11/10/09 Expectations Exceeded

I still don't know what happened to spell check.  It used to be on the tool bar until yesterday.  They added a link function which I have used tonight.

The day started off really well with a good workout at the gym.  20 minutes on the cross trainer and 2 miles on the treadmill.

I got off track for time and ened up late for my 7:00 meeting with Chris Johnson, our area's renowned historic preservation architect.  He designs new stuff too, but really excells at the historic work like our Santa Fe depot.  He is finishing another historic home in the Jefferson Neighborhood soon.  I can't wait to see it.  Fortunately I've known Chris since high school, so he didn't mind that I showed up in gym clothes.

Dawn Steele helped me to outlline a presentation for the No Name Fellowship this Thursday.

10:30  Amy Huerta, Elliott Balch and I met with Dan DeSantis from the Fresno Regional Foundation to introduce him to the Public Market project that we're interested in pursuing.  Dan was very helpful and put us on a good track to get investment.  Many national foundations have funded these projects in the past.

I had to head to the Dr.s office to take care of a stubborn ear ache.  Followed by a trip to the pharmacy.

2:30  I met with Assistant City Manager Bruce Rudd to discuss issues like downtown water wells, parking, and possible locations for new downtown developments and tenants.

3:15  We started our weekly Downtown and Community Revitalization Dept. staff meeting a few minutes late.  I was very eager to get started and to spend some time with our entire team.  There have been so many great things happening, I was looking forward to having everyone share their good news with the others. 

Like:

Kelly Trevino had a very successful Enterprise Zone conference last week with 200 attendees!  We only heard positive comments from folks, and many had never been to Fresno before.  Great receptions and the Met Museum and downtown Club.
Dawn Steele worked on Cargo of Hope and the event exceeded everyone from the national organization's expectations.
Amy Huerta and Fernando Santillan held very successful Independent Retail and Restaurnt Affinity Group and an equally successful Licensed Contractor Affinity groups.
Elaine Robles in New York at a conference about the Harlem Children's Zone.  She is the guest of The California Endowment and is making some great connections for Fresno.  There are other great things happening, like the two universities involvement in Lowell and a HUD Grant.
But that's enough for now.

4:30  Elliott Balch, Jan Minami (Downtown Association) and I met with Cliff Tutelian to discuss the Property Based Improvement District.  Cliff signed his ballots/petitions and as a large downtown property owner gave us some great momentum for this improtant effort.  Jan reported that KVPT had signed theirs earlier in the day too.

5:15 A quick meeting with the quality affordable housing trio of Preston Prince, Brian Glover and Wayne Rutledge.  They are going to begin to pull together best practices for high quality affordable housing.  Frankly much of the stuff that has been built down in our urban neighborhoods is pretty bad and it is no wonder that people do not want it in their neighborhood.  We'll see what they can come up with.  Preston brings a wealth of experience from Seattle and Denver.

6:00 I had the opportunity to speak with the Fresno Citizen's Academy about our department's funcitons and goals.  Tonight they met at Dickey Youth Center in Lowell.  Mostly we discussed downtown revitalization...always a lively topic.  This is a realy informed group.  They committ time for 8 weeks to learn about how the City operates.  I hope that they enjoyed the presentation, I did.

Back by City hall to get my computer and home by 8:00ish.  Not to shabby for a day that started off kind of screwy.