8:30 My first meeting of the day with Allysunn Williams from the Fresno Housing Authority and with Terance Frazier. We met to talk about strategies to get more of the foreclosed, abandoned houses and vacant lots in the Lowell Neighborhood into the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. This has been a challenge because so many of the homes are going to investors who will use them as rentals. One of the goals of the neighborhood revitalization effort is to get more home ownership in this area. As of the last census only about 15% of the homes were owner occupied. Homes that go into the NSP go to qualified homeowners.
9:30 Council Member Lee Brand is also the Chairman of the Redevelopment Agency Board (the City Council also acts as the RDA Board). Lee and Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Marlene Murphey and I met with a couple of local developers who are interested in learning more about downtown revitalization plans and downtown development potential. We're getting some really good interest, it's a good sign.
10:30 I walked over to meet with Tom Richards and Brian Glover to see how things are coming along with the Bank of Italy Building. They are working through some of the engineering and architectural work to get a better sense of the building's needs and potential. They are also going through some of the research on the historic building process. The Bank of Italy is the only building on the Fulton mall that is on the National Historic Register.
11:30 I walked over to Kebab Express to pick up some lunch to take back to the office. Their lula kebab sandwich and pilaf make more a pretty great Friday meal!
1:30 I had a short one on one meeting with Dawn Steele, who works with Elaine Robles, on our Neighborhood Revitalization effort.
1:45 I had a quick meeting with the Mayor and her Chief of Staff to discuss our newest downtown addition the Raisin Administrative Committee. The RAC bring many benefits to downtown. They will use about 12,000 feet of space, bring 20 employees to downtown, and they have 100 board members who will be coming into downtown for meetings. They also have a variety of other business people and visitors from around the county and even internationally. This is a great first step toward creating a downtown that brings together agribusiness.
2:30 Wilma Quan and I met for 90 minutes to begin the process of planning and management for the process of the newly approved Fulton Corridor Specific Plan and Downtown Neighborhoods Specific Plan. There are so many pieces to the plans that it will be quite a feat to organize it all. I had the honor of signing three of the contracts. It is happening...amazing!
4:00 Elliott, Kelly Trevino (Incentive Zone Manager) and I met with Katie Stevens who is the City's Governmental Affairs coordinator and our Sacramento lobbyists to give them an overview of our efforts and to seek guidance on programs that might help us to achieve our revitalization and local business economic development goals.
I left the office at 6:00. It was a solid week. Good job team.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
01-28-10 The Specific Plan and Community Plan contracts are approved by the City Council 7-0!
Whew!
The day started with a meeting with the planning consultants Stefanos Polyzoides and David Sargent. Elaine Robles, Wilma Quan, Elliott Balch and I met them at George's at the Galleria for breakfast. We reviewed some of the logistics and potential questions that we thought Council members might have.
8:30 Amy Huerta coordinated the Primetime for Business section of the Council meeting and introduced the Monsters Hockey Team. Go Monsters. I hope to go to their game tomorrow night, it's the last one before they begin their playoff games.
The item for the downtown plans was set for 9:15. After Employee of the Quarter recognition and the always interesting unscheduled oral presentations, we began about 10:30.
I opened the staff presentation and was joined by Planning Director John Dugan. Renena Smith, our Budget Director explained the limits of the uses on Community Development Block Grant funds. Martin Wendels, who represented the Public Works Department spoke about eh selection process that led to the choice of Moule and Polyzoides.
Then the community had a chance to speak. Dozens of people from developers, members of the Lowell neighborhoods La Union de Familia, residents and business people throughout the City, downtown property owners, members of the faith community, West Fresno and South East Fresno residents and Cultural Arts District representatives lined-up to speak. It was moving and overwhelmingly positive.
At 12:30 the Council took a one hour lunch recess. Elaine and I jetted over to the Holiday Inn to listen to the Mayor speak at the No Name Fellowship.
1:30 the Council reconvened. The Council Members had questions and made their statements and recommendations. The final vote occurred about 2:50. There were questions for many staff members, I must've had about an hour at the lectern.
I never expected a unanimous vote, in fact we never knew if we had the support that we needed for the plans until the very end of the process. The community really came through and pushed this over the top. Democracy is alive and well. People can speak up, not all in English mind you, and make a difference. I am so glad that they did...now it is their plan too.
After joining the Mayor and her team for some congratulations, Elliott, Elaine, Wilma, Amy, Dawn and I headed over to the Shepherd's Inn for a toast.
6:00 Tonight was the going away dinner for City Manager Andy Souza. It was a great affair, attended by many people from the City and from the community. The dinner was back at the Holiday Inn. We listened to speakers, some of the roasted Andy and some were sentimental.
I got home at 10:00 and set to blogging. Now it is off to bed. Sometime tonight I think that today's passage of the plans will sink in a little. I promise you that this will be a turning point in the history of Fresno. If you read this blog, then you can remember to hold me to this.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
01-27-10 Big Vote Eve
Today is the day before the City Council’s big vote on the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan and the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan. Every remaining brain cell I have has been focused on this effort for weeks. This is the culmination of years of hope and effort that urban Fresno would finally have good planning. Everything is lined-up. The community has been coming out in support in wave after wave. The City Council has budgeted for the plans. Reputable firms from around the country have submitted proposals and a selection committee of residents, downtown property owners and City Department leaders have selected their top firm Moule and Polyzoides. We have endorsements from dozens of community leaders and property owners. Elliott has created a great presentation for tomorrow morning (Suzanne Bertz Rosa will be proud). Here is a link to the presentation:
https://owa.fresno.gov/owa/redir.aspx?C=18d8c243baa24c9399164579d2feeecc&URL=http%3a%2f%2fm3.fresno.gov%2fupload%2ffiles%2f111125937%2fPlancontractpresentationtoCouncil%2c01-28-10.ppt
I started my day with a meeting with Safeer Hopton who is an expert at co-ops. Safeer has expressed an interest in helping the Lowell neighborhood develop a co-op grocery store.
9:00 We had our Agenda Conference meeting with department directors and City Council staff. The meeting focuses on the following week's agenda, so Andy Souza stepped aside to let Interim City Manager Bruce Rudd take the reins, since he will be on the dais next week. It was a symbolic passing of the torch and the end of an era. As always, Andy handles these moments with grace, style and humor.
10:00 We had our weekly interdepartmental meeting on downtown revitalization. We discussed the downtown homeless population and the efforts that Greg Barfield is making in solving the issues with the F and Ventura encampment. I talked about the specific plan item on the agenda tomorrow. We also began discussions about how to best market the new downtown development incentives and the value that the plans will add to future developments.
