Placemaking Committee 3/20/17
MINUTES Alice George called the meeting to order at 3:45pm. Present: Alice George, Louise Rosenberg, Risa & Lindsay from the Comb, Bob Amado, John Fervoy, Eric Young, Katherine Gotsick (staff) Alice moved to accept the 2/13/17 Minutes as drafted, Louise seconded, motion passed unanimously. Alice summarized reviewed the proposals for doing our urn plantings in 2017. There were two comparably priced proposals and one that was quite a bit more expensive. Louise advised her thoughts on the proposals as a subject matter expert – she appreciated the Green Edens proposal, both creatively and from the standpoint of helping a new Evanston business. Katherine mentioned that the Plantings, Inc. proposal included a very affordable weekly watering/maintenance option that we wanted to take advantage of. At their current prices, Green Edens wouldn’t be competitive for watering and maintenance. Louise mentioned that we could conceivably go to a two-season planting schedule instead of three seasons and use our investment on watering and maintenance. The committee decided that they would prefer to plant all three seasons. Katherine suggested that we go back to Green Edens and see if they will match Plantings’ maintenance price. The Committee agreed that Katherine and Alice would be empowered to select a vendor based on the outcome of further negotiations with the guiding principle that we would like to take advantage of watering and maintenance if possible. Upon selecting a vendor for this project, Bob Amado mentioned that we would like to see the plantings be higher and fuller.
EMAP / 2017 Mural Final Proposal. The committee reviewed the EMAP final proposal for managing the Mile’s 2017 Mural project that was included in their packet. Alice summarized the situation – should the Mile work with EMAP, the Evanston Arts Council is poised to grant them some funding. Alice asked for the Committee’s permission to move forward with EMAP. Eric moved for the Committee to grant that permission, Louise seconded, motion passed unanimously. Alice related that the 2017 Mural will go on Dempster Street, on the south wall underneath the Union Pacific overpass. Update on Shoppers Guide kiosks – Alice related that the Shoppers Guide project was being postponed by the Board of Directors. Money was reallocated from this project to cover the costs of full time staff salary. Alice asked the committee to think about app maps or e-maps that could conceivably be used instead of free-standing structures. She suggested yelp, google maps, mosey). Eric suggested that Andersonville has an interactive map that might be comparable to what we want. Update on parking meter donation stations. Katherine asked if these can be decorated in time for Custer Fair, and the Committee agreed to support this timeline. Katherine will ask for parking meter heads on April 3rd. They will be delivered to decorating merchants on April 10th. Must be returned for installation by May 12th in order to be up in time for Custer Fair. Update on Viaduct cleanup (landscaping and surface treatments) - Alice talked about possibilities for greening the district after having walked the district and looked at all the opportunities. She related that Main has possibilities (large green spaces near Firehouse and the cascading planters across from La Principal) but will be large, long-term projects. To make some short term difference, Alice has identified the two green beds on either side of the Dempster el station. She asked for the Committee’s buy-in on focusing on that plot. Eric moved, Bob Amado seconded, motion passed unanimously. Stealth project – Katherine has had troubles identifying a sign-maker who can create stencils large enough for the stealth project. She reiterated her commitment to getting this project done. Bob Amado suggested she contact Ches Perry 312-282-8081 Right way signs. Update on Campus Catalyst project – Katherine passed along the findings of the feasibility project that the Northwestern campusCatalyst program team did for the Mile on developing the strip of land between the CTA and Metra tracks. Cost: $5.2 million Length of project lead: 10 years Challenges: must be a public/private partnership, must be blessed by Union Pacific, a series of permitting and infrastructure requirements that would be expensive and cumbersome. Alice mentioned that the Committee is still intrigued at the possibilities of that strip of land, but no action will be taken at this time.
John Fervoy attended the Placemaking Committee meeting to express an interest similar to our interest in the “High Mile”. He has made a presentation with another citizen to the city. The goal is to connect the Lakefront bike path in Chicago with the Green Bay trail in Evanston using an abandoned rail bed on the Metra track. Katherine asked for the Committee’s buy-in to continue to work with John to see if there are efficiencies to working together on the upstream portions of these projects. Alice agreed that Katherine should move forward and John agreed to come to a future meeting and give his formal presentation. New Business – Katherine shared that she happened upon a team of engineering students at Northwestern who had come up with a “solar charging tree,” a picnic table-style outdoor charging station powered by solar panels that may be a nice option for public activation should the time ever come that it would be a good option. Eric produced a photo of a similar station that employed wind power using dozens of tiny windmills that look like a tree. The Committee agreed this was a cool option if it ever became realistic. Adjourn at 5:15pm
