Rock Island Today

City of Moline Centre Main Street Commission Board of Directors met Aug. 19.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

Commission Members Present

Pete McDermott, McDermott Construction

Dave Parker, City of Moline (2nd Ward Alderman)

Andrew Sivertsen, Planning Center

Chris Mathias, City of Moline

Chelsey Hohensee, Metrolink

Amanda Bautista, Café Fresh

Ajay Singh, Heart of America

Lora Adams, Black Box Theater

Eric VanSpeyBroeck, Rouse Consulting Group

Commission Members Absent

None

Staff Present

Geoff Manis

Others Present

Rob Gunter, GunterSchwarz Advertising

AGENDA ITEM #1 – CALL TO ORDER

Meeting called to order at 4:04 p.m.

AGENDA ITEM #2 – PUBLIC COMMENT

Geoff Manis introduced Rob Gunter of GunterSchwarz Advertising to the Commission.

AGENDA ITEM #3 – Approval of Minutes

A motion to approve the minutes from July 15, 2020, was made by Pete McDermott. Eric VanSpeyBroeck seconded the motion. Motion was approved unanimously.

AGENDA ITEM #4 – Update on Downtown Events

Manis updated the Commission on Lighting on the Commons and Holiday Hop. Manis was unable to meet with the Lighting on the Commons group as it was scheduled immediately following the derecho storm. Holiday Hop, which is the kickoff to the holiday season, has been growing every year and will be reimagined this year due to COVID-19. This year it will all be done virtually and Manis will commit his time and energy to a social media push. He would like to use sponsorship money for scavenger hunts in Downtown Moline and would like to encourage business owners to do window decorations. Manis would also like to use budgetary funds to add holiday and winter wonderland design aspects Downtown for this pandemic holiday season. He also reported that he has been working with the Promotions Committee to put this all together and the Mayor is onboard. The Commission discussed the two events and Manis’ ideas.

AGENDA ITEM #5 – Parklet Discussion

Manis updated the Commission on parklets. The Commission was concerned with the price and timeline to build. They discussed possibly using grant funding or partnering with a business for purchase. They also discussed putting the project out as an RFP. Manis is going to reach out to Edwards Creative Services and see if they can create a less expensive design similar to other cities. Since it is late in the season, we have Fall and Winter to continue discussions on this project.

AGENDA ITEM #6 – Director’s Report

None

AGENDA ITEM #7 – Other Business

Manis reminded the Commission that last year they had contracted with other regional downtowns; Davenport, Bettendorf, LeClaire, Silvis, East Moline, Moline and Rock Island, to create a video production piece with Visit Quad Cities and Dphilms. This production piece is a regional showcasing of all the downtowns. The video productions have just been finalized so Manis presented both the one minute and 30 second advertising videos to the Commission. The videos turned out great, Moline was represented well and was a wonderful collaborative effort. The only issue now is due to the pandemic, the videos would be difficult to show most locations represented are major events with no one wearing masks or social distancing. Currently, the downtowns are shelving the video productions until the timing is right. Manis explained this is the reason that Rob Gunter of GunterSchwarz Advertising is in attendance. Gunter is with one of the premier video productions in the region and is conveniently located in Downtown SSA #6. Manis presented some of Gunter’s work and would like to use unused Main Street 2020 budgetary funds to work with him to create a video showcasing on how safe it really is in Downtown Moline during this pandemic. The intent would be to create a video production that can be put on social media. Gunter stated he likes to bring personality out through his advertising videos and wants to showcase dining and shopping with great weather and upbeat people. Manis stated that it may be possible to fund this production through CURES Act funding. The estimate provided was $3,500 to $4,500 and included the concept, copywriting, one to two days location shoot, edit, voice over, music, graphics, 60 seconds video for social media and 30 second video for television.

A motion to move forward with the advertising videos from GunterSchwarz Advertising not to exceed $4,500 was made by Dave Parker. Chris Mathias seconded the motion. Motion was approved unanimously.

Hohensee reported that the skywalk that connects Centre Station to the future train station will be erected next week.

AGENDA ITEM #8 – Adjourn

Eric VanSpeyBroeck made a motion to adjourn. Chris Mathias seconded the motion. Motion was approved unanimously. Meeting was adjourned at 5:15 p.m.

https://www.moline.il.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/6567