11:00 John Dugan and I met with the Mayor to review the presentation for tomorrow's specific plan hearing.
12:00 Elaine Robles and I ran to Robertito's to pick up some tacos and horchata for the crew back at the office. We worked on some final changes to the presentation.
1:00 Wilma Quan, Elliott, Elaine and I had a conference call with the planning consultants to review their presentation.
2:00 I met with Gary Schulz from the Raisin Administrative Committee and Stan Martin from Civic Center Square to detail the parking requirements for downtown's newest tenants. The RAC is a huge step toward re-establishing downtown as a center for agribusiness. We want to make sure that they have a great downtown Fresno experience.
3:00 I met with John Dugan, Assistant City manager Bruce Rudd and Mayoral Chief of Staff Georgeanne White to talk about design requirements for new developments. We talked about infrastructure planning and issues like Floor Area Ratios that will add to the density of downtown.
I had a little time to finish a grant proposal for a downtown public market (indoor farmers' market).
5:30 Elaine Robles, Amy Huerta and I attended the Housing and Community Development Commission meeting to give them an overview of our department and to fill them in on our revitalization plans and focus on locally-owned businesses.
https://owa.fresno.gov/owa/redir.aspx?C=18d8c243baa24c9399164579d2feeecc&URL=http%3a%2f%2fm3.fresno.gov%2fupload%2ffiles%2f111125937%2fPlancontractpresentationtoCouncil%2c01-28-10.ppt
I started my day with a meeting with Safeer Hopton who is an expert at co-ops. Safeer has expressed an interest in helping the Lowell neighborhood develop a co-op grocery store.
9:00 We had our Agenda Conference meeting with department directors and City Council staff. The meeting focuses on the following week's agenda, so Andy Souza stepped aside to let Interim City Manager Bruce Rudd take the reins, since he will be on the dais next week. It was a symbolic passing of the torch and the end of an era. As always, Andy handles these moments with grace, style and humor.
10:00 We had our weekly interdepartmental meeting on downtown revitalization. We discussed the downtown homeless population and the efforts that Greg Barfield is making in solving the issues with the F and Ventura encampment. I talked about the specific plan item on the agenda tomorrow. We also began discussions about how to best market the new downtown development incentives and the value that the plans will add to future developments.
11:00 John Dugan and I met with the Mayor to review the presentation for tomorrow's specific plan hearing.
12:00 Elaine Robles and I ran to Robertito's to pick up some tacos and horchata for the crew back at the office. We worked on some final changes to the presentation.
1:00 Wilma Quan, Elliott, Elaine and I had a conference call with the planning consultants to review their presentation.
2:00 I met with Gary Schulz from the Raisin Administrative Committee and Stan Martin from Civic Center Square to detail the parking requirements for downtown's newest tenants. The RAC is a huge step toward re-establishing downtown as a center for agribusiness. We want to make sure that they have a great downtown Fresno experience.
3:00 I met with John Dugan, Assistant City manager Bruce Rudd and Mayoral Chief of Staff Georgeanne White to talk about design requirements for new developments. We talked about infrastructure planning and issues like Floor Area Ratios that will add to the density of downtown.
I had a little time to finish a grant proposal for a downtown public market (indoor farmers' market).
5:30 Elaine Robles, Amy Huerta and I attended the Housing and Community Development Commission meeting to give them an overview of our department and to fill them in on our revitalization plans and focus on locally-owned businesses.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
01-26-10 State of Downtown Breakfast
I arrived at The Grand in the Trade Center building (historic name: San Joaquin Light and Power) at 6:30 to check on the set-up of the State of Downtown Breakfast this morning. The event was sold out and over 470 people were on hand to listen to the Mayor give an update on where we are and where we are headed in the revitalization of Fresno's downtown.
Take a look at a building's transformation as designed by Suzanne Bertz Rosa that was featured in the PowerPoint presentation: http://www.bertz-rosa.com/transformation This is a great image of how we can transform using what we have. It also illustrates that the job isn't so difficult, when it is done in stages.
At 9:30 I stopped in on John Ostlund, whose building is next door to the Trade Center. John had called me last Friday about a potential Earth Day event for downtown this April, so we talked about how this can be accomplished.
10:30 I met with Carl Jones from Cynthia Sterling's office to give him and update on the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan and the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan.
11:00 John Dugan, Wilma Quan, Elliott Balch, Elaine Robles and I met to review our presentation for Thursday morning's Council meeting and to review questions that were being raised by Council Members and others so that they could be incorporated into the presentation.
I had a quick meeting with the Mayor to give her our updates on the Specific Plan.
1:30 We had our monthly interdepartmental meeting focused on the Lowell neighborhood revitalization effort. This month we had a special guest Bill McEwen, Bee columnist and KYNO 1300 radio host. Bill has had a longstanding interest in the Lowell neighborhood and he was very interested to see what the City was doing and how it is being done different from past efforts. The presentation by all of the departments is very compelling. the power of people working together is remarkable.
3:00 I met with Michelle Tutelian and Stan Martin of Civic Center Square to discuss parking issues. The Raisin Administrative Committee recently selected CCS as their new headquarters location. We are thrilled to have the return of agribusiness to downtown!
Back at the office we continued our coordination of Thursday's City Council item. I met with City Attorney James Sanchez to get some of our language approved and put into proper legalese. I returned phone calls and emails from the day and made it home before Jeopardy!
01-25-10 The start of a very big week
I did it. Back on the road at 5:00 for a jog with little Ellie-Smelly. I lost a week because of heel blisters from my boots. We snow shoed in Yosemite last Sunday and my feet hate hiking boots (vice versa).
7:30 Breakfast meeting with Chuck Manock. Chuck is interested in serving on the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan, but wanted to have an idea of how it will work and how it will make change.
9: 30 I had an interview with George Hostetter from the Fresno Bee. He is doing a story about our first year in the revitalization effort.
10:00 We had our management team meeting with George, Elliott, Elaine and me.
11:00 Downtown and Community Revitalization full staff meeting. Amy gave an update on the Unlicensed Contractor Ordinance that she is working toward. Kelly Trevino gave an overview of her work plan (everyone takes turns). Mostly we talked about the Specific Plan and State of Downtown Breakfast. Elaine has Bill McEwen coming to the interdepartmental Lowell Meeting on Tuesday.
12:30 Specific Plan Meeting. Wilma, Elaine, Elliott and I will have time every day this week to work on our presentation, answer questions from Council Members and the public, line up speakers for Thursday morning....
2:00 I met with Steve Geil from the Economic Development Corporation for a regularly scheduled update on EDC and the downtown revitalization efforts.
