Joint Planning Retreat Agenda
Hiawassee City Council and
Hiawassee Downtown Development Authority
October 5, 2023 10:00am – 2:00pm
Brasstown Valley Resort
Young Harris, GA
Welcome
Purpose of meeting
· Unified Vision
· Collaboration
Ethics – Overview
DDA 101
· Overview – Why have a DDA
· How City and DDA work independently but together
· Roles and responsibilities of each party
How DDA projects can be financed
· Examples
Paris Business Center – recap
· Budget
· Initial
· Current
Financial considerations – Monica
How to move forward
Thomas Mitchell – Zoning Discussion
Action Plan
The Hiawassee City Council and Hiawassee Downtown Development Authority met together for a Joint Planning Retreat on October 5, 2023 10:00am – 2:00pm at the Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris, GA
Present were Downtown Development Authority members Peggy Gardner (chairman), Tamela Cooper, Babette Dunn (and candidate for City Council), Tyler Osborn; City Council members Amy Barrett, Jay Chastain, Nancy Noblet, Patsy Owens, and Anne Mitchell. Staff present were Downtown Development Manager Steve Harper, Economic Development Director Denise McKay and City Clerk Bonnie Kendrick. Also present were Mayor Liz Ordiales and City Attorney Thomas Mitchell. Jonathan Wilson (candidate for City Council) also attended at the invitation of the DDA. Facilitating the retreat was Economic Development Director of the City of Madison, Monica Callahan.
Economic Development Director Denise McKay welcomed everyone and thanked all for attending.
Monica briefly provided the attendees with her background and the ground rules for the meeting. She asked each person to state their definition of a successful outcome of the meeting and what they hoped to achieve through the meeting.
Amy – New ideas, where we are, bridge the gap between DDA/Council, cohesive plan
Tamela – Understand DDA and Council roles and common goals,
Peggy – Commonality, address concerns of transparency. Feels like the council works against the DDA
Jay – Cohesiveness, transparency
Babette – newest member – project oriented. Wants to go back through timeline to find out where the divergence happened and how to get back on track – project drift
Nancy Noblet – transparency – Can agree to disagree and still be a team player – no backstabbing or bad mouthing or undermining – it erodes support.
Monica stated DDA needs Council Support – relationships need to be fed and nurtured. DDA are not “volunteers” – they are appointed officials. Appointed officials have the same legal responsibilities as the Council.
Thomas - City attorney since 2017, in minor matters has advised DDA, but for this matter has advised separate counsel.
Bonnie – Understand roles and how I can support all.
Steve – How we accomplish the goal, what works for all, open dialog, all want what is best for Hiawassee, constructive dialog.
Patsy - What are the rules, keep to your lane, we (members in the room) ARE all part of the people.
Tyler – understanding the different ways to accomplish the goal – paths to success but keep moving forward.
Liz – Cohesiveness of the team, undermining is not necessary.
Anne – Working together, rules are different by law, but there is some overlap.
Jonathan – History of working together – how things happen.
Denise – Unified vision, all want best for the community, how we support each other, how to respond to words on the street, teamwork, protection of the mountain/small town atmosphere. Agree on the vision and support each other. Confidentiality vs. transparency.
Roles of the bodies
Shared roles – participation
Vision is shared – when appointing a DDA, Council delegated the visioning.
DDA/Council should have a joint meeting no less often than every 2 -3 months.
Once a person is appointed to the board, Council cannot remove them. The DDA has responsibility to self-manage once the appointment is made.
Monica reflected on the common themes that came up – Transparency, divergence (mission), and communications (concern vs criticism).
Council gives DDA the task, it’s important to support the decision as a collective. “Don’t serve if you can’t be a team player”.
DDA can buy property in closed mtg. Indebtedness must be disclosed to Council (awareness), but Council does not need to approve.
What is transparency from DDA to Council? Council reply – financial reporting, communication, project continuity, project evolution, strategic plan update.
Rumor mill – consider the source before you respond. Avoid opinions that lead to gossip. Defer to people in the know, with time to provide a PR message.
Transparency/Trust – meeting more frequently would help. Attending DDA meetings to foster understanding and more in-depth information.
De-escalation tip – special called meeting – May need to devote the entire meeting to a topic of concern and postpone to a special called meeting the regular business of the group.
DDA ethics – by design has an inherent conflict of interest. Suggest yearly review of the Safe Harbor Provisions.
Vision planning and vision drift.
Urban redevelopment – public meeting – council adopted – comprehensive plan (public input) - Strategic plan for the cities and county – guiding documents. Plan is a guide not a regulation, a tool given to the DDA – Don’t undermine the plan – it is everyone’s plan.
How do you see the plan? Liz – public, gov’t driven, a work plan. Amy – a wish list, a visionary document. Peggy – a work plan.
Public/ private partnership – Peggy – Paris business center to keep the history of the Paris family alive in the building.
The change of scope of the buildings was driven by market and opportunities presented.
Denise shared marketing brochures with Council
Lack of frequency of communications between DDA and Council cited as an issue
Covering the short fall on the Paris Buildings renovations:
Incubator is a service, restaurant will be income (monthly rental). City’s exposure is limited by the restaurant being responsible for the build out of the restaurant – restauranteurs have asked DDA to not divulge who they are yet – they are putting together a marketing strategy – but they are already in a successful restaurant business.
“The City is Not in the restaurant business. The City is funding and supporting the DDA in renovation of the business incubator”. The restaurant building is NOT part of the funding needed.
Public purpose of the Paris Buildings – relieve blight, historic preservation, downtown revitalization, increase tax base through new businesses.
Communications, guiding documents, quarterly work sessions, marketing are needed.
Spend some $ on PR – educate the public. “roof top dining, expanded seating and entertainment space”
Attorney Thomas Mitchell discussed with Council the possibility of defining a “Commercial district” in the downtown area and what regulations the Council would like (setbacks, ground level residential, density in the commercial area, could change density back to the original in the “existing/established district area.) Suggestion is to start with the Rural Zone map and tweak the areas around it. Zoning takes at least 45 days to implement (public hearings, multiple meetings). Attorney Mitchell is working on accessory structure definitions.
Tentatively scheduled the Quarterly Council/DDA work session for January 30th, 2024 9:00 – 3pm – overlay district, 3 year projections, time for another strategic plan?