Chairman Chas Stevens called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm on November 10, 2025.
Kevin Sluka conducted roll call and the following Board Members were present:
Board Members Present: Natalia Kleyman, Kevin Sluka, Rick St. Pierre, Tania Althoff, RanD Pitts, Andrianna Popowych
Board Members Virtual: Beth Akkaway, Chris Edwards, Conlyn Chan, Chas Stevens
Board Members Absent: N/A
Professional Staff Present: Leah Horowitz, Dana Kessel
CHAIRPERSON REMARKS
Chas Stevens thanked everyone for joining the November meeting and mentioned the upcoming holiday season.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
Minutes from October meeting were approved.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
a. Finance
i. Routine updates; no major changes reported.
ii. Natalia Kleyman discussed the council’s request to reconsider the budget, adding $25,000 for minor sidewalk repairs with a two-to-one match from the borough and provided details on the updated budget, including $2,200 for concert revenue for candlelight concerts and the removal of the restaurant week event. She also noted the removal of the mobile application development as it will be funded out of the 2025 budget saving $8,500, and the reduction in business mixers line item.
iii. The Board voted on the new budget amendment; 7 in favor – 3 opposed.
iii. Dana Kesel discussed the NJEDA grant and requested extension for Arterial to complete shovel ready plans for Division Street and Giardina Street and the NJ Main Street Transformation Grant, for which we requested an amendment to move $50,000 from curbside kits toward amenities for Division Street which will result in $68,000 for that beautification effort which needs to be completed before June 1, 2026.
b. Design/Infrastructure
i. Merchant meeting with PSE&G tentatively set for Dec 2 at Somerville Civic Center.
ii. Andrianna Popowych questioned what the borough resolution was about for Puppy Pawlooza and Dana Kessel explained that it was for a free rabies vaccination clinic during the event as a public service for Somerville residents and will be no cost to the DSA.
iii. Dog-Friendly District Initiative – Kevin Sluka stressed the importance of engaging the community in the event and initiative and updating relevant businesses on the details. Dana Kessel explained that those businesses had been contacted with event details and were offered the opportunity to serve on the subcommittee that would help plan the event.
b. Promotions
i. Social media KPIs (October 2025): Presented by Leah Horowitz
- Instagram reached 27.1K accounts; 305K views (77%of views from followers, 23% of views from non-followers); 3.8K interactions (86% interactions from followers, 14% interactions from non-followers); Total Followers: 19,003; 262 follows, 91 unfollows (+171)
- Facebook: Note – Meta has disabled Accounts Reached as a primary Insight, so that data will no longer be available. 344.9K views; 41% of all views from followers, 59% of all views from non-followers; 2.3K interactions (57% interactions from followers,43% interactions from non-followers); Total Followers: 22,359 (+.7%)
- Email open rates: ~40,7%; click rate 2.4% ; very low unsubscribe rate.
- Placer Data
- Visits (The extrapolated number of visits to the property): 284.1k
- Visits / sq ft (The number of visits to the property by its size (square footage)): .09
- Size / sq ft (The property’s square footage is based on the polygon’s size when individual properties are analyzed, and Gross Leasable Areas (GLA) when shopping centers are examined): 3.3M
- Visitors (The extrapolated number of individual visitors, or people in your selected audience group, who visited the property): 145.9k
- Visit Frequency (The average number of visits per person in the selected audience group in the selected date range. This helps you understand how often people are returning to a location): 1.95
- Avg. Dwell Time (The average amount of time spent by people in your selected audience group at the property during a visit): 74 Mins
- Panel Visits (The number of visits generated by panel devices (the unique number of mobile devices that visited the location examined)): 17.6k
- YoY (The percent change in visits during the report’s date range relative to the same period in the previous year): +3%
- YoY2 (The percent change in visits during the report’s date range relative to the same period two years ago): +3.6%
- Yo3Y (The percent change in visits during the report’s date range relative to the same period three years ago): -2.1%
- Peak Visiting Time (The average time the most amount of visitors were in Downtown Somerville): 7:00pm
- Upcoming Events and Volunteer Need
- Small Business Saturday
- Jubilee
ii. Natalia Kleyman provided an update on the promotions committee, including the approval of the music festival lineup and the formation of a cruise night subcommittee.
iii. Upcoming Events
- Small Business Saturday (Nov 29): Live music, heated tent, shopping bingo raffles, gift-wrapping by Civic League.
- Holiday Jubilee: Plans finalized – music by the local community groups, performance by the Sharpes, photos with Santa, free cocoa, etc.
- Candlelight Concerts (Jan 24 & Feb 14, 2026): Fundraiser with Fever; United Reform Church venue.
c. Economic Vitality
i. Closings: None to report.
ii. Openings: No new ones to report.
d. Director’s Report
i. The DSA continues to focus on creating engaging events and experiences that highlight Downtown Somerville’s unique character while supporting local businesses. Upcoming and 2026 events are strategically planned to drive visitation, with marketing efforts prioritizing a digital-first approach, including more dynamic social media posts, reels, and a reactivated TikTok presence targeting the 25–34 demographic. Strategic initiatives such as Puppy Pawlooza, Candlelight Concerts, and placemaking projects are generating strong engagement and attendance, while business development efforts—including a new mobile app and educational workshops—aim to improve communication and resources for downtown businesses. Grant progress supports continued investment in infrastructure and placemaking projects, positioning the DSA for sustained impact in 2026.
NEW BUSINESS
- Board Member Participation and Term Limits: Rick St. Pierre raised the issue of active participation and proposed evaluating board members annually to ensure they are actively participating and contributing to the organization’s success. Chas Stevens suggested considering a non-voting emeritus position for board members with extensive experience to provide historical context and emphasized the importance of term limits for grant eligibility and the need to align the bylaws with the ordinance. Conlyn Chan emphasized the importance of having qualified board members and the need for more interest from business owners and suggested being more inclusive and encouraging new ideas from the community to attract more interest. Andrianna Popowych expressed concern about the low attendance at meetings and the importance of in-person interaction for board effectiveness and suggested that Board members who cannot make the significant commitment resign their positions. Conlyn Chan chimed in her agreement with that suggestion. Chas Stevens proposed reviewing the bylaws and ordinance to determine the appropriate term limits and board composition.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
- Audrey Jones raised a question about who is responsible for the repairs of sidewalks damaged by old trees on Main Street and mentioned that their landlord had to redo the entire sidewalk, which is a common issue in tree-lined towns. Dana Kessel clarified that the issue has been a topic of deep debate in recent council meetings, with Mayor Gallagher emphasizing collective responsibility. Kevin Sluka explained that ordinances typically place the responsibility on property owners, but new developments often include sidewalk repair requirements. Audrey suggested that some of the grant money could be allocated to sidewalk repairs but Dana Kessel clarified that the grant money cannot be used for sidewalks as it is intended for beautification projects like new benches and signage
EXECUTIVE SESSION
N/A
ACTION ITEMS
- Confirms the date for the annual meeting as January 12, 2026, but the location is still to be determined
FINAL REMARKS AND ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 7:44 pm. Next meeting is scheduled for December 8, 2025, at 6:00 PM.