- Call to Order @ 8:02
- President- The. Rev. Canon Katie Churchwell
- President- The. Rev. Canon Katie Churchwell
- Host Welcome
- Rising Tide Innovation Center
- Rising Tide Innovation Center
- New Member Welcome
- Rising Tide Innovation Center - Brooke Biehler - provide co-working space to entrepreneurs, etc.New member in 2019.
- Caia’s Boutique - Tammy/owner - in the Signature Bldg across the street from Saturday Morning Market, moving in this weekend
- Cemovich Law Firm
- Self-Introductions
- Police Report given by St. Petersburg Police Department -
- Busy lately. Transient issues are always on going and the main Greyhound Bus hub is moving to Pinellas Park, there is currently no set time for this to occur.
- There are a few new officers in training. Katie asked that he speak about PATH - police assisting the homeless, the new initiative by STPD to equip all officer divisions with how to help the homeless. There are many services for the homeless, please keep calling if you have issues.
- New police headquarters - slated to open in a month, Tami suggested that we have a DBA meeting at the new police station.Janie said lots of adults riding skateboards dangerously in between cars on Central, Stg. Montinari said there used to be an ordinance that prohibited that within a small geographical area, but that the ordinance was lost in court a few years ago.
- David asked about the spice issues, and Sgt. Montinari said it’s much better. Biggest obstacle is more population.
- Tammy asked if more police during Grand Prix- Sgt. Montinari said yes, with the downtown deployment being all hands on deck.
- Busy lately. Transient issues are always on going and the main Greyhound Bus hub is moving to Pinellas Park, there is currently no set time for this to occur.
- Business -
- Katie shared that the 2019 board met in early February, and among other things, appointed three new people to the board- Paul Bailey, Shab Scheidad and Nancy Westphal
- Sunshine Street Team
- 10 new volunteers, still NEED MORE!
- PSTA is a sponsor & they are asking for feedback about new looper. Ridership is up 79%, but they gave PSTA honest feedback that some drivers are surly. It’s so important to be friendly, because often they are the first impression of St. Pete. Now: they are doing some trainings, changing to accommodate that request.
- The downtown kiosks aren’t being updated- which was mentioned to program speaker Jessica Eilerman with the City of St. Pete. Tami mentioned the kiosks are in process of being updated and Jessica said they should be being still populated with info, she will let marketing know so they can keep those up.
- There is need for DBA members to have access to information about what is happening downtown
- TBT - can post our events tampabaytimes.com/things-to-do - we can post for free.
- Katie will add links to the DBA page to the City and Tampa Bay Times events pages so that DBA members can have those as a resource
- TBT - can post our events tampabaytimes.com/things-to-do - we can post for free.
- Jessica said wayfinding is coming onboard and they will come back in after she finds out about wayfinding, but it is still in development and will happen soon.
- Tami mentioned the State of the City is on Saturday at 10A and the SST is invited to be ambassadors/hosts there.
- 10 new volunteers, still NEED MORE!
- Reminder: Invoices for dues have gone out and your dues go right back into advertising for your business. Any questions regarding membership benefits can be directed to board members
- Katie shared that the 2019 board met in early February, and among other things, appointed three new people to the board- Paul Bailey, Shab Scheidad and Nancy Westphal
- Program
- Grand Prix- Jessica Eilerman -
- DBA is always in conversation w the City and they appreciate it. There are lots of regulations/rules of the Race that the City cannot control.
- Race people have been more flexible in current years.
- Lots of struggles with issues race brings. Jessica said they are trying to involve rest of dwntn into Race. Ex: Movies in the Park on Fri/first day of race. They are trying to encourage locals coming down and increasing downtown business patronage.
- They improved the map by including shops, parking, what’s open, including going up Central Ave., etc. They are trying to encourage things outside of the race that are going on.
- Business kits - something they’d love our feedback on.
- Will be ready by Friday. Let her know after meeting and she will let us pick them up.
- Will be ready by Friday. Let her know after meeting and she will let us pick them up.
- Biggest piece - how we communicate during race week. This is their focus, with a mktg strategy.
- Downtown is open, there are things to do outside of the race: the primary target is the resident, not the visitor
- The City will have the Indy car flag raising w/ mayor that we are reinforcing notion that we are open for business.
- Downtown is open, there are things to do outside of the race: the primary target is the resident, not the visitor
- Directional Signage-
- tried A frame signs “activities this way” etc. in three areas. They felt it went well (3 yrs ago), bringing it back with more color, will be strategically placed so when they are entering/exiting to direct people to local businesses.
- Tami-can we make the request on 4th street interstate exit sign that says “shops this way” included with parking directions.
- Paul said to include saying there’s lots of parking downtown. Jessica - in their messaging, they target specific media individuals to NOT say anything negative like “downtown is a mess, there is no parking, etc.”
- She will ensure Evan knows and he worked well in the past to make sure that happens.
- She will ensure Evan knows and he worked well in the past to make sure that happens.
- tried A frame signs “activities this way” etc. in three areas. They felt it went well (3 yrs ago), bringing it back with more color, will be strategically placed so when they are entering/exiting to direct people to local businesses.
- DBA is always in conversation w the City and they appreciate it. There are lots of regulations/rules of the Race that the City cannot control.
- Grand Prix- Jessica Eilerman -
- Announcements
- Tampa Bay Times
- Best of the Best - see flyer for details. Need by Fri. for ad. They can send out a social media post for
- Vote as tampabay.com/best, visit tampabay.com/campaign to download posters & logos. 6 week voting, vote everyday once a day.
- Best of the Best - see flyer for details. Need by Fri. for ad. They can send out a social media post for
- Florida CraftArt
- Glass Conference - big deal in St. Pete - Quest - is Fl CraftArt - new program running March 7-April 20.
- Glass Conference - big deal in St. Pete - Quest - is Fl CraftArt - new program running March 7-April 20.
- Tampa Bay Times
Wed. March 20, 7:30 – 9:00 a.m. – Savory Spice
Board Meetings: First Wednesday monthly, 8:00 – 9:00 a.m., Cathedral Church of St. Peter
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