3:30 Elaine Robles and I met with the City's federal lobbyist Len Simons and the City's grant coordinator Katie Stevens. Elaine and I gave Len an overview of our focus areas: Fulton Mall and Lowell. We want him to be knowledgeable about our efforts in case he sees any particular funding or programs that might be helpful.
5:30 I met Early Boykins at Austin’s. I met Early through the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He is beginning his business life in entertainment and also real estate investment. We talked about how he could get involved in downtown in both areas. I also explained about the value of being fully informed about land use planning from an investment perspective.
7:00 I met with Council Member Andreas Borgeas to see if he had any questions about the Specific Plan or Community Plan.
7:30 Breakfast meeting with Chuck Manock. Chuck is interested in serving on the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan, but wanted to have an idea of how it will work and how it will make change.
9: 30 I had an interview with George Hostetter from the Fresno Bee. He is doing a story about our first year in the revitalization effort.
10:00 We had our management team meeting with George, Elliott, Elaine and me.
11:00 Downtown and Community Revitalization full staff meeting. Amy gave an update on the Unlicensed Contractor Ordinance that she is working toward. Kelly Trevino gave an overview of her work plan (everyone takes turns). Mostly we talked about the Specific Plan and State of Downtown Breakfast. Elaine has Bill McEwen coming to the interdepartmental Lowell Meeting on Tuesday.
12:30 Specific Plan Meeting. Wilma, Elaine, Elliott and I will have time every day this week to work on our presentation, answer questions from Council Members and the public, line up speakers for Thursday morning....
2:00 I met with Steve Geil from the Economic Development Corporation for a regularly scheduled update on EDC and the downtown revitalization efforts.
3:30 Elaine Robles and I met with the City's federal lobbyist Len Simons and the City's grant coordinator Katie Stevens. Elaine and I gave Len an overview of our focus areas: Fulton Mall and Lowell. We want him to be knowledgeable about our efforts in case he sees any particular funding or programs that might be helpful.
5:30 I met Early Boykins at Austin’s. I met Early through the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He is beginning his business life in entertainment and also real estate investment. We talked about how he could get involved in downtown in both areas. I also explained about the value of being fully informed about land use planning from an investment perspective.
7:00 I met with Council Member Andreas Borgeas to see if he had any questions about the Specific Plan or Community Plan.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
01-23-10
9:00 I had breakfast with Amy and Juan Arambula at Cuca's in the Tower District. This was a good time to bring them up to speed on all of our revitalization activities. Amy is very involved in local improvement through the California Endowment and Economic Opportunities Coimmission. The Assemblyman loves to hear more about the local happenings than the stuff of Sacramento I think. His past work as a school board member and Coutny Supervisor make him a knowledgeable representative.
12:00 Elliott and I met at the Sequoia Brewing Company in the Tower for a review of the PowerPoint for the Mayor's speech this Tuesday morning at the State of the City Breakfast. Here is a link that you can use Tuesday morning if you would like to watch it live: www.fresno.gov/video
7:00 I went to a party at Terance Frazier's house. It was a 1920's-themed party. They really did a great job with carrying out the theme, including a silent movie featuring Terance and his colleagues. I was home by 10:00! How the times have changed....
01-20-10 Economic Development Administration and Union Bank Meeting
This'll be a short post.
Our Administrative Manager George Smith and I met with the Regional Representative of the Economic Development Administration Wil Marshall at his office near the L.A. Airport. We gave him an overview of the downtown and neighborhood revitalization strategies. Wil gave us some insight into upcoming funding opportunities and some guidance about how to successfully apply for funding.
After the meeting, George drove back to Fresno and I drove down to San Diego for Union Bank's Community Advisory Board meeting.
A little recap on the Union Bank CAB. I applied for the CAB when I was still with the Central Valley Business Incubator and was appointed before I started at the City. The CAB is a three year appointment. The CAB has 10 members and was created to make recommendations about how the bank can be more responsive to community needs. I am the only San Joaquin Valley community member.
The January meeting is the organizational meeting for the upcoming year. Three new members joined the group. I am hoping to host the CAB meeting in Fresno this October. We meet for times per year. I am the Housing Committee Chair for the second year.
We met from 2:00p-9:00p on Wednesday, 8:00a-9:00p on Thursday, and 8:00a to 3:00pm on Friday. I drove home on Friday and was home at 10:00.
During our meeting we had presentations by the Retail Banking SVP, Home Mortgage SVP, Affordable Housing Finance SVP, Environmental VP and others. We also had two Board Members present.
It is very informative and it is also a great opportunity to represent the realities and needs of the Valley to folks who might otherwise overlook us. It is also wonderful to work with leaders from around the state who have a variety of interests in representing their communities.
Disclaimer: I take vacation time while I am on the CAB. I get a per diem from Union Bank for serving on the committee and I declare it on my Form 700 Income report.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
01-19-10
My first meeting of the day was with the Fresno Chamber of Commerce Board Members. Amy Huerta and I met with their Ruth Evans, Debbie Hunsaker, Rick Whitsell, Bruce Batti, Scott Miller and CEO Al Smith and Governmental Affairs Manager Kerri Ginis.
We met to update the Chamber on our Business Affinity Groups. This is an effort to support local businesses by getting "like" businesses together, having them set their top priories, and then helping them to collectively achieve their top goals or to remove their biggest obstacles. Some of the Affinity groups are: South Stadium Business and Property Owners, Licensed Contractors, Chinatown Business and Property Owners, Technology Companies, Community Banks and Credit Unions, H.R. and Personnel Agencies, Certified Public Accountants, Lowell Neighborhood Business Owners.
The one we were meeting with the Chamber about is the Independent Retailers and Restaurants Affinity Group. We have only had one meeting with this group so far. But they identified an on-line and a print directory as one of their top priorities. This would make it easier for people to find and support locally-owned businesses.
At 9:30 we had a meeting to re-write our staff report for the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan and Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan contract that is going to the City Council at 9:15 on the 28th. The process is that we write the staff report, then it is submitted to the City Manager for review. We re-write if there are any changes. Then it goes to the City Clerk for publication and to the City Council Members in their packet of information for their next meeting.
I had my one on one meeting with Elaine Robles, our Neighborhood Revitalization Manager at 12:30.
1:00 We had a staff meeting with our whole department to review our department's goals and major projects and efforts for 2010. This wasn't a full work plan review, it was more of a greatest hits kind of overview. We wanted everyone to see what everyone was working toward and hoping to get accomplished. I'm not sure how to post a link to the excel spreadsheet onto this blog, but if anyone wants to look at it feel free to send an email to me and I'll give it to you as an attachment.
2:00 We had a meeting with Planning and some of the other related departments and agencies to talk about how to put more information on a user-friendly website. This was a first meeting, so it was very general.
