OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Olympia PBIA Advisory Board Special Meeting - 2025-10-25

City Council & Commissions — Saturday, October 25, 2025
BodyOlympia, Washington
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateSaturday, October 25, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:23:36

Transcript — Verbatim
0:47

But you can get two hours in the prior to the start.

0:50

Like you know, I still need to be something to kind of measure it on sight.

0:56

And so and then put everything in place and then do adjustments and then t shirt.

1:02

That's why we don't do flowers.

1:19

Uh I think she's talking fridge.

1:29

So it was like so situation.

1:31

On the bright grass.

1:33

Yeah.

1:34

At least you know the tricks.

1:38

Thank you guys for coming.

1:39

Yeah, I know.

1:41

That is just how much of that did you pull from your garden?

1:46

Uh this is all cut from Kate's Garden.

1:48

So the gal that's the next door neighbor.

1:50

So I caught a bunch of it yesterday because I was there throughout the weekend.

1:53

Yeah events and stuff.

1:55

Um and so yeah, actually.

1:59

All of this except and that's what she wants.

2:03

She wants the pines.

2:04

So you really didn't know what she was saying.

2:06

She kind of wants.

2:08

Well, and I thought, okay, so she doesn't want to go heavy on the floral.

2:10

These are the last of the little flowers that are trying to like still keep us showing.

2:20

Uh ornamental pail.

2:23

And then I forget what these were from, but uh here, I will have Dally literally a scattering of like what is in season this weekend and what you can still expect to see next weekend.

2:38

Wow.

2:39

But yeah, specialties, yeah, you're having a locally available.

2:45

Every time we talk your event or anniversary, like flowers at the same.

2:51

Yeah.

2:56

But yeah, no, this is this is maybe we just started you saying like what are you what's your plan?

3:01

And then you can open Yeah, that's just gonna be the silent observer.

3:04

Yeah.

3:09

Is it just an open space?

3:11

It is just open.

3:12

That's what I see.

3:13

That's what I've seen in pictures.

3:15

You've never worked this.

3:16

I've never I've never catered.

3:20

Yeah.

3:20

So it's like space, and there's kind of the back area, and there's kind of an area we find like that's where the bridal part is going to be.

3:31

Okay, yeah.

3:32

It's just it's kind of the wide this little kitchen.

3:35

It doesn't sound like much, but you don't need much.

3:37

No, I can take care of it.

3:39

And like if if we if we need pipe and drape, we can do that too.

3:44

Yeah.

3:48

Oh, but the kitchen part?

3:49

Yeah, we'll figure it out.

3:50

Yeah, I don't think that's a floor.

3:54

Hey you it's a crew.

3:57

It's a crew.

3:59

We're getting ready.

4:01

Okay.

4:02

Um, all right.

4:03

So it looks like we have a chorum.

4:06

How are you?

4:07

I'm doing well.

4:08

Thank you so much for being here.

4:09

No, no, thank you.

4:10

Hello, hello, hello.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development██████████████████████████████████████████42%
Community Engagement██████████████████████████████30%
Procedural████████████████16%
Miscellaneous████4%
Program Management████4%
Personnel Matters███3%
Public Comment█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Olympia PBIA Advisory Board Special Meeting - 2025-10-25

The Olympia PBIA (Parking and Business Improvement Area) Advisory Board held a special meeting to interview the top three RFP candidates and select a contractor. The meeting was called to order at 6:08 p.m. and adjourned at 7:27 p.m. in Council Chambers at Olympia City Hall. The source minutes and transcript record the meeting date as Monday, October 6, 2025, which conflicts with the provided meeting timestamp of 2025-10-25 14:00:00+00:00; this summary uses the provided date in the title. No public comment was offered.

Attendance

  • Present: Boardmember Jacob David (Chair), Boardmember Alden Davis (Vice Chair), Boardmember Sophia Landis, Boardmember Monique Ossa, Boardmember Timothy Zohn, and Boardmember Cher Hobick.
  • Excused: Boardmember Oliver Stormshak.
  • Absent: Boardmember Christina Costelo, Boardmember Janis Dean, Boardmember Anne Gavzer, and Boardmember Kaitlyn Leamy.
  • Staff present: Economic Division Development Director Jennica Machado.

Interview Process

  • The board interviewed representatives from D-Fine Concepts, Vivid Company, and Uncommon Bridges, using 15-minute sessions and the same five questions for each.
  • The questions aligned with the published selection criteria: understanding of PBIA goals, evaluation scope, stakeholder engagement approach, evaluation and analysis experience, quality of past work, proposed work plan, and overall clarity.

