Urban Renewal and Economic Development Committee — Charleston, WV
Date: 2019-05-09
Time: 17:30

CITY OF CHARLESTON
 West Virginia
 Council Member – 13th WARD




Brent Burton Urban Renewal and Economic Development, Chair
340 MacCorkle Ave SE Finance Committee
Charleston, WV 25314 Parking Committee
Telephone: 304.541-0991
E-mail: brent.burton@cityofcharleston.org




TO: Urban Renewal and Economic Development Committee
FROM: Brent Burton, Chair
RE: Committee Meeting

There will be a Committee meeting of Urban Renewal and Economic Development on Thursday, May 9, 2019
at 5:30 p.m., in the A/V Conference Room, City Hall, Room 308.

The amended agenda will be as follows:

New Business

 1. Approval of Previous Minutes 4-4-2019

 2. Charleston Main Streets:
 Rick Cavender – Executive Director
 Who they are, What they do, Current projects & events

 3. Bigley Avenue Economic Development Foundation:
 Adam Knauff – City Councilman, Ward 7 and Jeffery Mace CFO
 Who they are, What they do, Current projects & events

 4. Committee Member Comments

Adjournment

 *Meetings may be recorded and broadcast via internet https://charlestonwv.civicclerk.com

BB/ns




 City Council | 501 Virginia Street, East | Post Office Box 2749 | Charleston, West Virginia 25330
 www.charlestonwv.gov | 304.348.8179 | 304.348.8038 fax

MINUTES
 URBAN RENEWAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING

 5:30 P. M., MAY 9, 2019

 A/V CONFERENCE ROOM

Brent Burton, Chairperson, called the meeting of the Charleston City Council Committee
on Urban Renewal and Economic Development to order at 5:30p.m., MAY 9, 2019, in
the Audio/Visual Room in City Hall.

Committee Members Present:
Brent Burton, Chair Others:
Tiffany Wesley-Plear, Vice Chair Keeley Steele
Naomi Bays Adam Knauff
Caitlin Cook (via phone) Jeff Mace
Jennifer Pharr Ric Cavender
 Vic Grigoraci
 Larry Malone


 1. Approval of Previous Minutes – Councilmember Bays moved to approve the
minutes of the previous meeting on 4-4-2019. Councilmember Phar seconded. There
was no objection and the minutes were approved.

 2. Charleston Main Streets Presentation – Councilmember Burton introduced Ric
Cavender who is the Executive Director of Charleston Main Streets. Ric Cavender
distributed the group’s Annual Report to the Committee members. Highlights of the
presentation included:
 - They are part of a national network of about 1.300 certified programs. In West
 Virginia, Charleston is the only city with 2 certified communities.
 - Each district has an elected board of advisers of 16-18 people, who oversee the
 action plan that is put in place every year.
 - Their 4 Pillars of Development are: Business and Economic Development,
 Business Promotion and Enhancement, Public Space Improvements and
 Destination Events and Marketing.
 - Marketing endeavors are solely based around promoting business or projects
 that are happening within the districts. Last year, their social media reach was 1
 million people.
 - They host 5 main events every year: East End Yard Sale, Foam at the Dome,
 HallowEast, Ice Cream for the Arts and OktoberWest.
 - Micro Loan Program – to small businesses for gap funding.
 - Bridge Builders Program - $5/month membership fee that will fund ongoing urban
 revitalization.
 3. Bigley Avenue Economic Development Foundation – Councilmember Knauff and
 CFO Jeff Mace addressed the committee to discuss the Foundation. Highlights of
 their presentation included:
 - Inaugural Project – a clean-up of the former 7-11 Convenience Store location on
 Bigley Ave. Volunteers cleaned up the property which is now for sale.
 - Opportunity Zones/Renewal Areas – their area of focus does not fall within these
 designated zones.
 - Full Color Magazine- During FestivAll, they will be painting the hidden stream
 path that goes from Garrison Avenue to Elk River, highlighting Charleston’s
 largest contained watershed and how our actions affect the water quality of our
 rivers.
 - Mural on Bigley Avenue
 - They would like the Committee’s help with obtaining revenue estimates for their
 business district. This information will help them bring in new businesses.
 - They invited the Committee to their meeting on May 23, 2019.

 4. Discussion – Councilmember Burton stated that the next meeting is tentatively
 set for June 13 at 5:30 pm. Councilmember Steele reminded the Committee of
 Narcan Training on May 13, 2019.




Councilmember Bays motioned to adjourn the meeting. Councilmember Wesley-Plear
seconded.

Meeting adjourned.