November 7th Meeting Minutes

Prescott BIA Board of Management Minutes
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Prescott Journal

Next Meeting: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 ~ 5pm~
Prescott Journal

Present: Chair Lisa Smith, Vice Chair Cynthia Kinghorn, Brett Todd, Ray Young, Bob Miller,
Beth Morris, James Richardson
Staff – Mika North

Regrets: Krista King-Holmes, Dayna Earl and Chuck Street

Chair Lisa Smith called the meeting to order at 5:05p.m.

It was moved by Bob Miller and seconded by Cynthia Kinghorn, that the minutes of October 17th, 2007 be approved. Carried.

Chairs Report: Copy Attached

Vice Chair Report – Cynthia followed up Lisa’s report regarding the Bridges Retail Summit Event.

Town of Prescott – Brett Todd reported that the weekend of August 8,9, and 10th, as been confirmed as “Prescott Loyalist Days”. On Friday, August 8th, Ambush has been booked, and asked the BIA if they would sponsor that dance again. All members were in agreement to that.

Discussion was held regarding the merits of an event this weekend-
1.Didn’t interfere with the reunion, might potentially draw some back
2.Offered events in May – Spring Spree, June – Harbour Days
July and August – Shakespeare Festival, and again perhaps another reason for visitors and local residents to enjoy a play and other activities.

Further discussion was held regarding the “Kings Royal Regiment”. This group would bring 150 troops to conduct encampments and reenactments at the Fort. The Fort and Parks Canada are on board for this event on Sunday. There may also be potential for federal dollars to contribute to the estimated cost of $5000.00-10,000.00.

We also discussed Casino Night on Saturday, the 9th. Brett said he will contact the Gaming Board, Stacy, and find out more details, and look into other Casino nights. It was also discussed that a large group of volunteers would be needed to run an event like this.

A committee was formed of Chair – Brett Todd, members Chuck Street, Lisa Smith, Bob Miller, Ray Young, and Cynthia Kinghorn. The committee adopted the name “Prescott Loyalist Days”. Discussion was also held that the committee create a promotional package to
Begin to be able to present this event to other organizations.

Other Business: James Richardson reported that the BIA Blog is up and running. He discussed the benefits of having our Minutes available for members who cannot make our meetings, and for the open comments that can be made. We will try to keep this current and post events and new business prior to the meetings for feedback to be available.

James also suggested that we BIA offer “Welcome / Happy Holiday” gift bags to the new residents of the Mariners Club Condo. Discussion was held that this would be a good opportunity to offer a gift bag with donations from merchants, inviting these residents (potential new customers) into their stores over the Christmas Season, and into the new year.
Beth Morris indicated that some residents have left for Florida. She will attempt to get of list of how many residents are there so we will know how many bags to make.

This project will be undertaken by Mika, with hopes that we can distribute them the weekend of the Light Up the Night Parade.

Christmas Promotions – merchant information sheet attached.
Posters, participating merchant sign and merchant information fact sheet to be distributed by Mika, ASAP

Ray reported on the upcoming BIA Luncheon schedule for December 5, 2007 at the Pescott Legion from 1:30-2:00. EVERYONE WELCOME

The next meeting will be Wednesday, November 21st at 5:00 pm, Pages Book Store.

It was moved by Cynthia Kinghorn and seconded by Ray Young to adjourn the meeting at 6:00 pm.

P.O Box 160, Prescott, Ontario, Canada K0E 1T0


Dear Merchants –

This information sheet is to advise you of the following Prescott BIA Christmas promotion. Please share this information with your staff and customers. This package includes this information sheet, a poster for your window and a participating merchant sign.

THEME: MRS CLAUS’ FAMILY CHRISTMAS
LOCATION: FORWARDER’S MUSEUM –
TIME: Friday November 16th - 5:30-9:00
ACTIVITY: Face Painting, Mrs. Claus Christmas Storytime, Hot chocolate and Gingerbread cookies

TIME: Saturday, November 17th – 10:00-2:00
ACTIVITY: Crafts – Old Fashioned Stockings, Pine Cone Ornaments, Clothes Pin Ornaments and Face Painting, Mrs. Claus Christmas Storytime, Hot Chocolate and Gingerbread Cookies

ALSO: Children can leave letters for Santa with Mrs. Claus or in the mailbox outside the Museum.

