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Planning for the new Second Street Business Improvement District was under way Thursday morning as the group's initial planning board gathered for its first meeting at City Hall.
With a tight time frame for planning, a fast-moving Second Street widening project and no spending money, the board faces many challenges in hashing out the details of the BID, said Chad Nabity, regional planning director.
"The Department of Roads project is moving along very quickly, and trying to mesh with their schedule is an issue," Nabity said.
The board hopes to have a plan complete with estimated costs, its method of assessment and area defined by May 16. That plan would then go before the Grand Island City Council for recommendation to the Regional Planning Commission on May 27. The planning commission would make its recommendation June 4, which would allow the city council either to approve or to decline to create the BID by its fall budgeting process.
While the process isn't easy, it's doable, said Bob Dodendorf of Five Points Bank, chairman of the Second Street group. The group is receiving help from the Nebraska Department of Roads, Nabity and the assistant city attorney.
"Time is of the essence," Dodendorf said in an interview after the meeting. "It's a good thing we have all this talent, because we're going to be required to get a lot done in a short period of time."
To envision what kind of landscaping improvements could be made along Second Street after the street widening is complete, the board discussed hiring a landscape architect to draw up renderings. However, with an estimated cost of $50,000, that idea quickly became unworkable.
Instead, the board hopes to find a local landscape specialist who would be willing to draw up plans and facilitate ideas for little or no cost, Nabity said.
Having drawings of what the area could look like would enable the board to make decisions about whether the area needs additional lighting and what kind of uniform landscaping would be best. The Department of Roads hopes to take those plans into account as it completes the Second Street widening, Dodendorf said.
The board plans to focus its improvements on Second Street from Garfield Avenue to Eddy Street, with possible installation of sprinkler systems and lighting.
Some BID members mentioned they hope to mimic the look created by the business improvement districts along South Locust Street with both lighting and landscaping. Lighting costs have been estimated at $350,000, while sprinklers are estimated at $50,000.
Others said they thought the lights would be an unnecessary cost, especially because Second Street is more of a thoroughfare, Dodendorf said.
A few board members hope to do a walk-through of the proposed BID area next week to brainstorm improvement ideas and decide on boundaries.
"I think that, the older we get and the longer we live, we want to have nice things that we can pass onto our future generations," Dodendorf said. "I think that, by doing this, it's going to jump-start other areas doing it."
Also during the meeting, board members elected Cheryl Nietfeldt of Real Estate Group of Grand Island secretary of the group.
The next board meeting is tentatively scheduled for 8 a.m. April 21 at City Hall.
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