– Meeting was in the Center for Southern Folklore’s performance hall. It was a big space and it was nice to have ample room for everyone. I was standing in the back of the room when a couple of members came in and the first thing they said was, “Where’s the bar?” It’s nice to share common interests with my neighbors.
– Carol Lott, SMA president opened the meeting.
– The National Civil Rights Museum is having a community food drive Saturday-Monday to celebrate Dr. King’s birthday. They’re asking for canned tuna, soup, chili, Spam, canned fruit, that kind of thing. Go to the SMA’s website at southmainmemphis.net for info on where to drop off the food.
– Jonathan and Myra from Nashville came up. They’re starting a new concept called Theatre Lite. It’s theatre that strips away the scenery, costumes, and lights, “because theatre begins with a story. It’s all of the flavor with none of the filling.” They’ll be staging performances in the upstairs of Cafe Beignet on GE Patterson, and the first performance will be the weekend of 1/22 and 1/23 with an encore the following weekend. It will be “Fairy Tale Confidential,” an adult fairy tale (meaning probably not suitable for children) starring Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, and their therapist. This show ran in Nashville in 2004 with costumes, etc. and received excellent reviews.
They explained the Theatre Lite concept further: “The costumes and lights detract from the most important thing about theatre – the chance to use your imagination.” They said the shows are free to get in, pay what you will to get out.
– Attorney Kevin Mackinnon was next on the stage. He’s from Chicago, in the process of moving to Memphis, quite possibly South Main, although he’s also looking in Midtown (this drew a few boos from the audience). He’s starting a new group called Lawyers for the Arts, lawyers who will represent artists pro bono. He’s working with people from Memphis Area Legal Services and the Music Foundation. The organization is trying to hit up area law firms for volunteers. Kevin shot me an e-mail after the meeting, so I have his address… if you’re interested in working with this organization, e-mail me at paul@paulryburn.com and I’ll forward to him.
– A new board position, in charge of web presence, photography, and volunteer coordination has been added to the SMA for 2010, and that position has been filled by Mike King, who took the stage for a few minutes. The new website at southmainmemphis.net will be updated on a timely manner from now on, and there will be updates on Facebook and Twitter as well. Follow the SMA on Twitter at @SMAmemphis.
Suggestions for the website are welcomed. You can use the “contact us” page of the site to send suggestions, or contact the SMA through Facebook or Twitter.
– Judy Peiser of the Center for Southern Folklore was next to take the stage. She announced that Kate Campbell will perform at the center on the 29th (buy tickets here). She invited everyone to check out the Center’s website at southernfolklore.com. She explained that the Center generates revenue through events – so, “if you have a bar mitzvah, wedding, divorce, whatever, talk to us.”
– Dues are going up February 1, but even with the slight increases, the SMA is still “value city,” Carol Lott said. Individual dues will go up to $35, couples to $50. Business memberships will remain at their price of $80 and allow three employees of that business to attend SMA functions.
Three ways to pay: You can pay on the website via PayPal (this functionality will be in place by the end of the week), you can snail-mail them a check, or you can pay at the monthly meeting. It’s a great idea to pay before February 1 and renew for 2010 while beating the increase in dues.
– The next speaker was Jay Sieleman of the Blues Foundation. The 26th annual International Blues Challenge is next weekend, January 20-23. Semifinals Thursday-Friday, finals Saturday.
“My suggestion for value city for the locals would be the New Daisy 7:30 Wednesday night of next week,” said Jay. (What was up with the repeated use of “value city” in this meeting?) It will be the FedEx International Showcase. 17 acts, 15 minute sets. All acts from outside the US. You’ll get to hear blues acts from India, Sweden, Croatia, Italy, France, Poland, Latvia, and more.
“My second suggestion for value city,” Jay continued, “would be Thursday night.” $10 wristband gets you in 19 clubs – many Beale Street clubs are participating, and this year Ground Zero and Club Chill have been added. “Many of the tourists who come for IBC don’t get here until Friday, so Thursday is a good day for locals.”
“My third suggestion, if you have your days free, would be Friday afternoon,” Jay said. It will be the Youth Showcase, with 32 acts performing in the clubs, all under 21. The $15 wristband gets you into all the clubs for the showcase, and for the IBC semifinals Friday night.
Three of the acts will perform on WREG Live at 9 next week. There will be a Argentinian band on Tuesday, an Indian band Wednesday, and a 14 year old female blues singer on Friday.
– Christopher “Skippy” Blank was introduced as the new photographer. He took lots of photos of the meeting and said they’ll be on Facebook in a couple of days.
– Joan Robinson was thanked for putting the meetings together.
– The SMA is beginning a practice of introducing a member everyone should know at each meeting. Terry Lynch was introduced. He was called “Mr. South Main.”
– They’re also going to recognize a member every month for “doing something good.” If you have suggestions for whom to recognize, contact the SMA through the website.
– Next up, the main presentation, the “State of Downtown” address, presented by Leslie Gower and Jerome Rubin of the CCC. President Jeff Sanford normally gives the address, but this week he’s speaking at the International Downtown Association convention in Winnipeg, Canada.
