The meeting was brought to order at 6:15pm. There were 15 members in attendance. Introductions were made of the people in attendance, by name and business. Thank-yous were offered to Edward’s Catering and to Northville Gallery for providing the refreshments and the wine.

Several "first-time" attendees’ were at the meeting, and a discussion came up of the pros and cons of morning and evening NCBA meetings. To date, an effort has been made to provide four evening meetings a year, and morning meetings in between.

Fire and Ice Event- Janet Bloom offered information on the winter event planned in order to coordinate with the Super Bowl. Two weekends are possible: Jan. 28-29, 2006 or Feb. 11-12, 2006.

News and Events-Sherri turned the meeting over to the group and invited attendees to discuss any changes, concerns, or events going on in town or in their business.

-Northville Candle- the shop is now expanding to carry cards as well as gifts and candles.

-Longs- the new building on W. Main will hopefully open around Oct. 1, and has six retail businesses going into the first floor.

-La Corsetiere- will be bringing in swimwear for 2006 and is working as a fashion show consultant.

-Edwards Catering- has been sold and will move into the old Salutations location in January or February of 2006.

-Girly Girl is under new ownership and will leave the store "as is" through Victorian Days. Plans include bringing in new artists and new jewelry, etc.

-Fine Threads- is sponsoring Italian Day on Oct. 8^th. Little Italy will provide refreshments, and vendors are coming from Italy with clothing for a Trunk Sale. Anyone that is interested can participate in Italian Day.

-Orin Jewelers- is working on fixing up their building on the outside.

-Northville Gallery- Oct. 7^th will have an artist from Cuba with new artwork to view.

-Sherrus Gallery- Oct. 7^th- will have a new mural artist on site (6-11pm) and an after party at Little Italy.

Sidewalk Sale- As the results of surveying the businesses, the overall response was positive.

-Mark T. mentioned that it was a sidewalk sale for merchants to sell leftover goods and should be focused on the merchants.

Banner Policy- Sherri brought up the banner policy of the City Council as it pertained to the Sidewalk Sale, and the need to have it reevaluated. Everyone had an opportunity to examine the letter that Sherri wrote on behalf of the group and discussed the need for change. There was discussion of the use of the word "respect" in paragraph 3 of the said letter. After much discussion, there was a vote to keep the letter as is.

Advertising- Unique Screen Media has movie theatre advertising available. There is a joint marketing opportunity for local businesses.

Northville Record- Sherri met with David Aguilar of the Northville Record newspaper concerning the need for business support from the paper. David offered to provide a quarterly column (500-600 words) that the NCBA could use to discuss issues and get info out to the public. Tom James volunteered to be the guest editor with the input and help of Karen Mehaffey.

-Mark Trudeau commented that the paper produces too many negative articles that re one-sided in scope (concerning downtown issues and businesses). It is hoped that the column will help alleviate this.

Guest Speaker- Lauren Beras of Sole Sisters- Lauren provided an inspirational talk on herself, her business, and her motivations as a businesswoman. She is known for her show parties, and the owners of La Corsetiere also added their comments on parties. They noted that parties have been a successful portion of their business and a good way to draw in new business.

-The talk was followed by a lively discussion on having "Gentlemen’s Shopping Nights" and "Ladies Shopping Nights" in Northville. This idea will be pursued.

Sherri closed the meeting with comments about our working with the Chamber, the DDA, and the City Council as a group. We need to let the City Council know that the NCBA is a force in town for positive growth, and that we are making changes in town and drawing in new visitors, and new businesses.

The meeting closed at 8:00pm.

The next general meeting will be Oct. 11 at 8:30am at City Hall, Conference Room A.

Notes provided by Beverly Lindeen. Summary compiled and respectfully submitted by Karen Mehaffey.