D-Fine Concepts

  • Representative Dr. Jackie St. Louis expressed support for a community-led, mixed-method approach and described prior outreach work with the Downtown Seattle Association and other BIAs, plus a recent Clark County affordable housing evaluation.
  • Boardmembers praised her research and engagement style but expressed concerns about the lack of direct BIA/economic-development project experience, limited depth on BIA regulations, and an unclear staffing model.

Vivid Company

  • Kendra Benavidis and Shelly Lackey described Vivid as an Olympia-based firm specializing in stakeholder engagement, multi-channel outreach, and public-sector strategic planning. They noted they had not worked with a BIA specifically and described themselves as a disinterested third party without preconceived agendas.
  • Board reactions were mixed: some valued their listening approach and local roots, while others were concerned about limited BIA and evaluation experience and their expectation that city staff would serve as subject-matter experts on a contract where the board wanted the consultant to supply expertise.

Uncommon Bridges

  • Brian Scott and Andreas described decades of BIA/BID experience, including current work in Everett, Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, and Berkeley, and deep regulatory knowledge, including helping write Oregon's enabling legislation for such districts.
  • They said the project team would be led by Brian, with Jacqueline and Skylar supporting and Andreas advising.
  • Boardmembers viewed Uncommon Bridges as the strongest on experience, regulatory knowledge, team depth, and local tailoring. One concern was that their understanding came partly from news articles and not from recent street-level familiarity with Olympia, which boardmembers expected would improve after direct engagement.

Selection and Contract Timeline

  • In a straw poll, most boardmembers ranked Uncommon Bridges first; rankings for second and third varied.
  • Motion by Vice Chair Davis, seconded by Boardmember Zohn, to select Uncommon Bridges as the successful candidate: passed unanimously.
  • Motion by Boardmember Zohn, seconded by Vice Chair Davis, to name D-Fine Concepts as the backup if Uncommon Bridges could not proceed: passed. The minutes record this motion as unanimous, but the transcript shows Boardmember Hobick abstaining and Boardmember Landis's vote unclear.
  • Motion by Boardmember Hobick, seconded by Boardmember Ossa, to approve a contract timeline ending mid-February: passed unanimously.

Announcements and Other Topics

  • A boardmember announced that Elise Landry of Chicory is willing to join the board for Oliver Stormshak's seat; the appointment will be considered at the next meeting.
  • A calendar review for next year's meetings was suggested for the November or December meetings.

Key Outcomes

  • Uncommon Bridges was selected as the contractor.
  • D-Fine Concepts was selected as the alternative/backup contractor.
  • The contract timeline was set to end mid-February to allow for PBIA and city council review.
  • The Elise Landry appointment and 2026 calendar review are expected to be taken up at a future meeting.

Meeting Transcript

But you can get two hours in the prior to the start. Like you know, I still need to be something to kind of measure it on sight. And so and then put everything in place and then do adjustments and then t shirt. That's why we don't do flowers. Uh I think she's talking fridge. So it was like so situation. On the bright grass. Yeah. At least you know the tricks. Thank you guys for coming. Yeah, I know. That is just how much of that did you pull from your garden? Uh this is all cut from Kate's Garden. So the gal that's the next door neighbor. So I caught a bunch of it yesterday because I was there throughout the weekend. Yeah events and stuff. Um and so yeah, actually. All of this except and that's what she wants. She wants the pines. So you really didn't know what she was saying. She kind of wants. Well, and I thought, okay, so she doesn't want to go heavy on the floral. These are the last of the little flowers that are trying to like still keep us showing. Uh ornamental pail. And then I forget what these were from, but uh here, I will have Dally literally a scattering of like what is in season this weekend and what you can still expect to see next weekend. Wow. But yeah, specialties, yeah, you're having a locally available. Every time we talk your event or anniversary, like flowers at the same. Yeah. But yeah, no, this is this is maybe we just started you saying like what are you what's your plan? And then you can open Yeah, that's just gonna be the silent observer. Yeah. Is it just an open space? It is just open. That's what I see. That's what I've seen in pictures. You've never worked this. I've never I've never catered. Yeah. So it's like space, and there's kind of the back area, and there's kind of an area we find like that's where the bridal part is going to be. Okay, yeah. It's just it's kind of the wide this little kitchen. It doesn't sound like much, but you don't need much. No, I can take care of it. And like if if we if we need pipe and drape, we can do that too. Yeah. Oh, but the kitchen part? Yeah, we'll figure it out. Yeah, I don't think that's a floor. Hey you it's a crew.

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