September 28, 2023 General Meeting at Community Media Center

  • Introduction (12:00 p.m.)

    • Mitch Cook, Bridge Street Market, SBA President

  • Presentation from our Host

  • Development & Neighborhood Updates

    • Fans of Valley Field Insights

    • Broadway Grand Rapids

      • Jennifer A. Pascua & Meghan Distel

      • 139 Broadway shows in Grand Rapids; introduced us to Broadway Acts Access program.

      • Restaurants can offer discounts to members; sign up here.

      • Requesting $35 donations for their 35 years in Grand Rapids.

      • Planning a Bridge Street Bar Crawl during Wicked's April and May run; interested businesses, contact Jennifer at jpascua@bwaygr.org

  • Community Energy Initiatives

    • Nate Henschel, Consumers Energy - Overview of grid project with solar panels on Bridge Street Market and WMCAT. https://circuitwest.com

    • Project doesn't directly power a specific place and doesn't guarantee power during storms.

    • The whole project was a learning experience for Consumers Energy; contact Nate Henschel at nathan.henschel@cmsenergy.com with questions.

  • Community & Resource Updates

    • Community Cleanup Initiatives

    • Commissioner's Update

      • Drew Robbins was unable to attend.

    • GRPD Update

      • Captain P.J. Baker, Grand Rapids Police Department - Emphasized he enjoys the community involvement, said he loves the WestSide

      • Urged residents/businesses to call 911 or the non-emergency line for issues, rather than contacting him directly. As much as he enjoys hearing from us, this approach helps serve us faster.

      • Report “it” when it happens; the department needs to see patterns.

    • Safety in the Workplace Training

      • Provided by Chamber of Commerce/Silent Observer.

      • Open to everyone; contact Josh Lunger from the chamber at josh@grandrapids.org if interested.

  • Membership Updates

    • Treasurer's Report

      • Jessica Gutowski-Slaydon, Swift Printing

      • Pay your dues payment link; subscription option available.

      • [Generic invoice here]

      • Introduction of new RSVP format for member meetings.

      • Meeting recaps (this, what you’re reading!) available on the website for reference and question follow ups.

  • Closing Remarks

    • Building relationships and connecting individuals to the right people is the group's primary goal.

    • No formal programs beyond networking and facilitating connections.

    • Continued emphasis on fostering a strong community network.

Thank you for attending the StockBridge Business Association Meeting. We look forward to seeing you at our November 16th Meeting!

Other notes from Rich App:

I had a few people reach out in regards to the street closure on Bridge St.. Spoke with mobility and engineering and found out that they are installing a tap for the new business a 401 Bridge St.. Found out the following:

 

  • Engineering  said EB Bridge is open now.

  • WB Bridge will be closed for probably a week from today (probably to 10/4/23) until the chlorination test clears, the test pipe is in the WB travel lane.

  • The South Bridge street sidewalk is scheduled to be replaced, and should be open by Friday.

  • 644 Bridge will have  dumpster moved to the north side of the street to protect the water test pipe. It should move back to the south side after the WB lane re-opens.

  • Kevin from Engineering will need to extend his dumpster permit.  

  • Brad, the building owner, plans on opening the sidewalk around Sip Shine at 401 Stocking NW by 10/6/23.

 Sometimes progress means improving infrastructure. It’ll be nice when these two projects are completed.




Jessica Slaydon