Citizens' Community Enhancement Commission

MINUTES MEETING OF THE CITIZENS’ COMMUNITY ENHANCEMENT COMMISSION CITY OF DEKALB May 16, 2016 The Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission (CCEC) of the City of DeKalb, Illinois held a regular meeting on Monday, May 16, 2016 in the Haish Conference Room of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois. The meeting was called to order at 4:07 p.m. ROLL CALL Roll was recorded by Administrative Assistant Tammey Higgins and the following members of the Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission were present: Susan Johnson, Chair; Cohen Barnes; Brad Hoey (arrived at 4:19 p.m., departed 4:52 p.m.); Mike Mooney; Brad Pietens; and Deborah Booth. Absent were Bob Boey, Lisa Small, and Camyle Tate. Also present were: Management Analyst Jared Heyn and Administrative Assistant Tammey Higgins. In addition, Alex Nerad (Art Council / Egyptian Theatre) was present. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION Chair Johnson asked for a motion to approve the agenda. Mr. Barnes moved to approve the Agenda; seconded by Mr. Pietens. Motion carried on voice vote. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION Chair Johnson requested a motion for approval of the minutes. Mr. Mooney moved to approve minutes. Mr. Barnes seconded the motion. Motion carried on voice vote. BUSINESS 1. Update on ABC Competition / Proudly DeKalb Mr. Barnes provided background on the recent America’s Best Communities presentation. He commented on the #ProudlyDeKalb impact and use as a funding mechanism. Mr. Barnes reminded attendees that there were 7 projects still moving forward. He also shared that people on social media had been contacting the presenters to state their support of the efforts and that NIU President Baker had sent a personal memo to the presenters congratulating them on their presentation. Information relative to the effort to enhance student awareness of the #ProudlyDeKalb entity and NIU’s full steam support and commitment was provided by Mr. Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission May 16, 2016 Page 2 of 4 Barnes. Mr. Mooney commented on his experience at a meeting this day that verified the enthusiasm was continuing if not increasing and was providing the opportunity to embrace alternative ways to accomplish things. 2. Discuss Keeping NIU Window Clings Up Year-Round Chair Johnson asked if the City required clings to be changed or left up. Management Analyst Heyn advised attendees he would re-inquire as to the applicable regulations. Mr. Barnes advised his recommendation was to leave the clings up. Procedural discussion followed advising that changes would go through the Plan and Zoning Commission with special use recommendation to Council for its consideration. Attendees commented on the water tower as an example. Mr. Barnes stated that he felt CCEC should submit a recommendation to Council. Chair Johnson committed to producing a letter to Council to recommend leaving clings up with no expiration/term limit. Mr. Hoey arrived and Mr. Barnes brought him up to speed on discussions. Mr. Hoey proceeded to provide an update relating to the NIU clings/mural postings. He advised that funding considerations were forefront to his colleagues and there was strong interest in having opportunities to partner with the City. He commented directly on the mural at Lincoln and First Street, advising that it could not be swapped out every year; but had been intended to depict a more evergreen theme. Discussion ensued relating to communiversity, Huskie statues, longevity of prior clings. 3. Discuss Placing #ProudlyDeKalb on Entry Signs into DeKalb 4. Discuss Placing #ProudlyDeKalb Signs Under Population Signs These items were discussed in tandem. Mr. Barnes commented that the signs should be sized to fit on the welcoming signs located at the entrances to the City. Attendees considered that the signs not be permanent but could be removed when warranted. Discussion concluded that budget figures would need to be arrived at before going forward for approval. With regard to population signs, attendees discussed locations of signs and placement locations. Again, conclusion was that budget figures would need to be available before going forward for approval. Mr. Barnes shared that one of the America’s Best Communities moderators commented on the #ProudlyDeKalb logo by saying if people didn’t know what it was, they had been living under a rock. Chair Johnson inquired as to what the logo sign was be made of. Discussion followed relating to where the sign could be borrowed (Chamber of Commerce office acting as a clearing house) with the recommendation that a post be made on social media sites encouraging public to borrow the sign(s) to use with their events/activities. Chair Johnson asked for clarification as to who would produce the signs with Management Analyst Heyn advising it would be the City’s Street Department. Continued discussion ensued covering obtaining cost estimates for back-up signs, current location of population signs, material to be used for signs to be posted, production costs, consideration of proactively reaching out to Sycamore to interact in effort, and census counts. 5. Discuss Working With School District/NIU/Local Artists About Painting a Mural or Anything to Cover Up the Windows of Otto’s and the SECO Building Using a laptop, Mr. Barnes showed a recent picture of the Otto’s building in the City of DeKalb. He then showed a picture from another community with a building under construction utilizing plywood fencing that had been decoratively painted. Mr. Barnes proposed that a consideration be taken to obtain approval to have the windows of Otto’s decorated by students with the City  Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission May 16, 2016 Page 3 of 4 providing funding for paint and brushes. He further commented that the decorations could be applied on the outside of the windows, or perhaps window clings. Mr. Nerad of the Arts Council advised that painting would last approximately 2 weeks at the most. Mr. Barnes proposed reaching out to the building’s owner. Mr. Hoey stated the concept could be extended to other buildings. Mr. Barnes advised that there needed to be a City ordinance requiring construction sites to be visually appealing. Management Analyst Heyn advised that the Plan and Zoning Commission would have to address issue with property owner at time of project submission. He also advised that the UDO (Unified Development Ordinance) in the City’s Municipal Code would need to be modified. Mr. Barnes submitted the consideration of donated clings, the City would put up with owner approval. Chair Johnson suggested these concerns could be covered in a topic discussion with Council, with the topic being creating a better atmosphere. Mr. Barnes suggested that focusing on the downtown area initially would lead others to follow. 