4:15 Elaine and I met with Pastor Shane Scott of Saint Rest's Baptist Church. http://www.saintrest.org
We met to discuss the City's revitalization plans for downtown and Southwest Fresno. It was a very good meeting. I hadn't had the opportunity to meet with him before, although I had heard many good things about his involvement and passion for revitalization.
I was on the road to L.A. by 6:00. It was a very windy and stormy day, so there was concern about the conditions on the grapevine. I made it through without any problems and got to the Airport Hilton about 10:00. I had a chance to return some phone calls (hands-free) along the drive.
We met to update the Chamber on our Business Affinity Groups. This is an effort to support local businesses by getting "like" businesses together, having them set their top priories, and then helping them to collectively achieve their top goals or to remove their biggest obstacles. Some of the Affinity groups are: South Stadium Business and Property Owners, Licensed Contractors, Chinatown Business and Property Owners, Technology Companies, Community Banks and Credit Unions, H.R. and Personnel Agencies, Certified Public Accountants, Lowell Neighborhood Business Owners.
The one we were meeting with the Chamber about is the Independent Retailers and Restaurants Affinity Group. We have only had one meeting with this group so far. But they identified an on-line and a print directory as one of their top priorities. This would make it easier for people to find and support locally-owned businesses.
At 9:30 we had a meeting to re-write our staff report for the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan and Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan contract that is going to the City Council at 9:15 on the 28th. The process is that we write the staff report, then it is submitted to the City Manager for review. We re-write if there are any changes. Then it goes to the City Clerk for publication and to the City Council Members in their packet of information for their next meeting.
I had my one on one meeting with Elaine Robles, our Neighborhood Revitalization Manager at 12:30.
1:00 We had a staff meeting with our whole department to review our department's goals and major projects and efforts for 2010. This wasn't a full work plan review, it was more of a greatest hits kind of overview. We wanted everyone to see what everyone was working toward and hoping to get accomplished. I'm not sure how to post a link to the excel spreadsheet onto this blog, but if anyone wants to look at it feel free to send an email to me and I'll give it to you as an attachment.
2:00 We had a meeting with Planning and some of the other related departments and agencies to talk about how to put more information on a user-friendly website. This was a first meeting, so it was very general.
4:15 Elaine and I met with Pastor Shane Scott of Saint Rest's Baptist Church. http://www.saintrest.org
We met to discuss the City's revitalization plans for downtown and Southwest Fresno. It was a very good meeting. I hadn't had the opportunity to meet with him before, although I had heard many good things about his involvement and passion for revitalization.
I was on the road to L.A. by 6:00. It was a very windy and stormy day, so there was concern about the conditions on the grapevine. I made it through without any problems and got to the Airport Hilton about 10:00. I had a chance to return some phone calls (hands-free) along the drive.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
11-18-10 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
At noon I met with Brian Glover from Penstar to review the benefits of the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan to downtown projects. The two downtown plans will be back to the City Council for contract approval on the morning of the 28th.
At 4:30 Elliott Balch and I met with a potential educational tenant. We gave them an overview of the downtown revitalization efforts like the specific plan and entertainment district concept. Elliott gave them a downtown tour on Tuesday morning.
6:00 Members of the Faith Community hosted a Town Hall meeting at First Presbyterian Church in downtown to learn more about the downtown planning efforts, especially the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan and how it will reverse decades of neglect, decline and disinvestment. About 100 people showed up and there were many speakers and great questions. The Mayor attended and began the discussion. I was on hand for questions on the details of the plan.
8:00 I met with Darius Assemi to fill him in on the downtown plans and to explain how the clarity and environmental review will speed up the downtown development process and to provide clarity to the planning review process.
At 4:30 Elliott Balch and I met with a potential educational tenant. We gave them an overview of the downtown revitalization efforts like the specific plan and entertainment district concept. Elliott gave them a downtown tour on Tuesday morning.
6:00 Members of the Faith Community hosted a Town Hall meeting at First Presbyterian Church in downtown to learn more about the downtown planning efforts, especially the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan and how it will reverse decades of neglect, decline and disinvestment. About 100 people showed up and there were many speakers and great questions. The Mayor attended and began the discussion. I was on hand for questions on the details of the plan.
8:00 I met with Darius Assemi to fill him in on the downtown plans and to explain how the clarity and environmental review will speed up the downtown development process and to provide clarity to the planning review process.
Monday, January 18, 2010
01-15-10 Half-way through January...you must be kidding?!
I got up at 5:00 and got out of the door about 20 minutes later than usual. It is amazing how a few minutes can make such a big difference how many people are out and about. If we start at 5:00 we might see 2 or 3 people. Start at 5:20 and we see dozens by the time we're done.
7:00 meeting at the Chicken Pie Shop. I saw horrible news as I walked in the front door. The CPS is going to start opening at 8:00. I will lose my beloved breakfast meeting spot. It looks like the weekends will be the only time I'll be able to eat eggs and chicken livers at my favorite place.
I met Kurt Madden for breakfast. He is a long time friend, a former boss, and is currently the chief Technology Officer for Fresno Unified. He is also the Board Chair for the Economic Development Corporation. We have a bunch of initiatives to coordinate with FUSD, but we're primarily focused on keeping them informed and involved in our work in the Downtown Neighborhoods (Southwest, Lowell, Jefferson, and Southeast).
9:00 I met with Council Member Lee Brand, who is also the new Redevelopment Board Chair, and RDA Executive director Marlene Murphey. I have been approached by two local developer and several of their partnering investors to discuss a possible development in the Fulton Mall area. I wanted Lee and Marlene to know about this potential project early in its formation.
10:00 Local Business Initiative Manager Amy Huerta and I met to plan for our upcoming presentation to the Fresno Chamber’s Executive Committee meeting on 1/19. We will be giving them a report on our growing Independent Retailers and Restaurants group.
11:00 Elaine Robles and I drove to the Fresno Regional Foundation office at Palm and Shaw to meet with a group of people who are interested in pursuing the Promise Neighborhoods proposal that is being championed by the Obama Administration through the Housing and Urban Development department. The project will identify 20 urban cities who are willing to develop a program modeled after the Harlem Children’s' Zone. http://www.hcz.org/
12:00 Uncle Harry's in Fig Garden. Elaine and I met with Dr. Lynnette Zelezny who is helping Dr. Welty and Fresno State coordinate the upcoming Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities' conference in Fresno http://www.cumuonline.org/conference/index.htm . Our joint efforts in Lowell will by highlighted at the conference. This will bring university presidents to Fresno. Block the dates, they'll also bring some speakers to town that you won't want to miss.
