CCMIN102699 - Laserfiche WebLink

downtown businesses to the Council. The Pleasanton Downtown Association (PDA) is one of only a few downtown associations that can publish a directory at no cost to its members and distribute it to 22,000 homes, the Hacienda Business Park and other employers. The web page is being kept current and is used actively. The First Wednesday Street Party is now well established and popular in the community. He indicated if space is available, other Tri-Valley businesses are allowed to have a booth in an effort to be a regional association. Community groups are given free booths. He related the activities surrounding the history walk of downtown. The design review committee of the PDA is working with the City planning department to review and make recommendations regarding downtown development. The Bylaws have been revised and he thanked the City Attorney for his advice. The Association was successful in getting an article in Sunset Ma~,azine and that has generated many calls to his office. The Association is changing from being just a downtown merchants association and is actively recruiting community members for committees and adding an associate membership for non-downtown business to contribute and have some marketing benefit from their efforts. The downtown is owned by the entire community. He hoped the Council realizes that when the City does something for the downtown association, it is doing something for the entire city. Mr. Scharton wanted people to think of downtown when they celebrate holidays, birthdays, etc. He then reviewed the new process for the California Main Street Program. In the past it was necessary for a city to prove a certain amount of need to get into the Program. Now, there is a certification process which allows a city to prove that it is acting like a Main Street City. The city will seek to be certified, and then, if certified, will receive the benefits of the ongoing education and technical assistance for member cities. Pleasanton is now going through the application process and will know in June if it has received certification. He expressed his appreciation for the cooperation of City staff. He presented a proposed list of events in 2000. Last year over 150,000 people came to downtown activities. Ms. Michelotti requested the concerts in the park to be moved back to Friday. Mayor Tarver also requested that the starting times be at the original time. Some people have indicated it was difficult to get to the concerts because of their commutes. Mr. Scharton indicated the concerts were going back to the old schedule. Commuters had asked for Sunday concerts and that was tried, but it was unsuccessful. Ms. Michelotti referred to the associate memberships for people outside the downtown area and asked for further information. It seems the people downtown pay for events and if associate members are allowed, there should be some compensation. A concern was expressed that the people who pay the assessments may be promoting businesses in competition. She did not want someone to get a free ride. Mr. Scharton agreed there has to be a balance between the two. A couple of years ago there was a role there could be no corporate sponsorship of events. That has been changed and now the members see the value of allowing another business to pay to help the downtown put on a bigger and better event. This is not a closed economic Pleasanton City Council 11 Minutes 10/26/99