All of the activities are FREE, and EVERYONE IS WELCOME!!!!!!
These promotions will be advertised in the Prescott Journal, Recorder and Times, EMC, Q102.9 Country Radio
In addition, Q102.9 Country will be providing a free live remote on Friday evening, starting at 5:30.
The large poster is for display in your window to promote this event to customers, local residents and visitors.

MERCHANT PROMOTION –

The Prescott BIA would like to encourage all merchants to participate and take advantage of the large number of people that will be Downtown on Friday night for the parade and in Prescott on Saturday for the South Grenville District High School Giant Craft Sale. We are also planning on giving out coupons at the Craft Sale, that will further encourage shoppers at the Craft Sale to shop Downtown Prescott.
We would like tremendous participation from all merchants to be open from 5:30 until 9:00 on Friday. The bottom line is to let everyone know that Downtown Prescott is “Open for Business”.

The promotion theme is HO, HO, HOLD THE TAX.

Participating merchants pay the taxes, your customer receives “14%” off.
To identify your store as a “participating merchant”, so we have also provided you with a participating merchant sign to post in your window. Please display it prominently, and this will let all know you are participating in this promotion.
Hopefully we have made this easy for you to participate, increase sales, or potential new customers, and at the same time enjoying the parade.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me at the House of Flowers,

210 King St., W., 613-925-4441.

Lisa Smith, Chair
Prescott BIA

Minutes of September's Meeting.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Pages Book Store

Next Meeting: Monday, October 29th, 2007 – 5pm – Pages Book Store

Present – Chair Lisa Smith, Vice-Chair Cynthia Kinghorn
Directors - Bob Miller, Beth Morris, Dayna Earl
Members - Karen Chick, James Richardson

Regrets – Ray Young, Brett Todd, Chuck Street, Tom Devries
Staff – BIA Manager Mika North

Chair Lisa Smith called the meeting to order at 5:07 pm.

Lisa introduced Mika to the Board, as our new BIA Manager, for a three month flexible/contract position. She will be carrying on various duties throughout the fall and Christmas season.

Discussion and Approval of the Minutes of September 5 and 26th, 2007, was motioned by Bob and seconded by Cynthia. Carried.

Chair’s report: On behalf of the BIA/Chamber I met with Sandy Moir, from Goss Gilroy Inc. They have been contracted to do an evaluation of the EODP program. Since the Chamber has been involved with 4 projects, and the BIA with 2, I was able to provide input into these projects. The overall impact of all of these projects has been – community pride and ownership, economic development, tourism, youth training, and so many other positive future endorsements.

To follow up on the EODP applications, I attended the “lighting of the welcome signs” ceremony on August 23 at the Welcome sign at the Golf Club. If you haven’t driven into Prescott at night, please take a drive and see how beautiful the signs look lit up.

On August 24 I attended the graduation ceremony of the Shakespeare Blossoms. This group of young people certainly made a difference within the Town.

On September 24, I attended the Rotary Club meeting and presented a cheque to the Club for $1000.00, from the BIA. These funds will go directly to the Pavilion, which is a great asset to our Downtown core. In addition of September 29, I attended the dedication ceremony at the waterfront of the Pavilion and it is absolutely beautiful.

I also wanted to mention the International Plowing Match which I attended on Saturday. This was a site to be seen, with the tented city and exhibitors, very well ran, organized, etc.

Vice-Chair’s report: No report presented.

Other/New Business

James Richardson presented to the Board his idea about the creation of a Blog Site on the Internet for the BIA. The Blog will allow the minutes of each BIA meeting to be easily accessed by all members and especially convenient for members who are unable to attend any meetings. It will also provide a way for merchants to leave instant feedback concerning the ideas discussed at the meetings and is a free and easy way ofopeniing up communication to all members. It was moved by Bob Miller and seconded by Dayna Earl that a Blog Site for the BIA be set-up. Carried. James volunteered to set this up, with Mika assisting.

