Springfield Community Partnership

Business Improvement District

Board Meeting Minutes

July 18, 2017

Present: R. Abraham, A. Fonseca, M. Kevoe, L. Kaswiner, M. Scalera, S. Seidel, D. Stampoulos, K. Vitale, D. Zuber

Also Present: B. Lippman

The meeting was called to order at 8:37am.

A motion to approve the minutes of the June 20, 2017 was seconded and approved unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report

B. Lippman reviewed the financials in the Agenda packet. There is $1057.70in the Connect One checking account. There is $312,777.43 in the Connect One Money Market account and the Investor’s checking account has been closed. B. Lippman reviewed the budget vs. actual report with the Board and noted that we are on track. A motion was made to approve the Treasurer’s Report. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Township Report

D. Stampoulos reported that there will be one meeting being held in August on Aug. 15. Electronic Recycling is being held on August 5 from 7:00am – 11:00am. A Farmers Market is held on Mondays from 11:00am – 6:00pm at the Public Library. Police National Night –Out is being held on Tuesday, August 1 from 6:00 – 8:00pm at Meisel Park.

Chairman’s Report

M. Scalera reported that he visited with businesses. A new auto care shop, attached to Dobbs has opened. He also spoke to Brad from Dobbs. M. Scalera reported that he attended a Planning Board meeting hearing on the Rica Project. The review was postponed until Sept. 7.

Executive Director Report

Keller & Kirkpatrick

B. Lippman reported that she received a proposal to complete the streetscape plans and bidding from Keller & Kirkpatrick. The group discussed the proposal and felt the costs were high and asked B. Lippman to go back to them. They also asked B. Lippman to send out an RFP to other engineers/planners to bid on the job.

Wayfinding Sign Update

B. Lippman reported that the signs should be ready to install in mid August.

Window Wrap Project Update

M. Scalera reported that he met with the Contractor that will be installing the window wraps. They met at the site and determined that there are some repairs to the windows that will be needed prior to installation. The Board agreed to have these minor repairs done. The windows will need to be braced from the inside. B. Lippman will follow-up on the process needed to accomplish this.

Liquor License Bill

B. Lippman reported that the State is reviewing a bill that allows municipality to issue one permit to sell alcoholic beverages in downtown business improvement zone, pedestrian mall, or special improvement district. See link for more information:

Rahway Court Case

B. Lippman reported that the Town of Rahway was being sued by a group of business and property owners. She reported that the Rahway SID case decided at the Appellate level was released today.It was a very significant win for Rahway and their SID. B. Lippman reported that this is a significant decision for Springfield since we have a non-contiguous SID.

See below:

Appellate Court Rules in Favor of Rahway SID

On July 3, 2017 the NJ Superior Court, Appellate Division issued its unpublished opinion in Friends of Rahway Business, LLC v. Rahway Municipal Council and City of Rahway, a case in which the League participated in as Amicus. This case dealt with various issues concerning Rahway’s, Special Improvement District (SID) and more generally the interpretation of the statute authorizing SIDs.

This case made its way to the Appellate Division after Rahway appealed the lower court’s decision which invalidated the City’s SID ordinance. The lower court’s decision interpreted the SID statute in a way that would severely limit how municipalities could design SIDs. The Appellate Division, however, overruled the lower court’s decision and properly interpreted the SID statute to grant municipalities the authority the state legislature intended.

In short, the Appellate Court clarified the SID statute and found the following:

  1. A municipal-wide SID is permitted, provided a municipality can support such a creation of a SID with the specific findings necessary to adopt a SID ordinance.
  2. A SID may be noncontiguous.
  3. A SID does not need to be limited to a traditional “downtown business district.”
  4. A SID may exclude non-commercial properties but it is not required to. Meaning, a SID may include residential properties if the municipality so determines it necessary.

The Appellate Court’s decision is certainly a victory for municipalities statewide; however, questions regarding SIDs still remain. For Rahway, an additional step remains before its SID ordinance is validated as the case was sent back to the lower court to determine if the City met its requirement to support the creation of the SID with specific findings. While certainly not as consequential as this recent decision, the remaining issue and the ruling that comes from it could potentially have an impact on municipalities statewide. This is because a ruling on this issue will provide a better understanding of what findings a municipality must produce in order to properly support the creation of a SID.

Committees

Marketing Committee

M. Scalera reported that an APP flyer was included in last months Patriot and the APP view and downloaded and spiked by 30 -40 people in one month.

Coupon Books were given out at the July 4 event. They were very popular.

Summer Concert

M. Kevoe reported that we had to cancel the last concert due to rain. The rain date is this Thursday. The First Aid squad will set up a tent and be present. They will also set up misters. The BID voted to donate to the First Aid Squad for their help.

Other Business

Banners

The Board voted to remove all of the banners that were installed by us as soon as possible. The marketing committee will meet to discuss if a new banner program will be sponsored by the BID.

R. Abraham reported that he is looking in to holding an Antique Car Show in May. He is also looking into setting up a drive in theater for that evening. He will report back once he has more information.

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 9:18.

Respectfully submitted by:

Beth Lippman, July 24, 2017

**The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 18 , 2017, 8:30am, Fire House, 200 Mountain Ave. Office of OEM.