General Meetings and Last Month's Minutes

Our next General MBA meeting will be held:

Wednesday, April 17, 2013
 6pm 
at the Mayfair Community Center

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Mayfair Business Association General Meeting
Minutes from 03/07/13
Third Federal Bank

Proceedings
Meeting called to order at 9:15am by MBA President, Mike Scotese

Attendance
Lou DePaul--3rd Federal, Pat Betz—Beneficial Savings Bank, Antoniette Montgomery—Torresdale Flowers, Seth Kaplan—Rep. Kevin Boyle's, Mike Scotese—Grey Lodge, Lisa Greco—BellaLisa Hair Studios, Jason Vizarov—First Class Pharmacy, Tom Waring—Northeast Times, Joe DeFelice—Mayfair Civic Association, Dave Schweizer--Manicini Tax Services, Carolyn Palmer—Viriva CCU, Suzann St. Marie-Mayfair CDC.

Treasurer's Report
Current Balance: $ 5800

MBA Membership Drive 2013

Membership letters are out to past MBA members via email. Contact Lisa Greco at BellaLisa Hair Studios at 3530 Cottman Ave. or at 215-624-6667 if your business is interested in membership.

There was also discussion of regular NE Times ads to promote joining the MBA as well as a list of current MBA members.

Current incentives for 2013 membership:

o   Bi-weekly Northeast Times ads
o   Membership fees will automatically include membership and voting rights to the Mayfair Civic Association.
o   Membership includes a guaranteed Mayfair Farmers Market space.


Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC)
Joe DeFelice, president of the Mayfair Civic Association met with directors of development for St. Matt, St. Tim's, St. Hubert's and Father Judge regarding the EITC program. With the EITC, businesses can defer their state taxes to the private school of choice, including CORA, preschools, daycares, and general private schools. The director of development for St. Matt's was interested in coming to the next meeting to present to the MBA. It was suggested that one large meeting be held with the MBA members and the local eligible schools next month to meet and present the information. Antoniette Montgomery reports that she had filled out the paperwork, which was pretty extensive, approximately 4 years ago and was turned down. Seth Kaplan reports that the program has been expanded recently and that the paperwork has changed. The paperwork can be accessed via newpa.com. There were concerns regarding whether or not businesses considered subchapter S corporations may not qualify but according to Dave Schwiezer this is no longer the case. Businesses are allowed to split up their contributions if they wish as well and the money does not have to go to just one school. Some of the schools even have special staff that will fill out the paperwork for the businesses if they are interested in contributing to that school. A date and time for the meeting will be set up by Joe DeFelice at the Mayfair Community center during the evening hours.

Mayfair Fallen Heroes Run and Mayfair May Fair
The Mayfair Fallen Heroes Run honoring Officer Chuck Cassidy and the Mayfair May Fair (MFMF) will be held on May 18, 2013 starting at 8:30am.

There was discussion about improvements for this year's Mayfair May Fair. MBA members discussed wanting to do a central hub of activity during the day possibly with a street closure and continue last year's Mayfair After Dark. There was discussion about bringing the car show up to Frankford Avenue and thoughts about how to get more businesses along Frankford Ave. to participate.

Sponsorships for the Fallen Heroes Run
Members can obtain sponsorship levels off of Lisa Greco. MBA members paying for A-frames will have their business name and information lining the course of the run and then they are taken up to Frankford and Cottman for the whole day.

Mayfair May Fair
·         Lisa Greco is waiting for a street closure permission from Bleigh St.  to Cottman Ave. The 15th police district will most likely have something scheduled for that day to participate in the MFMF.
·         Other suggestions include some military vehicles, fire engine and a police car.
·         Mia Hylan will send out an email to the crafters/artisans who participated in the December Mayfair Christmas Tree Lighting to see if they might be interested in participating in a craft fair on the day of the MFMF.
·         A meeting to discuss specific plans and goals for the 2013 Mayfair May Fair will be scheduled for once the street closure is set.

