May 26th, 2005 - Minutes of the BIA's annual meeting, held at the Rendez-Vous restaurant on May 26th, 2005.

Were present : Mike Wilson (President), Daniel Sigouin, General Manager of the Economic Development Corporation, Daniel Lemaire, Municipal Representative on the Economic Development Corporation, Estelle Mignault, André Plourde, Denise Doyon, Patricia Marin-Carrier, Huguette Boisvert, Marc Plourde, Carmen B. Plourde, Eric Plourde, Nancy C. Plourde, Louis-Marie Veilleux, Line Martin Veilleux, Paul Blanchette, Élise Beauvais, Daniel Larochelle, Mona Habel, Sylvie Habel Roy, Claude Brochu, Sylvie Leroux, Sylvie Otis, Yvette Gaudreau, Gérald Gaudreau, Louis Corbeil, Jean-François Lambert (Summer Festival Coordinator), Diane Bernier (Secretary).

Subjects discussed :

- The President welcomed everyone present as well as business owners and guests.  He presented the Secretary, Miss Diane Bernier, replacing Thérèse for this meeting.

- Proposed by: Estelle Mignault, Supported by:  Sylvie Otis:  THAT the Order of Business be approved as presented.

- The President asked members if they had time to review the Minutes of the 2004 Annual Meeting, reviewed last year's guests and asked if there were any questions.  As no one had questions, it was,

- Proposed by:  Mona Habel, Supported by:  Paul Blanchette: THAT the Minutes of the 2004 Annual Meeting be hereby approved.

- None.

- The President resumed changes on the BIA Board and presented the new Board Members and the student hired for the summer of 2005.  He then resumed activities and projects completed in 2004, such as the Summer Festival, the Humor Festival, Christmas, Winter Carnival and all the other activities to which the BIA participated or collaborated, either by promoting it or by organizing contests and contributing financial help.

- He informed members that the Board had met with the Municipality on different subjects like on the role of the BIA, the 2005 budget, repairs to the parking kiosk, signs, Christmas decorations and other subjects.

- This year, Mike Wilson and Gérald Gaudreau attended the OBIAA Conference and brought back many ideas for our BIA.  He said that this had been a very good experience and that, if the budget permits, other members of the Board will have the chance to participate in the coming years.

- This year, Board Members have been split into different committees and an organizational chart had been developed outlining the duties of each member.

- Also this year, the Summer Festival should be more exciting as it is the 25th Anniversary.  A Committee has been created under Sylvie Otis management.  Our student, Jean-François, also has many suggestions and ideas for this Festival.  9th Street, from Front to Prince will also be closed to traffic for the occasion.

- For manual work downtown, the BIA has hired the Atelier des pionniers et pionnières at the cost of $2,000.  They have already done many things, like installing flags, benches and garbage bins.

- The President ended by asking members to give their opinion and ideas during Mr. Daniel Sigouin presentation on the expansion of the BIA sector and the joint venture with the Front Street Committee.

- The President welcomed new businesses.  During the last year, La Boîte à Surprise, Manon's Chip Stand, Phem Playdium, Guindon Optometrist, Marybelle, Esthétique par Sylvie, le 7ième Ciel and Great North Spa opened their doors in the downtown area.  There are also some new building owners, but no details were available at this time.
 

- Louis Corbeil, the previous Secretary, presented the 2004 Financial Statements prepared by Collins Barrow and explained in detail last year's revenues and expenses.

It was Proposed by:  Estelle Mignault and Supported by: Yvette Gaudreau: THAT the 2004 Financial Statements be approved as presented.

 - The President thanked Louis for his presentation and for all the years he served on the BIA Board.  He congratulated him for his good work by saying that all he had done had been done with the BIA's sake in mind.  The President then gave him a thank you gift for his services.

- The President presented the 2005 Budget, that was submitted and approved by the Municipality.  The Budget amounts to $40,050, including a Municipal contribution of $7,300 and a parking fund contribution of $2,500 for repairs to be done to the parking kiosk.

- The President informed members that a bigger sign indicating the downtown area should be installed on Front Street and that this expense will be shared 50/50 with the Municipality.

- One member asked why the item "Repairs to street lamps" appeared on the budget.  The President said that, if we kept the existing street lamps, we had to repair and maintain some of them, either by painting them or replacing the ones that were rusty.  The same member said that this expense should be covered in whole by the Municipality.  The President affirmed him that he will verify this before going ahead with this project.  He also said that the maintenance budget should be higher, as maintenance of infrastructures is very costly.

- Other members mentioned that downtown maintenance could be improved, as some areas are not cleaned properly.  Sidewalk pavers should also be leveled each year and suggested that the By-Law Officer verify this when doing his rounds and report any areas to be leveled to the Municipality.

