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Old Orchard commission seeks full membership; seed reserves not guaranteed annually
Summary
Commission members discussed recruiting business and property representatives to fill seats, noted a one-time seed allocation from reserves, and asked staff for budget documents and follow-up on recruitment outreach.
Commission members said they want to fill the Old Orchard Special Business District Commission to seven seats by October and discussed outreach to local businesses and property owners to recruit members.
A city staff member reminded commissioners that the commission’s budget request was approved in June and that the commission used a portion of its reserves as one-time seed money to help establish programming. “This will not necessarily be a perpetual bit of money that comes from your reserves,” a staff member said, summarizing the mayor’s view conveyed in a recent conversation.
Commissioners discussed specific recruitment prospects: Maddie Waring from Papillon was identified as an expected applicant; Aaron Telly of Telly Tire was contacted but indicated he did not have time and would check internally for an alternate candidate; Webster University was described as a potential nonprofit representative but would require adjustments to eligibility rules. Commissioners also suggested approaching property owners and marketing directors at larger local businesses as likely useful additions to the commission.
Commission members asked for clarity on finances and where seed funds are held. A staff member confirmed that the seed funds discussed are part of the Old Orchard reserves rather than a city-wide operating account. Commissioners were told the exact budget details for the Old Orchard portion are on the city budget website and that staff would resend the specific Old Orchard budget documents to the commission members who had not received them.
As next steps, commissioners directed staff to continue outreach to potential members (including follow-up with contacts at Telly Tire, Webster University, and local property owners), to resend the Old Orchard budget materials to the commission, and to report back at a future meeting on recruitment progress and any funding requests beyond the commission’s budgeted amounts.
The commission discussed that if the commission requests additional funding for events beyond its budgeted line items, the commission would need to formally request funds from the Old Orchard Special Business District allocation and document those requests for budget consideration.
