need to spread the word on Small Business Saturday and to support locals right now. Our shop owners are really feeling the effects of COVID and we need to support them. While not as big as past years, it is important to please spread the word. Mike Harrington asked if there was funding for more murals. Tina replied they will definitely continue seeking different grants to continue the arts, as well as the electric boxes at the intersections. Diane said it is important to position the murals as part of an “art walk” - a larger group of murals designed for people to start at one site and walk through downtown to see the rest. Mike is interested in a mural on the section of CenDel Building that faces Bradford Street as it is so visible to downtown. Organization: Diane shared that next month's board meeting will include a discussion of the upcoming Main Street annual assessment at the state level that goes on up to the national level. The Downtown Dover Partnership is an accredited Main Street program, one of only four in Delaware, and that the DDP is the fastest running and most complex. There is a new coordinator at the Division of Small Business who will provide more information at the next meeting. In preparation, board members and volunteers will be required to more formally take advantage of Main Street training. We have had access to many quality training opportunities through webinars, readings, and materials on the Main Street website. She has heard from eight members. She is asking each everyone to take at least one training a year and would like all board members to be up to date in board training in time for upcoming assessment. Please contact Diane if you have an area of interest. The new DDP Onboarding Manual was sent to board members in three parts. Diane plans to get the PDF online as one part. There is a conflict of interest form that we need back from everyone. If a conflict of interest arises, it does not necessarily mean that one cannot serve on the board. The conflict of interest form just highlights areas to be aware that you may need to recuse October 28, 2020 – DPP Online Zoom Meeting DRAFT 3

yourself from discussion and/or voting. It also outlines responsibilities for board members. Take a look and return signed pages to Diane next week. Staff changes: For many years, we worked with a gentleman named Ed who came from a homeless shelter. He cleaned windows, made deliveries and was a strong sidekick. Sadly, he died a month ago. Also, Brynn Voshell has been the DDP full time administrator for the last three years. She did a lot of administrative work, reconciling statements, parade help, and was the market manager. She submitted resignation with the hopes that she be kept on a part-time basis. They are going to try out the part-time arrangement until the dust settles. Marketing is one area we could use help on. Updates: Representative Bush Update: Not currently in session. The big thing that happened is the education settlement. Also, the current front-and-center topic is the African American task force and Economic Opportunity task force that is trying to help minority communities find ways to get funds in hands of entrepreneurs looking at mentoring and workforce training. They are keeping an eye on the Relief Grants. Kent County Tourism: Pete had positive news as the public accommodations tax report just came out. For September, Kent County was positive. By comparison, New Castle County was down 41 percent, and Sussex was down also. Positive metric for Kent County overall. That is Kent County Tourism’s main revenue. KCT receives one percent of hotel stays. They applied for a Delaware Relief Grant to help with advertising. Switched advertising agencies to advertise the county's strong amenities. City Updates: Mayor Christiansen: Thanked everyone for their continued interest in the heart of the City of Dover. He thanked members of council for helping with the parking efforts. This is old news but has two anchors that are going to support downtown revitalization efforts: post office is moving forward and the plans for the family court building are proceeding. Just to the south, Bayhealth is sprucing up the plan to everyone’s liking. In order for the holiday season to be a success, we need to be back to normal so that activities are possible. He is hopeful that they will be able to have a downtown parade in a safe way. Councilman Neil: Discussed the status of filling Donna Mitchell’s position. Matt Hartline is filling in as interim City Manager. They hope to have good news very soon. Donna leaves behind “big shoes to fill.” Councilman Taylor: Thanked everyone for all their hard work. October 28, 2020 – DPP Online Zoom Meeting DRAFT 4

Matt: Remind that Dover Library will be reopening on November 3rd with limited hours. In March, council approved the community policing unit from five to ten through a grant written by the Police Department. Planning: Dave Hugg said everyone stole his thunder. Council passed the parking ordinance which is good news. Habitat and NCALL are developing a lot of housing downtown, so we will see some significant improvements soon. Citywide, we are seeing strong big and little growth. Big and small manufacturers are moving to Delaware. Slowly but surely the businesses that closed down are coming back to life. Todd reinforced NCALL and Habitat’s good work as housing is required to be for homeownership. Mayor Christiansen asked Dave to cover US Corrugated, a leader in the cardboard industry, having secured a space in Dover. Located on old Kesselring Farm which has a direct railroad spur. Everybody talks about how difficult it is to work with the city of Dover but one of the company’s leaders complemented the city in moving their application through so quickly. They will start moving dirt next month. Other end, there is a manufacturer on Horse Pond Road who wanted to be annexed into the City because he wanted city services. Other Business: Diane provided an update that Tina Hudson-Beamer of Tina’s Timeless Threads was awarded a Heartbeat of America grant via Main Street. Tina has been in business approximately two years. Both Tina (Bradbury) and Diane provided letters of recommendation in a very short turn around. Tina is a lovely person who is active and engaged in the business community. She is going to use her funding to beef up her website, to get a point-of-sale system, and be more “IT savvy.” Please congratulate her. The grant is between 5 to 15 thousand. She is a destination business selling high quality vintage goods. Todd reminded everyone to give Donna Mitchell your appreciation and the DPP will give her a special gift to show our appreciation. Mike Harrington shared that Bradford street is looking very good with improvements. A year ago, there was a flood where a lot of people lost their basements. A month ago, it rained again, and basements were ruined again. With all the improvements, is anything being done about stormwater drainage? Tina said she learned from Donna that the storm water project will not be done at the same time. Matt added that the Street Safe project is a DelDOT project. Matt will check why we are not adding in stormwater. Guess is that the city did not have a funding source. Councilman Neil stated that the city is very aware of infrastructure issues, but pandemic pushed that back. Meeting adjourned: Motion made by Councilman Neil and seconded by Councilman Taylor. Unanimous approval. Approximately 8:30 a.m. October 28, 2020 – DPP Online Zoom Meeting DRAFT 5