DDP Board Meeting Packet

DOWNTOWN DOVER PARTNERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS June 30, 2020 at 7:30 AM AGENDA ZOOM: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82242874320 Meeting ID: 822 4287 4320 1. Agenda Additions/Deletions 2. Approval of Minutes – May 2019 3. Police report 4. Executive Committee Report/Action Items i. Board of Directors FY 2021 • Executive Committee • Welcoming new board members • Carla Wilson • Bill Bush • Alan Grinstead ii. Budget FY 2020 to end of April iii. Budget FY 2021 (Amended) 5. Property Updates i. Loockerman Way Plaza ii. Inner City Cultural League iii. Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing (DIMH) 6. Committee Reports i. Parking 7. Legislative updates 8. City Updates: i. Mayor ii. City Council iii. City Manager iv. Planning 9. Public Comment 10. Adjourn There will be no DDP meetings in July or August unless a special meeting is required. Meetings will resume on September 23, 2020. NOTE: This is a revised date from the originally planned date of June 24. The original agenda was not posted publicly.

Diane Laird is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: DDP June Board Meeting - Revised Date Time: Jun 30, 2020 07:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82242874320 Meeting ID: 822 4287 4320 One tap mobile +13017158592,,82242874320# US (Germantown) +13126266799,,82242874320# US (Chicago) Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 822 4287 4320 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdEPYUJ76k NOTE: This is a revised date from the originally planned date of June 24. The original agenda was not posted publicly.

DOWNTOWN DOVER PARTNERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES May 27, 2020 – Online Zoom Meeting DRAFT ATTENDANCE: Mayor Robin Christiansen, Senator Trey Paradee, Councilman Fred Neil, Donna Mitchell, Anita Evans, Lucy Findlay, Todd Stonesifer, John Van Gorp, Dave Hugg, Maxine Lewis, Pete Bradley STAFF: Tina Bradbury, Diane Laird COMMITTEE CHAIRS, PRESENTERS AND OTHER ATTENDEES: Major David Spicer Call to Order: Diane Laird Executive Director, opened the meeting Agenda and Meeting minutes (April 2020 meeting) – Accepted by Councilman Fred Neil and Lucy F.; unanimous acceptance. Dover PD Update: Major Spicer informed that there has been an increase of robberies and break- in’s in the downtown area. Some shots were fired in the area of Capital Green, many rounds were located at the scene. There are increases patrols and efforts in that area. Four individuals have become a nuisance to the downtown merchants over the past few weeks. The Dover PD has identified these individuals and they have their pictures. Merchants have been notified to call the DPD that if they see them. The Cadets are back out as of yesterday so you will see them patrolling downtown. Chief Stump has retired, Major Spicer was promoted to Deputy Chief, Kober was promoted to Captain and will be the Admin Captain. Paul Kunzi will be promoted to Lieutenant and will be in the role of Special Enforcement Commander. Todd has noticed the cadets walking around and is glad to see them back on the streets. Todd stated that he participated in the Neighborhood Watch created by the merchants and noticed that there seems to be a hotspot on Reed and New Streets for criminal activity during certain hours and suggested possibly having a patrol car stationed in or near that location to deter the crime. Donna stated that she has had new lights put in and asked Todd if that seems to have had any impact on the crime. Todd replied that in his opinion it did not deter them. Tina thanked Major Spicer for working with the merchants and informing them of the four individuals, she also offered to send him the logs from the Neighborhood Watch. She asked if the community policing unit is back up and running, he replied that they are not fully operational yet as they have had some turn overs and vacancies, but they are currently working on it. Sgt Gist will be transferred to the motorcycle unit and Sgt. Stubbs will be the new Community Policing contact. Tina let Donna know that the lights installed have illuminated the areas but does not seem to keep certain crimes from being committed. Todd asked if there are cameras in those areas and was told that there are cameras on Reed St., New St., and Queen St. There are a lot of cameras downtown that have helped solve crimes, but the plan is to add more. DDP Board Meeting – May 27, 2020 1

Executive Committee Update: Anita turned it over to Tina for the property update. Tina informed that the DDP has been in touch with the tenants on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. EZ Pass new employees shifts and Dover PD has been updated with the late-night schedule. Discussion underway to address EZ Pass maintenance concerns. Business is heavier than usual. The refinance for the loans for EZ Pass property is going through. There will be no additions or retrofit of the building at this time. Staff is working on getting the appraisals done and then we will be able to turn that information over to accountant and they will hand it over to the bank; monthly payment may stay the same. Auto Plus had a situation nationally and had to shut down several locations due to COVID illness and the company reached out to us to come up with a solution to help with the rent. The Executive Committee created a resolution that Auto Plus pay 50% of the rent for the months of April, May and June and then resume full rent in July. There will not be any months added to the lease and the discounted amount will not need to be repaid. KCCAA had been struggling due to lack of Purchase of Care, their food program. Tina helped them with their licensing and getting in touch with the appropriate people to see if they could become an emergency site. She has also been reaching out to them weekly with grant opportunities, but they have not applied for any at this time. DDP had a tax hearing with the City yesterday for Inner City Cultural League property, and there will be a similar hearing with the County. City will provide a response on/about June. Because of the recent tax assessments, we expect that the property taxes will increase, and this will reflect as an increase in the FY21 Budget. Board of Directors Update: Anita indicated that she and Lucy’s board terms will expire in June, as will duties on the Executive Board. The EC recommends for FY 21: Todd Stonesifer as President, John Van Gorp as Vice President, Jonathan Street as Secretary and Pete Bradley as Treasurer. Diane informed the board that Erin Thwaites will be coming off the board. There are three empty spaces. Nominees for those spots are Bill Bush, Allan Grinstead, and Carla Wilson, with bios of each provided in the meeting packet. Anita asked for the boards votes and would like to have the nominees join in next month’s meeting. Lucy and Donna made a motion to accept Executive Board. Todd and Maxine; unanimously approved Budget Update: Tina discussed budget and informed that her goal is to be at 75% in both Receipts and Disbursements. However, the current pandemic has slightly hindered the Receipts portion. Advertising shows higher this month (one advertiser forgot to bill DDP) and it also includes Kent County Profile Ad. We should see some refunds in the travel portion as the annual Main Street conference was cancelled. In the proposed FY21 Budget: Advertising is decreased as we are making a lot of changes in the way of advertising. Parking Committee and Parking Materials has increased due to the potential fee for proposed vendor services for parking solutions. Anita asked for a recommendation to approve FY21 Budget. Lucy and Peter motioned. Unanimous acceptance. Office Update: The DDP Executive Director presented the Annual Report to City Council on April 27 to council. No comments were express. A large amount of the “On the Horizon” portion has been implemented or is in the works for calendar year 2020. DDP Board Meeting – May 27, 2020 2