1:00 Elaine and I jetted over to the Oaxaca Restaurant at Chestnut and Belmont for a presentation to the new Belmont Merchants' Association. We gave them information about the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan. The Downtown Nieghborhoods Plan stretches all of the way to Chestnut and would fix outdated land use issues in all of the older neighborhoods. The plans have led to the decline of single family dominated neighborhoods and have allowed the proliferation of low quality apartments that have deteriorated to a state where they are boarded up, are unhealthy for their residents and have destroyed the character of their surrounding neighborhoods. This trend must be reversed. Additionally, the ugly streetscapes and parking lot dominated shopping centers are a result of plans, they actually conform to our plans. This is what needs to be changed.
2:00 We continued our meetings with Council Members to give them a presentation on our proposed long-term strategy for land use planning for the City. General Plans must be updated every 10 years, and that would mean ours is due for an update in 2012. Our Fulton and Downtown Neighborhoods plans would be the first to incorporate form-based zoning and would become the cornerstone for the future plans. Form-based zoning has to do with building sizes, how buildings are placed on their lot, how much building should go on how much land, how much can be used for parking...form-based doesn't focus on uses as much as it focuses on how a city will be physically built. It has great potential for helping to bring growth back into the city and transportation corridors and to make us much more comfortable for pedestrians.
4:30 I met with a group of people who either were in the last Citizens' Academy ( http://www.fresno.gov/Government/MayorsOffice/CitizensAcademy/default.htm ) class or are in the current Citizens' Academy class for a walking tour of the Fulton Mall. The requested the tour last week, so we got it booked and they had 10 or 12 folks show up. It was fun to do the tour as business and activity were winding down on a Friday and as things got dark. It was a perfect opportunity to talk about how a healthy downtown should be winding-up. How an entertainment district would function and the importance of a lively downtown in keeping and attracting talented people to our community.
6:00 After the tour ended, I checked my phone and had a couple of text messages from Andreas and Anna Borgeas. They were over at Full Circle after work. I joined them for a porter and listened to some great music before heading home. http://www.fullcirclebrewing.com/
7:00 meeting at the Chicken Pie Shop. I saw horrible news as I walked in the front door. The CPS is going to start opening at 8:00. I will lose my beloved breakfast meeting spot. It looks like the weekends will be the only time I'll be able to eat eggs and chicken livers at my favorite place.
I met Kurt Madden for breakfast. He is a long time friend, a former boss, and is currently the chief Technology Officer for Fresno Unified. He is also the Board Chair for the Economic Development Corporation. We have a bunch of initiatives to coordinate with FUSD, but we're primarily focused on keeping them informed and involved in our work in the Downtown Neighborhoods (Southwest, Lowell, Jefferson, and Southeast).
9:00 I met with Council Member Lee Brand, who is also the new Redevelopment Board Chair, and RDA Executive director Marlene Murphey. I have been approached by two local developer and several of their partnering investors to discuss a possible development in the Fulton Mall area. I wanted Lee and Marlene to know about this potential project early in its formation.
10:00 Local Business Initiative Manager Amy Huerta and I met to plan for our upcoming presentation to the Fresno Chamber’s Executive Committee meeting on 1/19. We will be giving them a report on our growing Independent Retailers and Restaurants group.
11:00 Elaine Robles and I drove to the Fresno Regional Foundation office at Palm and Shaw to meet with a group of people who are interested in pursuing the Promise Neighborhoods proposal that is being championed by the Obama Administration through the Housing and Urban Development department. The project will identify 20 urban cities who are willing to develop a program modeled after the Harlem Children’s' Zone. http://www.hcz.org/
12:00 Uncle Harry's in Fig Garden. Elaine and I met with Dr. Lynnette Zelezny who is helping Dr. Welty and Fresno State coordinate the upcoming Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities' conference in Fresno http://www.cumuonline.org/conference/index.htm . Our joint efforts in Lowell will by highlighted at the conference. This will bring university presidents to Fresno. Block the dates, they'll also bring some speakers to town that you won't want to miss.
1:00 Elaine and I jetted over to the Oaxaca Restaurant at Chestnut and Belmont for a presentation to the new Belmont Merchants' Association. We gave them information about the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan. The Downtown Nieghborhoods Plan stretches all of the way to Chestnut and would fix outdated land use issues in all of the older neighborhoods. The plans have led to the decline of single family dominated neighborhoods and have allowed the proliferation of low quality apartments that have deteriorated to a state where they are boarded up, are unhealthy for their residents and have destroyed the character of their surrounding neighborhoods. This trend must be reversed. Additionally, the ugly streetscapes and parking lot dominated shopping centers are a result of plans, they actually conform to our plans. This is what needs to be changed.
2:00 We continued our meetings with Council Members to give them a presentation on our proposed long-term strategy for land use planning for the City. General Plans must be updated every 10 years, and that would mean ours is due for an update in 2012. Our Fulton and Downtown Neighborhoods plans would be the first to incorporate form-based zoning and would become the cornerstone for the future plans. Form-based zoning has to do with building sizes, how buildings are placed on their lot, how much building should go on how much land, how much can be used for parking...form-based doesn't focus on uses as much as it focuses on how a city will be physically built. It has great potential for helping to bring growth back into the city and transportation corridors and to make us much more comfortable for pedestrians.
4:30 I met with a group of people who either were in the last Citizens' Academy ( http://www.fresno.gov/Government/MayorsOffice/CitizensAcademy/default.htm ) class or are in the current Citizens' Academy class for a walking tour of the Fulton Mall. The requested the tour last week, so we got it booked and they had 10 or 12 folks show up. It was fun to do the tour as business and activity were winding down on a Friday and as things got dark. It was a perfect opportunity to talk about how a healthy downtown should be winding-up. How an entertainment district would function and the importance of a lively downtown in keeping and attracting talented people to our community.
6:00 After the tour ended, I checked my phone and had a couple of text messages from Andreas and Anna Borgeas. They were over at Full Circle after work. I joined them for a porter and listened to some great music before heading home. http://www.fullcirclebrewing.com/
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
01-12-10 Web Fernando has good news.
My first meeting was at 8:30. The City Manager, Deputy City Manager Nicole Zieba, and Ephraim Smith from Public Works met to discuss the Santa Fe Depot's potential uses.
9:30 We had a large meeting with the Mayor, City Manager, Planning Director and others to discuss developments in Chinatown.
10:30 I had a dentist appointment with Dr. Gorman.
After one year on the job, I finally took my photo for my employee badge (which I'll wash a few times and then lose).
2:30 was the weekly Downtown and Community Revitalization Department staff meeting. Fernando announced that he was offered a job by the Economic Development Corporation and he accepted. That is great news and he’ll do a great job for EDC.