Karen Chick presented a summary of Pirate Week. It was reported that the event was very well attended. It received a lot of good coverage in various newspapers. It was agreed that Pirate Week was successful and is something that should be expanded upon next year.
Message in a Bottle – 51 bottles collected
Treasure Chest Draw – 47 ballots filled out
Legion served 95 meals
Food Bank received $ 90.00 in donations.

Lisa Smith then brought up the funding request from the Prescott Fire Department, regarding their request for a $ 500.00 donation for the Light Up the Night Christmas Parade. It was moved by Bob Miller and seconded by Dayna Earl. Carried.

The Recorder and Times requested that the BIA supply gift certificates for their upcoming Reading Contest. It was moved by Cynthia Kinghorn and seconded by Dayna Earl that three gift certificates valued at about $20-25 be given to the Recorder and Times. Carried.

There was a request for advertising in the Prescott Journal for The Halloween Safety Page. Discussion was held and it was decided that the BIA would not place an ad on this page.

Lisa Smith reported that the Christmas wreaths have been finished. She thanked, Ray Young, Cynthia Kinghorn and her daughters, Alison and Chelsea, Chuck Street and Mika North for all of their hard work last Sunday.

Lisa and Lorne Watling from the Prescott Fire Department have had discussions regarding the state of the lights on the Tree in the market parking lot, and the manpower that the volunteer fire fighters provide in decorating it. The bottom line is all of the lights need replacing. Discussion was held regarding quotes Lisa had received from Classic Display for replacement bulbs and strings, similar to what is on the tree now. It was further discussed that perhaps LED lights were the way to go, with these being more energy efficient, and better suited for the amps provided with the plug-ins. Lisa is to contact Classic Displays again regarding the LED lights. It was moved by Bob Miller and seconded by Cynthia Kinghorn that new lights be purchased for the tree and that the minimum amount for the lights be $2000.00. Carried.

Lisa Smith refreshed the Board’s memory regarding the discussion that was held at the September 5th meeting for Christmas Promotions.

It was decided that most of the promotions would take place on the weekend of the Christmas Parade, November 16th and 17th.

We would like all Downtown Merchants to offer 15% off – HO, HO, HO, HOLD THE TAX.

Discussion was held regarding all merchants staying open late in order to accommodate all the people who come to see the parade and would like to shop. On Saturday, November 17th Mika will be giving out coupons at the Craft Show at South Grenville High School to encourage shoppers to show and dine downtown. Advertising for this will be done, including information flyers for merchants and flyers to display.
The idea for a building space to be rented out on the night of Friday, Nov. 16th and Saturday, Nov 17th was also discussed. This space will provide an area for children to be entertained both with their families or while their parents are shopping. There will be many activities planned for the children
Other Christmas Promotions:
Merchants will also be asked to open their stores for two Sundays in the month of December. Wagon Sleigh rides with Santa will be offered in the downtown area on these Sundays. We are trying to encourage Sunday shopping in Downtown Prescott, as opposed to “Walmart”.

The possibility of putting the old garlands around the posts in the downtown core is also being looked into.

The next item presented to the Board by Lisa Smith was the Recorder and Times Advertising Page. The ‘Christmas in Prescott’ page will be available for merchants to place ads for the Christmas season, with the BIA receiving the top banner for promoting downtown shopping and the Christmas events.

A Radio Package deal was presented by Lisa Smith, for two months of advertising on either PAK 92 for $400 or Q 109.2 for $500. Discussion was held and it was agreed that purchasing two solid months of advertising “Shop Downtown Prescott” was good branding and presence. It was moved by Dayna Earl and Cynthia Kinghorn to purchase the two months of advertising. Carried.

The last item discussed by the Board was the BIA Manager position. The board determined that this is a three month contract position, with flexible hours, and mainly to organize and promote our Christmas events.

Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 6:45pm.