Erie Hill District Collaborative Board Meeting

ERIE HILL DISTRICT COLLABORATIVE

2nd Quarter Meeting 06/30/2023

ATTENDEES

Gisele Littrell, Stephani Klassen, Dominick Antonio

AGENDA

Artisan Flea Re-Cap/Budget Anaylsis

  1. Going thru the finances of our Flea District checking account

  2. Checking vendor sign-ups for July, August & September

  3. Are we going forward? Current month and future

New Business

  • What next for the vendors and the district

NOTES

  • Decided to cancel the current and remaining Artisan Fleas due to lack of funds

  • Discussing September Vending Fundraiser for the EHDC

  • Current Checking account cannot fund the current and future Artisan Fleas

  • Agreed with a 100% vote of refunding all vendors for current and remaining fleas, minus the processing fees

2023 EHDC Board Meeting

EHDC Board Mtg

19 January 2023 / 19:37 pm /

Attendees 

Gisele Littrell, President

Stephani Klassen, Vice President

Dominic Antonio, Secretary

Agenda. 

New Business

  1. Grants: applied for 

  2. Website

  3. Flea/Budget

  4. Lighting overview

I: Grants

  • Helping Today Grant: multiple application opportunities

  • Co-Fair Cares for Gas

  • Community Impact Sponsorship: 2022 EHDC received $2000 (max) , 2023 going for $1000

  • Urgent Grants

  • ECGRA special events grants 

  • Highmark Sponsorship 

  • DA & SK to speak to Erie Insurance regarding localized grants available & Mercyhurst University for internships 

  • Shops on the Hill is part of Census Tract 19 collaborating with Yard & Co Consulting to help grow the district: https://www.buildwithyard.com/

II: Website Updated:

  • Listing Events

  • New Flier: dates: Square Registration

    • Create PDF outlining all rules and regulations of Flea Event

    • Create Job Descriptions for Flea Organizer/Music Vendor Organizer

    • Sign-up form with 5 points of information

      • Music acts need the same as regular vendors

    • News 👍

      • ERie Reader’s Best of 2022

      • Artisan Fleas

III: FLEAS / BUDGET:

  • Shops on the Hill will start paying rent at 2425 Peach Street for office and equipment holding space on Jan 1st 2023, 1 Year Lease Agreement: $200 per month

  • Flea Budget:

    • Music Organization: $1200/year

    • Flea Organization: $3500/year

    • Acts (Musicians Only): $500 per flea; $50/single act at 10 acts per flea

  • Registration Fees:

    • Early Bird: Now until March 31st→ $75 individual or bundle all 5 for $325

    • Regular: April 1st thru All Fleas → $125 ea; no bundling

Action Items

  1. Update website

  2. Create applications and forms for vendors

  3. Look into possible grants nationwide

  4. Finish lighting

Next Meeting Agenda

March meeting to be announced


2023 Board Meeting Notes

EHDC: ERIE HILL DISTRICT COLLABORATIVE

BOARD MEETING 03/20/23

20 MARCH 2023 / 7:30 PM / TIPSY BEAN 

ATTENDEES

Gisele Littrell: Pres

Stephani Klassen: VP

Dominic Antonio: Treasurer

Nina DiPlacido

Brian DiPlacido

Linda Lynch

AGENDA

Last Meeting Follow-up

  1. Just a get together

New Business

  • Change the board around to include our newest members: Brian, Nina, and Linda.

  • Go over what needs to be done for the fleas; recap. 

NOTES

  • Gisele Littrell 1st, and Dominic Antonio 2nd the move of Brian DiPlacido to role of Vice President, and Nina DiPlacido to role of Social Media/Marketing

    Gisele was giving information to meeting attendees regarding the Artisan Fleas and what they entail; road closures, times, music needs, social media needs, etc.

  • Linda tasked with being a help to Stephani on days of the Fleas. 

  • Brian tasked to communicate to musicians, locally, for set up with live music for the Fleas.

  • Stephani tasked to communicate to Eventeny.com regarding application needs for vendors/musicians.

ACTION ITEMS

  1. Stephani: update meeting notes, and website

  2. From board: all pertinent information regarding businesses etc for website and communication. 

NEXT MEETING’S AGENDA

  • Will be held after Fleas, September 2023, time to be decided. 

  • Recap on 2023’s events. 