3:45 I quickly dropped in on Councilmember Borgeas.
4:00 We had a large meeting to discuss projects and plans for the area south of Ventura in Chinatown. This is the area where the Poverello House and Rescue Mission reside, where the tuff sheds and the homeless encampments are located. These are incredibly complicated issues, especially when you add Chinatown Revitalization and the needs of the business and property owners in the area just south of Chukchansi Park.
This area will be included in the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan, but many decisions will have to be made without a clear plan or clear policy, which often leads to long-term mistakes.
5:30 I hosted an introductory meeting with our new Planning Director John Dugan and community watchdog Jeanette Jurkovich and Downtown Association President Joe Moore. Both had expressed concerns about the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance, so I wanted John to hear the concerns directly.
7:00 We had a gathering for Fernando at Livingstone's after work to celebrate his new job.
9:30 We had a large meeting with the Mayor, City Manager, Planning Director and others to discuss developments in Chinatown.
10:30 I had a dentist appointment with Dr. Gorman.
After one year on the job, I finally took my photo for my employee badge (which I'll wash a few times and then lose).
2:30 was the weekly Downtown and Community Revitalization Department staff meeting. Fernando announced that he was offered a job by the Economic Development Corporation and he accepted. That is great news and he’ll do a great job for EDC.
3:45 I quickly dropped in on Councilmember Borgeas.
4:00 We had a large meeting to discuss projects and plans for the area south of Ventura in Chinatown. This is the area where the Poverello House and Rescue Mission reside, where the tuff sheds and the homeless encampments are located. These are incredibly complicated issues, especially when you add Chinatown Revitalization and the needs of the business and property owners in the area just south of Chukchansi Park.
This area will be included in the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan, but many decisions will have to be made without a clear plan or clear policy, which often leads to long-term mistakes.
5:30 I hosted an introductory meeting with our new Planning Director John Dugan and community watchdog Jeanette Jurkovich and Downtown Association President Joe Moore. Both had expressed concerns about the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance, so I wanted John to hear the concerns directly.
7:00 We had a gathering for Fernando at Livingstone's after work to celebrate his new job.
Monday, January 11, 2010
01-11-10 Sharon Alexander cooks downtown again
4:45 It was a foggy run this morning, both in my head and in the air. It took me 20 minutes to get ready...and all I have to do is put on sweats.
My first official meeting of the day was at 8:30 with Elliott and Elaine to talk about how to communicate the benefits of the specific plan and community plan. Who will be interested and what are the most important benefits.
Basically this is how I view it: Cities make plans and rules for what they want to have happen and what they don't want to have happen. Urban Fresno is the way it is as a result of prior plans, planning focus and plan implementation. Lowell is in a less than desirable condition because of bad urban planning that stretches back to the 1950's. Bad plan = bad result. If we want to have a healthy, vibrant urban Fresno then we will need plans and regulatory tools that encourage the things that we want and exclude the things that we don't want. (I'd love your feedback on this point, does it make sense to you?).
9:30 Our weekly Management Team Meeting. It was short, we all had pending work to get done and George was out for the early part of the morning.
11:00 The Mayor, Elaine Robles and Housing Manager Claudia Cazares and I met with Michael Sigala. Michael has an extensive urban planning education and experience including former Housing Manager for the City of Fresno. Michael and his partner Sal Gonzales have organized a Belmont Merchant Association for the stretch of the strip from Highway 41 to Chestnut. I attended an overview meeting that they sponsored several weeks ago. It is great to have them organizing this area, which they are doing on behalf of the Redevelopment Agency.
12:00 We had a DCR meeting with the Mayor to review last year and to begin refining priorities for 2010. Sharon Alexander is a long time friend of mine and she cooked lunch for us. Sharon and her husband David were the owners of Upstairs Downtown. I met the Alexanders when they were part of the Bus Barn Artists and then cooked a little with Sharon at ECHO while it was in the Tower District. We had a nice meal made with local ingredients. what a treat.
2:00 We had our quarterly update meeting with the Staff of our Downtown and Community Revitalization Dept. and the Economic Development Corporation. The EDC is actually a subcontractor with the City for some of our economic development goals and activities. It was somewhat of a duplication of services to have an economic development department and an economic development corporation. So now DCR can focus on our pieces of the overall economic development plan and work with EDC on the other parts of the effort. It seems to be functioning really well.
3:30 I met with Dave Jones who is the Visitors' Bureau Director from Hanford, my old stomping grounds. Dave is working with San Joaquin Valley cities to coordinate activities and to look for mutually beneficial marketing opportunities. The EDC meeting was still going, so I couldn't give Dave the time that he deserved, so I'll meet with him again when I go down to speak with the Downtown Corcoran Business Association.
I had a few things to finish up on the computer tonight, so I didn't get to attend the first HyeFest meeting since last year's event. If you are of Armenian ancestry or are an Armeniaphile let me know and we'll add you to the email list for this group. This event has real potential to become a statewide draw over the next couple of years.
My first official meeting of the day was at 8:30 with Elliott and Elaine to talk about how to communicate the benefits of the specific plan and community plan. Who will be interested and what are the most important benefits.
Basically this is how I view it: Cities make plans and rules for what they want to have happen and what they don't want to have happen. Urban Fresno is the way it is as a result of prior plans, planning focus and plan implementation. Lowell is in a less than desirable condition because of bad urban planning that stretches back to the 1950's. Bad plan = bad result. If we want to have a healthy, vibrant urban Fresno then we will need plans and regulatory tools that encourage the things that we want and exclude the things that we don't want. (I'd love your feedback on this point, does it make sense to you?).
9:30 Our weekly Management Team Meeting. It was short, we all had pending work to get done and George was out for the early part of the morning.
11:00 The Mayor, Elaine Robles and Housing Manager Claudia Cazares and I met with Michael Sigala. Michael has an extensive urban planning education and experience including former Housing Manager for the City of Fresno. Michael and his partner Sal Gonzales have organized a Belmont Merchant Association for the stretch of the strip from Highway 41 to Chestnut. I attended an overview meeting that they sponsored several weeks ago. It is great to have them organizing this area, which they are doing on behalf of the Redevelopment Agency.
12:00 We had a DCR meeting with the Mayor to review last year and to begin refining priorities for 2010. Sharon Alexander is a long time friend of mine and she cooked lunch for us. Sharon and her husband David were the owners of Upstairs Downtown. I met the Alexanders when they were part of the Bus Barn Artists and then cooked a little with Sharon at ECHO while it was in the Tower District. We had a nice meal made with local ingredients. what a treat.