Downtown Memphis has weathered the economic crisis better than most downtowns, with 25 new businesses in 2009. Lisa Brumleve of the CCC did a remarkable job putting together incentive packages not just for property owners, but for the businesses themselves.
There won’t be a whole lot of new development in 2010, but that’s OK because we have $2.5 billion of development in the works – residences, businesses, parking, medical facilities.
– They’re launching a national search to replace CCC president Jeff Sanford, who retires July 1. The position requires vision and strategic planning not only in business, but in city politics as well.
– Everyone is invited to check out the CCC’s new website at downtownmemphis.com.
– The CCC is trying to do promotions that have not been attempted before. Downtown Dining Week is an example. They believe, “give people value and they will come.”
– The issue the CCC hears the most complaints about, Jerome Rubin said, was graffiti/tagging. “We’re frustrated too.” The CCC is trying to work with the city, but there’s only a $700K budget for graffiti removal city-wide, and that doesn’t go very far.
– We are on the precipice of having no dumpsters Downtown. By spring it will happen. The city will pick up trash several times a day. Will eliminate odors, as well as dumpster divers who spread garbage all over as they hunt for treasure.
– They’re pursuing a new program for Downtown green & clean efforts. There’s going to be a team of people working for the CCC at the standards they set. They visited Providence, RI, whose downtown went from looking like bombed-out Sarajevo to setting a new standard for cleanliness – no graffiti, not even a cigarette butt on the ground. Providence was so successful in changing its Downtown that it even changed the behavior of citizens – you feel the need to conform to a high standard of behavior when you’re down there.
Mayor Wharton has said the clean & green issue is a priority, and has encouraged the CCC to think even beyond the limits they have dreamt.
– The CCC plans to plant and maintain the area from Poplar to Peabody Place, but they intend to extend it even further south to G.E. Patterson Avenue. They need the help of SMA members because the budget is not quite where they’d like it to be. They need more of the large planters. “Here’s the deal – you buy the planters, and we’ll fill them with dirt and plants.”
– The CCC is asking the city for authority over parking from Front to Second, from Poplar to GE Patterson. Too many people are using the metered spaces as all-day parking while they work. This makes it hard for tourists to find spaces on the street, and the CCC believes this is costing Downtown businesses a lot of money.
– Court Square has seen a lot of improvements. They have put up cameras purchased by owners of businesses on the square. The cameras have made troublemakers more timid and reserved. Recently they have posted rules and hours, and they are going to require permits for events in the square consisting of more than 8 people.
– Larry Bloom, the CCC’s safety coordinator, is providing training for private safety and security forces that operate in the Downtown area (e.g. Peabody Place security). Jerome suggested that the SMA invite Larry to give a presentation at a future meeting (this is a GREAT IDEA).
– The CCC has proposed two new city ordinances. The first would modify the existing panhandling ordinance, banning panhandling in the Downtown area except in site-specific areas where it would be permissible. “If we can get control over this, we can greatly improve the Downtown Memphis experience,” Jerome explained. “We’ll also reduce panhandling-related crimes like parking scams.”
Okay, quick break from the recap to tell a success story. The community, the CCC safety patrol, and the police have been working together to identify parking scammers. There’s been one in particular who has posed as a Premier and Central parking attendant for years. On December 27 the police NAILED him on a local parking lot and charged him with criminal impersonation, criminal trespass, and resisting arrest. His court date was yesterday. He got 60 days for the impersonation charge and 30 each for the trespass and resisting charges. Not sure if they’re concurrent or consecutive, but in any event, he won’t be bothering people who come Downtown until at least the end of February. Great job, CCC and MPD!
– The second proposed ordinance would ban the sale of single-serve beer – the 24 oz. tallboy cans, the quart bottles, the 40s – at sites where you cannot consume on premises (e.g. convenience stores). Over a year period Larry Bloom’s team developed statistics about incidents Downtown – 85% of them were found to be alcohol related.
– “People will come out of the woodwork to oppose the ordinances for a variety of reasons,” Jerome said. “That’s why your support is so important.” People would have you believe the CCC is trying to remove the homeless from Downtown. That’s not true. “We know there’s a difference between the homeless and the troublemakers who get up and beat us Downtown every day to hustle people. Most homeless are not troublemakers. We are targeting the troublemakers, not the homeless.” Jerome asked everyone in the room to help get the word out about this difference.
– The CCC does in fact help the homeless, and plans to do more. They purchase coupons from the Union Mission, and the Blue Suede Brigade then hands these coupons out to the homeless on the streets. Coupons are good for a free night’s stay, and free dinner and breakfast.
– Atlanta found it was cheaper in the long run to offer the homeless services than to do nothing at all. Community support is building for this in Memphis.
– In conclusion, Jerome said, all communities are being asked to do more with less. Therefore, we are all going to have to join hands and work together. The CCC needs partners like DNA, SMA, etc. Without partners they are powerless, but if we all come together we can accomplish far more as a group than any one individual could.
– Carol Lott then introduced Becky, who was the beautification chair for SMA last year, and this year is taking on the additional role of vice-president.
– Neal Jackson of We Live to Eat Catering was recognized for providing the delicious food for the night’s meeting.
– Location and program for February meeting TBA.