Board Meeting Minutes - April

Board of Directors Meeting
Downtown Chattanooga Alliance
Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Time: 2:00 p.m.-3:07 p.m.
Location: By Zoom

1. Call to Order

Steve Hunt, Chair of the DCA, called the meeting to order. Board members attending were Kelly Fitzgerald, Adam Kinsey, Kevin Love, Lisa Maragnano, Matt McGauley, Donald O’Connor, Charles Perry, Gordon Stalans, Erskine Oglesby, and Raquetta Dotley.

Not attending were Pierre Dabit, Darian Scott, Todd Gardenhire, and Robin Smith.

Also present were Steve Brookes, Executive Director of the DCA and Kelly Allen of Q Strategies.

2. The Board minutes of March 17, 2021 were approved with one abstention. Approval of the Executive Committee minutes of April 14, 2021 was tabled until the next meeting.

3. Special thanks were offered to Councilman Oglesby for his help in launching the BID and his dedicated service over the past year. A warm welcome was given to Councilwoman Dotley on her first meeting with the board.

4. Kelly Allen of Q Strategies reviewed plans for working with the DCA. Among issues to be addressed were branding, highlighting the work of ambassadors, managing the website, and increasing the DCA’s social media presence.

5. Old Business

A multi-prong approach for dealing with property owners delinquent assessments was reviewed.

6. New Business

(a) Ember Souchet has resigned from the board. Thirteen individuals have applied for the position. A motion that Tom Marshal replace Souchet passed unanimously.

(b) The $25,000 landscaping project sponsored by EBP was reviewed. The project will focus on Patten Square, the West Village, and the area around the Aquarium. The project should be completed by June.

(c) Plans for an in-person Board meeting in June were discussed. 5. Finance Committee Update

(a) G. Stalans reviewed the DCA’s financials as of March 31, 2021: $583,000 in the operating account and $230,000 in reserve funds.

The expected check from the City of Chattanooga’s collection of assessments has not yet arrived.

It was pointed out that collections are front-loaded in the calendar year, while expenses run throughout the year. S. Brookes and G. Stalans will work on a month-by-month projection of revenue and expenditure to facilitate planning.

Full rent on the DCA office will begin in August. 6. Executive Director Update

(a) S. Brookes discussed the range of ways our ambassadors work to make the district more welcoming from jumpstarting a truck to taking pictures at the request of visitors. As of April 20th almost 1500 pounds of trash had been collected by 24 participants with $716 redeemed.

(b) Five new ambassadors were added in March.
(c) The cigarette recycling program has been lauched.

(d) The DCA continues to work on power washing, removal of graffiti, and weed removal.

The meeting adjourned at 3:07.