2:00 We had our quarterly update meeting with the Staff of our Downtown and Community Revitalization Dept. and the Economic Development Corporation. The EDC is actually a subcontractor with the City for some of our economic development goals and activities. It was somewhat of a duplication of services to have an economic development department and an economic development corporation. So now DCR can focus on our pieces of the overall economic development plan and work with EDC on the other parts of the effort. It seems to be functioning really well.
3:30 I met with Dave Jones who is the Visitors' Bureau Director from Hanford, my old stomping grounds. Dave is working with San Joaquin Valley cities to coordinate activities and to look for mutually beneficial marketing opportunities. The EDC meeting was still going, so I couldn't give Dave the time that he deserved, so I'll meet with him again when I go down to speak with the Downtown Corcoran Business Association.
I had a few things to finish up on the computer tonight, so I didn't get to attend the first HyeFest meeting since last year's event. If you are of Armenian ancestry or are an Armeniaphile let me know and we'll add you to the email list for this group. This event has real potential to become a statewide draw over the next couple of years.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
01-08-10 Week One
My first meeting was at 8:30 with DG Safeer, a gentleman that I met 4 or 5 years ago when he first moved back to Fresno. Mr. Safeer has a long history with co-operatives. We were discussing the possiblity of a co-op grocery store in some of our downtown neighobrhoods. It would be great to have stores that really catered to neighborhood interests and needs like hiring policies, good prices and healthy options.
Elaine Robles and I met with Fresno County Superintendent Larry Powell at 9:30 at his office on Van Ness. It was a great meeting, Larry is always so upbeat and optimistic. We gave him an overview of our revitalization efforts in Lowell. He is having the person who coordinates their volunteer activities work with us and will help us to find additional resources. He filled us in on their technology expansion efforts and how they might dovetail with what we are doing.
I was a little late getting back for my one on one meeting with Elliott Balch.
11:30 I took our new (November) City Controller Joe Gray to lunch at the Downtown Club. I had a great Gruyere and carmielized onion burger! I have not had much time to meet our newest Department Director. Joe comes to us from Cincinati. We also walked down to the Fulton Mall after lunch for an abreviated tour.
1:30 Elliott and I met with Scott Anderson and Brian Glover of Penstar at their offices. We discussed the Property Based Improvement District and the Bank of Italy Building.
3:00 City Manager Andy Souza and I met with the General Managing Partner of Club One Casino Kyle Kirkland. for an update on the cardroom's activities and ongoing partnership with the City of Fresno. Club One is open 24 hours, seven days a week. They have upgraded their restaurant, and could be a resource to further downtown revitalization.
4:00 I met with Darius Assemi at City Hall with Donna Gavello and Elliott Balch. We gave him an update on DT Faces and he updated us on the Fulton Village project next to Tokyo Garden. Have you been by there yet. They are grading it. 60+ apartments will be underway soon.
5:00 Creative Fresno met at the Cosmopolitan Tavern for their Creative Blender. The Cosmo has morphed from a classic neighborhood bar and a great lunchtime spot. They are now packing them in for dinner and it feels more like one of the traditional San Francisco grills, but better because it is ours and it is real.
7:30 I met Coach Carter for shabu shabu at Yoshino's, something I've never had before. Very fun way to meet a friend and cook and eat. Plus they give you the leftovers and you get to have soup the next day.
Elaine Robles and I met with Fresno County Superintendent Larry Powell at 9:30 at his office on Van Ness. It was a great meeting, Larry is always so upbeat and optimistic. We gave him an overview of our revitalization efforts in Lowell. He is having the person who coordinates their volunteer activities work with us and will help us to find additional resources. He filled us in on their technology expansion efforts and how they might dovetail with what we are doing.
I was a little late getting back for my one on one meeting with Elliott Balch.
11:30 I took our new (November) City Controller Joe Gray to lunch at the Downtown Club. I had a great Gruyere and carmielized onion burger! I have not had much time to meet our newest Department Director. Joe comes to us from Cincinati. We also walked down to the Fulton Mall after lunch for an abreviated tour.
1:30 Elliott and I met with Scott Anderson and Brian Glover of Penstar at their offices. We discussed the Property Based Improvement District and the Bank of Italy Building.
3:00 City Manager Andy Souza and I met with the General Managing Partner of Club One Casino Kyle Kirkland. for an update on the cardroom's activities and ongoing partnership with the City of Fresno. Club One is open 24 hours, seven days a week. They have upgraded their restaurant, and could be a resource to further downtown revitalization.
4:00 I met with Darius Assemi at City Hall with Donna Gavello and Elliott Balch. We gave him an update on DT Faces and he updated us on the Fulton Village project next to Tokyo Garden. Have you been by there yet. They are grading it. 60+ apartments will be underway soon.
5:00 Creative Fresno met at the Cosmopolitan Tavern for their Creative Blender. The Cosmo has morphed from a classic neighborhood bar and a great lunchtime spot. They are now packing them in for dinner and it feels more like one of the traditional San Francisco grills, but better because it is ours and it is real.
7:30 I met Coach Carter for shabu shabu at Yoshino's, something I've never had before. Very fun way to meet a friend and cook and eat. Plus they give you the leftovers and you get to have soup the next day.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
01-07-10 One Year Anniversary
Yep, that's right, I've been on the job for one year today. It's kind of funny that it didn't even dawn on me until after work. I knew that it was this week, but it kind of snuck past me. Happy birthday Downtown and Community Revitalization Department.
I started my day with a breakfast meeting at Patio Cafe with Phoebe Wall Howard. We had a far ranging discussion about Fresno's revitalization efforts. Phoebe is involved in many facets of Fresno and in projects all over the state. She has been a writer and has incredible networks in the community even though she and her family have moved to Mill Valley.
I got back to City Hall in time to watch the changing of the guard as Cynthia Sterling relinquished her role as Council President and handed the gavel to Larry Westerlund. Lee Brand will be the new Redevelopment Agency Chair and Blong Xiong will move from RDA Chair to RDA Vice-Chair.
I had a one on one meeting with our department's administrative manager George Smith. George had a full list of questions for me (he is always very thorough). One of the main items has been the potential for an Economic Administration grant for a commercial kitchen incubator which could be part of a downtown public market.
11:00 Amy Huerta and I had a one on one meeting focusing on the licensed contractor's affinity group and the potential to change the municipal code to strengthen the City's ability to enforce unlicensed contractors. Unlicensed contractors cause a great deal of havoc in a city. They can cause liability problems for residents and undercut legitimate businesses by offering below market bids because of their lack of workers' comp insurance, among other problems. Amy is also planning ways to increase the exposure of our remarkable local technology companies. We have several companies with nationwide customers. They don't get nearly the recognition that they deserve and Fresno doesn't get the benefits from having a strong tech base.