New Business
·         Lisa Greco stated that members may want to apply for a site improvement grant (up to $10,000) to upgrade their businesses.
·         Mr. Jericho from the Commerce Department was supposed to present today but was unable to attend. Mr. Jericho assured president Mike Scotese that they will work on visiting each business. He will also work on getting Linda Lawrence to present regarding this program.
·         Discussion regarding the real estate tax assessments. Several MBA members noted inconsistencies of assessment as the businesses next to each other are being assessed at different rates even though the  square footages are the same. Businesses are encouraged to appeal for exemption. The appeal process for the BRT is online and you have send in the tax paperwork.
·         Discussion regarding how the new "sick leave bill" will impact MBA members.  Several of the members present state it will not have an impact on them as they do not have a minimum of 6 full-time employees. Some of the other businesses with more employees will have to adjust their rules and regulations for employee sick time.
·         Rumor of the methadone clinic moving to Rhawn and Frankford next to Wells Fargo. Seth Kaplan spoke with the owner of the building and he reassured them that the rumor is not true.

Mayfair Farmers Market 2013
The Mayfair Farmers Market is being sponsored by the Mayfair CDC and Republic Bank. Currently, another sponsor is being solicited for the 2013 season. Please contact Joe DeFelice (josephjdefelice@yahoo.com) or Suzann St. Marie (sstmarie1@aol.com) if you or your business is interested in sponsoring.
All current MBA members are eligible to have a table at any of the Mayfair Farmer's Market dates to either sell goods or hand out business information. Please contact Mia Hylan (mhylan@gmail.com) to schedule dates you wish to attend.

Dates: All of the following days are Sunday's. Hours: 9am – 1pm
April 21
May 5
May 19
June 2
June 23
July 14
July 28
Aug 11
Aug 25
Sept 8
Sept 22
Oct 6
Oct 20
Open Discussion
·         Mayfair Civic Association Meeting next week scheduled for Monday, 3/18/2013 at 7pm at the Mayfair Community Center.
·         Tom Waring of the Northeast Times brought up the National Small Business Weekend and he is interested in doing a feature on several small businesses and members of the MBA.
·         Headquarters will be holding the Mayfair Art Initiative's Third Thursday, 03/21/13 at 7pm. Come out to see local artists and artisans.
·         New MBA member Jason Vizirov from First Class Pharmacy introduced himself and gave a small presentation about his business. First Class Pharmacy is located at 7316 Frankford Ave. They offer free delivery, transfer of prescriptions and are offering MBA members $5 to use in the store. They pride themselves on being an "old-fashioned pharmacy" that gives customers personal care. Their hours are 9am-7pm on weekdays and 10am-3pm on Saturday. They are closed on Sundays. Contact them at 215-331-3361.
Shamrock Shuttle
The Shamrock Shuttle was held on Saturday, March 2, 2013 with no reported major incidents. Representatives from the Mayfair Business Association, Mayfair Town Watch, Rep. Kevin Boyle's office, Councilman Bobby Henon's office and the MCA met with the new 15th police district Captain McCloskey and the participating bar owners as they did last year to discuss a plan of action and areas of improvement to combat public urination, sanitation issues and quality of life issues throughout the neighborhood. An additional 45 port a potties were set up along the route and members of the Mayfair Town Watch patrolled the residential neighborhoods and Frankford Avenue the day of the event.  Thanks were extended to the participating bars for their cooperation and working with the different groups to address the concerns of the community. Hammerheads Bar also made a $200 contribution towards the Mayfair Memorial Playground (at Lincoln High School). The Northeast Erin Express is scheduled for Saturday, March 9, 2013.
An agreement was reached between the bars and the Mayfair Civic Association which can be seen on the MCA website at: http://www.mayfaircivicassociation.com/2013/02/2013-shamrock-shuttle-plan-and-agreement.html .
The next MBA general membership meeting will be held on Wednesday night April 17, 2013 at 6pm at the Mayfair Community Center. A presentation about the EITC will be held.
Meeting adjourned at 10:18am.
Meeting minutes submitted by Mia Hylan, MBA media contact, on 3/28/13.