October 2022 Board Meeting:

EDHC BOARD MEETING 2022, SEPT 29TH 

Gisele Littrell: President called meeting to order at 6:25pm

Stephani Klassen: VP seconded

Dominic Antonio: Voted into Treasurer via SK & GL


  1. Financials: 

    • EDHC CHECKING: $7390.17

      1. Monthly/Yearly expenses:

        1. Erie Insurance: 25/mo

        2. Quickbooks: 26.50/mo

        3. Square Space Website: 228.96/year

          1. Square space domain name:  21.20/year

        4. Visit Erie: 300/yearly

        5. Accountant’s Fee: 350/yearly taxes

      2. Fees taken out: 

        1. 394.30 IHC tax fine

        2. 820.60 IHC tax fine

    • FLEA CHECKING: $3228.20

      1. Donations May-August; September flea was canceled due to rain

        1. 862.00, 560.00, 462.00, 2000.00, 517

      2. Expenses Paid:

        1. Street closures: $1250

        2. Porto-Johns: $635

    • SAVINGS/GRANT/SCHOLARSHIPS: $0-

      1. $1500 motioned to move from checking to scholarship fund on 10.3.22

  2. Gisele Littrell will be attending the non-profit coordinator event . Won free tickets for two day event, 10.24-10.25.22

  3. FLEA REGISTRATION 2023 SEASON: non-refundable, no credit, no rescheduling for canceling or unattended

    • Early-early October 16th-26th: $50/flea; only given options to past attendees

    • Early Bird: March 2023 $75/flea; $325 for purchase of bundle of all 5

    • After March 2023: $125/flea; no discount for bundling

  4. BUDGET 2023:

    • $750: PORTO-JOHNS

    • $1250: ROAD CLOSING

    • $1000-$1500: SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING, ERIE READER ONLINE, WSCE

    • $250-500: BANNERS, SIGNAGE WITH SPONSORS 








  1. LIGHTING PROJECT UPDATED:

    • Dominic Antonio Project Coordinator

    • Lights are in!  

    • William Regal: General Electrician

    • Scope of work will begin in October: he will go to all businesses to assess and start installation of lights

    • 9 Businesses have Signed Up:

      1. Europa

      2. Tipsy Bean Cafe

      3. Dapper Don’s

      4. Hoffman United

        1. 2 vacant business spaces as well

      5. Erie Rippers

      6. Give A Crepe La CrepErie

      7. Learning Ladder

    • Grasshoppers, Chicory Hill, Vacant Pointe Foure and Gyspy Jewelry, Federal Hill Smokehouse, Ink Assassins, LeadHead Screenprinting  have not signed up yet

  2. MURAL UPDATE:

    • Week of October 1st to be completed by October 31st.

    • Hoffman United Building started on October 1st at 9 am

  3. UPDATES:

    • Accepted into the ECGRA Censustrack 19 Neighborhood Revitalization grant funding

      1. Six year plan: more updates in January ‘23

  4. VOLUNTEERS:

    • Summer student internships for social media/marketing: 5-10 hours per week

      1. Looking into SSJN for funding via grants


Meeting adjourned at 7:52pm. GL motioned, SK seconded.


Board Nominations Open!

Here at The Erie Hill District Collaborative work to better our community large and small! Living and Working on “The Hill” gives that strength of community; becoming a board member and a general member of this wonderful Non-Profit means your voice will be heard in on The Hill as well as Erie City! Contact us to see how you can become involved!

Next Meeting:

April 8th at 5 pm at Tipsy Bean Cafe!

First Quarter News Letter

Shops on the Hill Quarterly

Upcoming Events

  • Feb 20th: Hill Membership Meeting

  • Winter Dinner Series Hosted at Tipsy Bean Last Wednesday’s of Months Jan-April

  • Emergycare Gala:  April 24th

Meeting Discussion

  1. Meeting commence: 6:05

  2. In attendance:

  • Stephani Klassen – Give a Crepe

  • Christine Hoffman – Hoffman United

  • Gisele Littrell  - Tipsy Bean

  • Heather Casper – Sisters of St Joseph

  • Emily George  - Pointe Foure Vintage Boutique

  • Bill Kern – Bastion Studios 

  • Rob Ewing – EmergyCare

  1. ECGRA / SSJN Grant: ECGRA grant for lighting. First year of monies granted  is sitting in the SSJN bank ready to be used. All money requires a match to be used. The match could come out of the Hill funds.