Workplans are similar to last year’s and budgets remain about the same. Design committee has added a section for COVID related expenses for possible interior retrofits. Economic Vitality committee will be focused more on business prospecting for the downtown area. Marketing and Promotions will continue to focus on First Friday, Capital Holiday Celebration, Farmers Market, and other events, with advertising limited. Merchant committee is fully engaged and active. Organization is mainly staff and will be always building volunteer base. Staff will be work with new DDP Treasurer, Pete, as needed. Parking and Safety goal continues to be safety perception and continued work on the development and implementation of parking solution. Motion to Approve FY 21 budget: Motion duly made by Todd and Maxine and unanimously approved. Committee Updates: No Updates Dover Strong Fundraiser and grants: To date the DDP (via Main Street Dover) took in $26,000 including the fundraiser itself, donations, and grants, as well as purchases of the tee shirts and card sales. The Unlock the Block Working Group donated $3,500 and approved 19 (of the anticipated 25 businesses) to receive small grants of $800 each, as well as a check for the reimbursement of the retail items that they gave for the auction. We have had a great response from the merchants, and they are very thankful for this opportunity to help with unexpected costs. Merchants will also receive items in the way of PPE supplies. We have another meeting today for two additional applications. Todd commented on the awareness that the fundraiser brought to the forefront and asked Tina to give update. Tina informed that due to the success we reached people from the surrounding regions and they are looking forward to visiting downtown as some were not aware of what downtown Dover has to offer. City Update: Donna has asked all department heads to bring their employees back this week as she has noticed the condition of downtown. They are following proper protocol and hope to have everyone back to work and working towards reopening next week as much as possible. The LED Light Project is still be worked on, the contractor has given proposals and she is finalizing the process. The Bradford Streetscape Project is and is targeted to begin in July. Donna will update when she has a confirmed date. Donna has staff to begin pressure washing the streets and sidewalks of Loockerman and the two blocks North and South, only in the business areas. The only new position added to the new city budget is for Temporary Help and that is subject to council approval. Tina asked about the Bradford Street Project and if individuals will be notified by the City and/or Del-Dot of the services schedule. Tina will post it on our sites. Tina mentioned that one of the merchants has been very vocal regarding human feces located near their property and asked if the pressure washing was able to clean that up. Donna has not set up a schedule but is planning either a monthly or weekly cleaning. Todd asked for Donna’s retirement date and she replied October 30th. Planning Department Update: Dave Hugg stated that the only major project in the works right now is the demolition of the old Chesapeake Utilities site to make way for the post office. DDP Board Meeting – May 27, 2020 3

Citywide, despite COVID-19, we have not seen any major slowdown in the number of big projects and permit applications. Hobby Lobby is under construction, as well as the Golden Corral site, new State Police Facility, DSWA new site, approval of warehouses for contractors use on Lafferty Lane, some of the restaurants will be open very soon. The Mall will reopen June 1st. Things are beginning to get back to normal. The City of Dover is looking at two major manufacturing projects, one near Kraft Foods and one at Garrison Oak. If either one of them comes to pass it will be a great investment. The city is still trying how to deal with the short- term rental issue. Currently, city is working on an ordinance to deal with small wireless facilities and one that will update the zoning to match the new comp plan. The Governor has allowed for outside dining with restrictions. The City is working on an application process for restaurants to utilize outdoor dining spaces or create new ones. The City will continue to work with the DDP and DelDOT to discuss possible outdoor dining in parking spaces. Other Business: Trey Paradee and Representative Bush have been hosting weekly calls with various members of the business community throughout the state. He was given a brief update on the state budget during a meeting yesterday. Funds have been set aside to help get through this year. The goal going forward is to avoid government layoffs, possibly getting federal funds, and potential shifting money around in the budget. The new courthouse project is still moving forward, and groundbreaking will most likely happen sometime in 2022 or 2023. Aside from the budget, the bond bill and grant-in-aid, he does not think that they will be looking at any significant changes. He is available any time if anyone has questions or concerns. Public Comment: N/A Meeting adjourned: Motion by Councilman Fred Neil and Anita Evans. All Approved DDP Board Meeting – May 27, 2020 4