- Mr. Sigouin did a Power Point presentation on the embellishment of the Northern Corridor and on the local economy.  He affirmed that, for now, the economy is good.  He informed members that it was a good time to ask for funds to embellish infrastructures along the Northern Corridor and explained why a partnership with the BIA would be a good thing.

- He enumerated large tourist projects such as establishing Hearst as a tourist destination year long, embellishing the Northern Corridor along Highway 11 and investing in department stores to keep people in Hearst.

- He said that embellishing infrastructures and environment is part of the economic vision and tourist context.  It is also a marketing strategy and this could be part of the infrastructure project.  Funds are also available for projects like these.  There is also an option to increase the BIA sector on Front St., as far as P&L Sales to the East and the tracks to the West.  A public meeting will be held on June 9 to discuss this option.  The other option would be to create two BIAs, one for the downtown area and the other for Front St.

- One member was concerned that his contribution would go up if we increase the BIA sector, but Mike reassured him that this would not be the case.  Mike also informed members that, if the BIA sector is bigger, more chances we would have to obtain funds from government agencies.  One member suggested to meet each merchant instead of sending surveys.  Mike said that there was no plan made yet and that they were only asking their opinion on this project.  One member suggested that the BIA first prove itself on Front St. before thinking of increasing it, because Front St. is not maintained as well as the other streets, and benches, garbage bins, flags are not installed and there is almost no improvements done there.  The President mentioned that they were more prepared today to increase the BIA sector than they were when such an initiative was undertaken in 1990.

- Daniel Lemaire confirmed that improvements were a priority, that this would give the town a new look and that, if everybody worked together, we could succeed.  The actual BIA seemed to be collaborating well with the Municipality.  There is surely things to improve, but for the most part, everything is going well.

- The President thanked Daniel Sigouin and Daniel Lemaire for their presentation.

- Mr. Gaudreau made a Power Point presentation on new street lighting.

- He mentioned that existing street lamps were obsolete and dangerous for the population because they could fall easily.  Furthermore, they no longer meet the Electrical Safety Authority standards and we can not install decorations or flowers on them.  Some street lamps were repaired, but there are still others that remain to be repaired.  These repairs must be done every 2 to 3 years, then one would save by replacing them completely.  The risks of law suits are also very high if nothing is done to repair the exiting street lamps.

- The cost of new street lamps would be a long-term investment.  They would be made of galvanized steel, which means they would not rust.

- Some members wanted to know the price of the these new street lamps and Gérald answered that the cost for all street lamps in the BIA sector would be around $200,000.00, for the ones with two spheres, plus the cost of installation.  Gérald affirmed that a company from Montréal has offered to visit the Hearst Downtown to establish a plan and make suggestions.

- Daniel Sigouin confirmed that funds were available from various government agencies for replacing infrastructure such as street lamps.  One members suggested to rather ask the Municipality to take care of this.  Another member suggested to check for sun powered street lamps instead as they would be more economic.

- Gérald thanked all members for listening to his presentation and for giving their opinion.  Mike thanked Gérald for his presentation.

- The 2005 Summer Festival Committee is formed by Sylvie Otis, Jean-François Lambert and Thérèse Lachance.  The President mentioned the possibility to have two inflatables, possibly installed in front of the Pharmacie Brunet-Cantin, a stage, volley-ball games and perhaps a beer garden, but everything is yet to be confirmed.  On Friday, the RCMP carrousel will be on George Street before the street dance.

- One member said that it was not a good idea to put inflatables in front of the pharmacy, because it was too dangerous for kids being that near from Front Street.

- Jean-François listed activities for which he hoped to find sponsors: lumberjack contest, beach volley-ball, motorcycle parade, BIA history, etc.  He also hoped to find sponsors to organize more activities.

- One member asked if it would be possible to install the previous moose that was at the entrance of town near the clock at the Caisse Populaire park.  Daniel Lemaire responded by saying that the moose was destroyed and suggested to install moose flower boxes instead.

- Mike and Estelle mentioned that there was a possibility that the street will also be closed during the Moose Festival, because of the moose hunting game, a game resembling the serpents and ladders' game, which will begin at the Claude Larose arena and end downtown.  This was still to be confirmed.

- Estelle informed members that the Flower Festival will be held soon and asked them to put flowers in front of their stores, either fake or real ones.  There will also be a one day contest during the event.  She did not know exactly when flowers will be installed downtown, but said it would be after the next full moon, to avoid freezing temperatures.

- The President thanked the audience for their attendance and participation at this annual meeting.  He wished everyone a good night, a good week and a good summer.  The meeting was closed at 9:17 p.m.