6. Review of the Utility Box Mural Project and Public Art Project Mr. Barnes shared his experience on a recent trip to Bozeman, MT where he observed utility boxes that each had murals. He stated that he had also come across a turtle sculpture in the middle of the sidewalk, requiring pedestrians to walk around it. He commented that the population of Bozeman is less than DeKalb, it has a university that is smaller than NIU, and was an example of what can be achieved. Discussion amongst attendees followed. 7. Discussion on Public Art Project the Art Council is pursuing and How We/the City can Support Their Efforts Mr. Nerad provided attendees with information on the Arts Council focus on the City’s East Corridor. He commented on a public sculpture project, the participation of the DeKalb Leadership Academy, and the timeframe of the summer to work with NIU and the Library to produce a call out for submittals for the sculpture project. Mr. Nerad discussed different aspects of the project including obtaining new inventory every year and the consideration of entering into an arrangement with a couple of financial partners. He also submitted the challenge faced by the Art Council of getting a clear message from the City on what process needs to be created/followed; what approval requirements structure needs to be in place. Mr. Nerad continued with advising attendees of an October 1st ongoing art walk (including music and performance art, not just painting, etc.). He also touched base on the topic of branding the ACE Corridor. Discussion of potential partnerships and sites for placement followed. Mr. Barnes provided comments of the common theme – art, and common place – downtown. He also commented on the consideration of the “bigger picture” for CCEC; to work with the Art Council or just leave efforts to the Art Council. Chair Johnson commented on the consideration that community art could/should be a new section of the Unified Development Ordinance (Chapter 23 of the Municipal Code). Mr. Mooney shared his experience with a recent visit to Mankato, MN. He advised attendees that the community is in the same situation as DeKalb with regard to size, population, neighboring city and has murals and statues. Discussion was held with attendees and Mr. Nerad regarding interaction with the Art Council and CCEC with the City Council. Consensus was that both CCEC and Art Council want to make the goals happen, but in looking for the “green light” need to know what to do and require clear direction from the City on getting through the red tape to get projects completed. Additional discussion ensued regarding potential joint meeting with CCEC and Art Council to discuss future plans and potential revenue sourcing along with concern that the City Manager should also attend that meeting. Management Analyst Heyn advised that he would relay the request to City Manager Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission May 16, 2016 Page 4 of 4 Gaura. Chair Johnson added that Economic Development Director Divita would be an important person to include in the meeting considering her responsibilities in “selling” the community to others. Discussion was held with all attendees including Mr. Nerad relating to finding a comfort level of operations with effective and efficient guidelines that adjust to the City’s requirements. Mr. Pietens commented that the Mayor, City Manager, and Economic Development Director should all partake in the joint meeting. Further discussion relating to city-owned utility boxes was held; attendees were further advised that Bozeman, MT utility boxes were not painted, but were “wrapped.” Attendees discussed aspects of scheduling a special meeting to be held jointly with the Board of the Art Council. A proposed special meeting for CCEC and Art Council on June 6, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. at the Egyptian Theatre was discussed. Chair Johnson brought up the Yards of Distinction submittal requirement. Submittals are to be provided to City Staff by July 7, 2016, to be included in Council Agenda for meeting scheduled for July 25, 2016. Attendees were also advised that “Liquid Sunshine” project was approved and would be initialed in a couple of weeks. 8. Discussion the Potential Creation of “Picture of Distinction” Award Not acted on at this meeting. 9. Discuss Bicycle Path Painting Not acted on at this meeting. 10. Discuss Development of a System for Submission of Agenda Items for Future Meetings Not acted on at this meeting. 11. Discuss Development of a More Reliable System to Determine if a Quorum will be Available for a Meeting Not acted on at this meeting. 12. Discuss Whether a Mechanism Might be Developed for Selecting Alternative Meeting Dates when a Quorum is Not Available on the Regularly Scheduled Date Not acted on at this meeting. Chair Johnson advised attendees that the next regularly-scheduled meeting with CCEC was June 20, 2016. ADJOURNMENT MOTION Chair Johnson requested a motion for adjournment. Mr. Mooney moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Mr. Barnes. Motion carried on voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 5:33 p.m. __________________________________________ TAMMEY HIGGINS, Administrative Assistant Approved by Citizen’s Community Enhancement Commission June 20, 2016