Minutes of the Blue Ribbon Core Committee Meeting
for the City of Fennimore, Grant County, Wisconsin

Held on Tuesday, January 23, 2007
beginning at 12:00 noon at the City Council Chambers

Present were: Steve Lendosky, Pam Kreul, Heather Reddy, John Murphy, Linda Parrish, Correne Morgan, Margaret Sprague and Brent Sheckler.

The committee discussed the March 5th community information meeting to be held at the Memorial Building from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Members of the City Council, Chamber, FIEDC, Blue Ribbon Committee along with City Staff, DOT Project Engineer and Contractor reps will be present for residents and business owners to discuss the project and view various maps and displays. Refreshments will be served. Information on special events planned during the project will also be available. A pre-planning meeting will be held in February.

Update on timeline - not much change. Start March 19th, weather permitting.

Signage - “Caution - Children At Play” signs requested by Mayor Stenner to slow traffic on Washington Street during the construction project. Cost for signs would be $12-$15 each for 20 signs or, in bulk would cost $8 each for 50 signs. After discussion, feel the 3 “pedestrian crossing” signs currently being used on Lincoln Avenue will work better.

Information sharing plans - weekly meetings will be held with DOT and contractor on Mondays at 9 a.m. Fennimore Times will share this information in a “construction corner”. Linda will keep the website updated with the information and will also have reports on WGLR Radio.

Fund Raiser Update - The January 13th Variety Show was a success with many positive comments and a profit of $1,249. Discussion on the Jackhammer Party resulted in a suggested date of July 28th. Steve Lendosky will talk to Lloyd Tarrell, Jerry Day and Steve Wilkinson about this. Eagle Creek Inn is in the early planning stages for a June Street Dance.

Promotional package - “The Little Main Street that Could!” will promote 61 reasons to shop Fennimore. It will include print and radio packages including the Fennimore Times, Boscobel Dial, Reminder and WGLR Radio ads. There will be bi-weekly drawings at featured businesses and feature stories. The program will run from May 7th through November 4th. The Blue Ribbon Committee will contribute nearly $8,300 toward this $26,000 advertising package. Participating businesses will pay $225 per month. With 13-15 participating businesses, this promotion will remind area shoppers that Fennimore is still open for business.

The next meeting will be Wednesday, February 28th at noon in the Council Chambers.