Belleville DDA cuts back on grants for community events

The Belleville Downtown Development Authority is cutting back on grants to groups for Community Events Funding.
At its regular meeting on Dec. 16, the DDA unanimously approved the change in its budget.
DDA Coordinator Carol Thompson said the DDA had said for the last couple of years that those receiving grants needed to be helpful to the downtown businesses and, “We didn’t see much of a change.”
She said as the DDA begins work on this budget year the bond payments are beginning to escalate and, “We have to scale back until we see tax capture and revenue continue to rise.”
She said revenues are not expected to increase, yet the 2010 bond payments have annual increases ranging from $17,000 to $28,000 for the next five years.
She said January is when they usually announce a call for grant applications.
In a study she made she said she did not see many DDAs that fund other downtown events, with a lot of DDAs funding farmers’ markets and, “a lot, a lot, a lot of facades.”
She said they need to scale back on putting money in the events and let others, including businesses, back the events.
“Part of it is that we have to keep our budget intact,” said DDA Chairwoman Rosemary Loria. “We don’t want to be known as the group that funds events.”
“I think it’s a good idea,” said DDA Vice Chairman Gary Snarski. “It was surprising to see other municipalities don’t do this,” he said referring to the list Thompson had prepared.
“Many of the events we gave seed money to, such as Winterfest and ArtAffair, and then they keep coming back,” he said.
He said the pop-up shop in December went around and did the shop and didn’t ask for money, just asked the DDA to support it. Snarski made a motion to approve the change in the grant program. Later in the discussion, DDA member Jim Higgerson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Going forward, the DDA intends to support qualified downtown events with funding not to exceed $1,500 per event in fiscal year 2016-17 and not to exceed $1,000 per event in 2017-18.
Annual grants in the past have ranged from $1,000 to $8,000 and the DDA has invested between $15,000 to $19,000 a year for the past six years.
Under the new program, to qualify for funding consideration events must be: open to the public, take place within the DDA Downtown District, include the participation of local downtown businesses, promote the attributes of Downtown, show sponsorship from others in the community / region towards the total cost of the event, and preference will be given to public events which attract a diversity of participation.
Thompson said they have to tell local groups in January that there is a change in the program and the review process will be changed going forward.
In other business at the 50-minute meeting, the DDA:
• Heard Chairwoman Loria announce that Gary Snarski has chosen not to be reappointed to his DDA position. He has served two, full, four-year terms, from 2006 to 2015. Snarski said he has served under three mayors and three chairmen and, “It’s been fun, although there were some days we were ready to pull our hair out.” He said he will give someone else a new opportunity in the position; and
• Heard a report from Therese Antonelli about the Holiday Pop Up Shops on Main that she and others put in place at 381 Main on Fridays and Saturdays for the month of December. They rented the vacant building for a month from Realtor Glenn Silvenis, dropped a lot of money into Facebook, and put out 1,000 flyers. She said she was disappointed that the Independent didn’t give them free advertising. “We probably won’t make a dime,” she said. She spoke of how successful it was and how they could do it again next December, but not all year. DDA members said they appreciated what she did for the city and, “Belleville was a little better for it,” Loria said.