URD staff provided a series of downtown maintenance and operations updates at the June meeting, including progress on South Black Avenue stormwater construction, damage to flower baskets from hail, a donated maintenance truck, and continuing questions about graffiti removal billing.

Stormwater and traffic: Staff said crews are slated to be off Main Street by Thursday and that Main Street will be fully functional while South Black Avenue will remain closed for approximately two more weeks. “They are slated to be off Main Street by tomorrow or Friday. Traffic will be back open, but South Black will remain closed,” said Ellie, economic development staff.

Flower baskets and truck donation: Staff said flower baskets were installed Monday but were badly damaged by hail on Sunday; employees expect the plants to recover in several days. “They got demolished by some hail…so they're hardy, they're gonna bounce back,” Ellie said. Public-works donated a newer truck for flower watering and maintenance; staff said it is a 2008 diesel with about 100,000 fewer miles than the old truck and will require some upgrades before entering service. Matt Workman was credited with spearheading the donation.

Graffiti response and billing: Staff said the URD collected about $10,000 in pledged reward money following a graffiti spree and passed tips to the police, but the police had reported no new leads. The URD is holding pledge money at the Downtown Partnership office. On billing, staff said the invoice they received from the graffiti contractor appeared to charge $750 and that the amount seemed low given prior removals; staff said they would verify the invoice before final payment. “The bill that I did receive…was $750 charging that by square foot…and I wanted to double check because it seemed too low,” Ellie said.

Maintenance reporting and pilot installs: Staff reminded the board that a website landing page exists for reporting maintenance concerns and that a small pilot (the pedlet on South Wilson) will be installed with city transportation and a handyman service. Staff also said they are stepping in to repair a sunken sidewalk near the co-op in coordination with local businesses and partners.

Next steps: staff will continue to monitor stormwater work, confirm graffiti billing, complete truck upgrades and return with details on maintenance and pilot installations.