  2. Light up the Hill meeting – Some sort of small open house event to get the Hill District members in to talk about this lighting and make sure everyone is on board.

  3. 1 on 1 meetings for those who need more details or didn’t attend the open house.

  4. Flea Markets / Events:

  • Over $2,000 raised collectively over all fleas in 2019

  • Erie Community Foundation grant to improve the flea markets.

  • Cover marketing, tents, and other things.

  • Scholarship applications for those who can not afford the booth fee; Income limit / diversity will be a deciding factor

  • Multicultural center sponsors

  • Super Early Bird Special for previous vendors.

  • Square/Venmo money processing; Online form to join the fleas through our website; pay online only. 

  • Fleas are the last Sunday in May, June, July, August, September

  1. Non-Profit status

  • By the end of the year? Waiting to meet with the legal folks

  1. Next Meeting:  February 17 7:00pm @Bastion Studios  * has been changed :  noted in “upcoming events”

  2. Meeting adjourned: 7:20

Our Website

Our website has been a definite boom to information being able to give to future members of the Hill.  From listing all our amazing businesses, to upcoming events for each and all locations; we have been able to inform the public and ourselves of what is happening on The Hill.

Please check out shopsonthehill.org to see how the ECGRA Grant awarded to the Historic Hill is being utilized this year and next! 

Final Quarter 2019 News Letter

Shops on the Hill Quarterly

Upcoming Events

●      Oct 27th: Hallow’d Hill Flea 11-4

●      Oct 24th: Soft Open of Bastion Studios

●      Shop Small Weekend November 29-31

○     Fri, Nov 29th: ShopSmall Give Big Donation Drive Begins 7-9 @ participating businesses

○     Sat, Nov 30th: Shop Small Saturday

○     Sun, Nov 31st: Showcasing holiday cheer with business decorations

●      Dec 6th: Gallery Night 5-10

●      Dec 14th: Holiday on the Hill

Meeting Discussion

1.     Membership Dues and Benefits:

○     VisitErie

○     Part of Fleas, advertising, any grant monies given

2.     Shop Small Give Big Winter Donation Drive

○     Visit local businesses to give back to the community.

○     This year’s recipient: Erie City Mission

○     Every business has a donation box for non perishables &/or winter wear

3.     Gisele Littrelle, President

○     Discussing how to become a 501c3 for Non-profit

○     Plans in the works

○     Looking at internships for any business a part of membership to help grow with low costs

4.     Discussing with SSJN to see if our mission statement can become easily accessible

5.     Feedback from members on how to increase attendance, as well as when the next meeting is. Looking at quarterly meeting to regroup and progress.

Our Website

Being a member, lets you have a spot on a simple website meant to drive customers to all business on The Hill.  The website will be live by Nov 1st, and Stephani is looking for you all to please send a quick bio of business/owners to bring to light, or just business website to drive people to you.

The Hill District Flea blooms in 3rd Season

Grants, local businesses make way for quirky neighborhood event.

The Hill District Flea, formerly known as the Flagship Flea, will kick off its season Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with food, fun and unique finds in its quirky shops and tents set up on lower Peach Street. The open-air market will take place every last Sunday through Oct. 27.

The events will include live music and local food from Give a Crepe, Tipsy Bean, and, this week, Atacolypse and Fat Boys Phillys food trucks and beer from Erie Ale Works. Federal Hill Smokehouse, just south of West 26th Street, will be open, serving smoked and braised and everything’d meats.

“We’re trying to re-brand and revitalize the area,” said event organizer and Pointe Foure vintage shop owner Emily George. She said, for the third season, she was able to snag grants from the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority and Erie Arts & Culture and won a Erie Greater Award from Preservation Erie. George said the EAC grant is for creating artisan crosswalks in the neighborhood, which she said will go in this summer when the road is closed for the Flea events.

Other fun stuff: Dogs are welcome at the events, and the Anna Shelter will have a tent with a dog up for adoption; French Street Farms will run a ‘Plant a Seed to Help the Hill Grow’ project, where kids can plant a seedling and donations go to the Hill. Also, Thorn: Paper Floral Artistry is accepting art from kids 12 to 17 to sell at the Flea. Find them on Facebook.