11:45 Elaine Robles and I went to the Luau Restaurant for lunch and to do some planning work for the metrics that we will use to measure the results that are happening in the Lowell neighborhood over the next few years.
1:30 We had a planning meeting with the Mayor, City Manager Andy Souza, Mayor's Chief of Staff Georgeanne White, Planning Director John Dugan, Public Utilities Director Rene Ramirez, Assistant Public Works Director Scott Mozier, Assistant Planning Director Keith Bergthold, Elliott Balch, Elaine Robles and little old me.
This meeting was to refine our presentation for council members next week about the City Administration's overall planning goals, timelines, requirements and processes. The downtown plan and downtown community plan will be the cornerstone for future planning efforts that will bring much of the activity back to the urban parts of Fresno. These efforts will fundamentally improve the quality of life for the residents of our city for many years to come and will change many of the underlying financial issues in our city's future. I know that I have said it before in this blog, but our new planning director is having a remarkably positive effect and will have a lasting impact on our town.
4:00 It was fitting that on our one year anniversary that we had a second meeting with the Mayor to discuss long term strategies for our revitalization efforts. The meeting was a review of our neighborhood revitalization strategies, especially as they relate to Lowell (the place where Fresno will learn how to revitalize neighborhoods). The Mayor, City manager, Georgeanne White, John Dugan, Keith Bergthold, Jerry Bishop, who heads code enforcement, Elaine and I were in this meeting.
We spent much of the time discussing strategies to combat slumlord issues which are a priority identified by the neighbors. Code enforcement is a major tool in getting negligent rental property owners to invest in and to maintain their properties in ways that improve the neighborhood and to provide quality housing for our residents.
5:30 I went to Chris Sorenson's studio on south Van Ness for ArtHop. I saw many old friends and artists there, including Chris. Many artists use this space and he opens it up for even more to show their work. If you've never been there and would like to visit, just send an email to me at craig.scharton@fresno.gov and I'll give you directions. It is just past the Best Little City arch.
6:45 I went by Heros to watch part of the national championship football game and had a great calzone. I had a chance to meet Patrick the new owner. This young man has a great attitude and I wish him great success in his efforts. He is going to launch a new menu tomorrow, so go by and check it out and give him a pat on the back for investing in our downtown!
I saw Jake Kojikian at the restaurant with one of his tenants from the Virginia Hotel and another friend of his from L.A. who is interested in investing in downtown. A nice upbeat way to finish my first birthday.
Home by 8:00 to finish watching the football game on the couch with my pup.
Thanks to everyone in our community, and especially our hardworking team, for their great support in year one! Now back to work...
I started my day with a breakfast meeting at Patio Cafe with Phoebe Wall Howard. We had a far ranging discussion about Fresno's revitalization efforts. Phoebe is involved in many facets of Fresno and in projects all over the state. She has been a writer and has incredible networks in the community even though she and her family have moved to Mill Valley.
I got back to City Hall in time to watch the changing of the guard as Cynthia Sterling relinquished her role as Council President and handed the gavel to Larry Westerlund. Lee Brand will be the new Redevelopment Agency Chair and Blong Xiong will move from RDA Chair to RDA Vice-Chair.
I had a one on one meeting with our department's administrative manager George Smith. George had a full list of questions for me (he is always very thorough). One of the main items has been the potential for an Economic Administration grant for a commercial kitchen incubator which could be part of a downtown public market.
11:00 Amy Huerta and I had a one on one meeting focusing on the licensed contractor's affinity group and the potential to change the municipal code to strengthen the City's ability to enforce unlicensed contractors. Unlicensed contractors cause a great deal of havoc in a city. They can cause liability problems for residents and undercut legitimate businesses by offering below market bids because of their lack of workers' comp insurance, among other problems. Amy is also planning ways to increase the exposure of our remarkable local technology companies. We have several companies with nationwide customers. They don't get nearly the recognition that they deserve and Fresno doesn't get the benefits from having a strong tech base.
11:45 Elaine Robles and I went to the Luau Restaurant for lunch and to do some planning work for the metrics that we will use to measure the results that are happening in the Lowell neighborhood over the next few years.
1:30 We had a planning meeting with the Mayor, City Manager Andy Souza, Mayor's Chief of Staff Georgeanne White, Planning Director John Dugan, Public Utilities Director Rene Ramirez, Assistant Public Works Director Scott Mozier, Assistant Planning Director Keith Bergthold, Elliott Balch, Elaine Robles and little old me.
This meeting was to refine our presentation for council members next week about the City Administration's overall planning goals, timelines, requirements and processes. The downtown plan and downtown community plan will be the cornerstone for future planning efforts that will bring much of the activity back to the urban parts of Fresno. These efforts will fundamentally improve the quality of life for the residents of our city for many years to come and will change many of the underlying financial issues in our city's future. I know that I have said it before in this blog, but our new planning director is having a remarkably positive effect and will have a lasting impact on our town.
4:00 It was fitting that on our one year anniversary that we had a second meeting with the Mayor to discuss long term strategies for our revitalization efforts. The meeting was a review of our neighborhood revitalization strategies, especially as they relate to Lowell (the place where Fresno will learn how to revitalize neighborhoods). The Mayor, City manager, Georgeanne White, John Dugan, Keith Bergthold, Jerry Bishop, who heads code enforcement, Elaine and I were in this meeting.
We spent much of the time discussing strategies to combat slumlord issues which are a priority identified by the neighbors. Code enforcement is a major tool in getting negligent rental property owners to invest in and to maintain their properties in ways that improve the neighborhood and to provide quality housing for our residents.
5:30 I went to Chris Sorenson's studio on south Van Ness for ArtHop. I saw many old friends and artists there, including Chris. Many artists use this space and he opens it up for even more to show their work. If you've never been there and would like to visit, just send an email to me at craig.scharton@fresno.gov and I'll give you directions. It is just past the Best Little City arch.
6:45 I went by Heros to watch part of the national championship football game and had a great calzone. I had a chance to meet Patrick the new owner. This young man has a great attitude and I wish him great success in his efforts. He is going to launch a new menu tomorrow, so go by and check it out and give him a pat on the back for investing in our downtown!
I saw Jake Kojikian at the restaurant with one of his tenants from the Virginia Hotel and another friend of his from L.A. who is interested in investing in downtown. A nice upbeat way to finish my first birthday.
Home by 8:00 to finish watching the football game on the couch with my pup.
Thanks to everyone in our community, and especially our hardworking team, for their great support in year one! Now back to work...
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
01-06-10
I got up in time for a jog with the dog. On the road before 5:00. I hoped to get back in time to write yesterday's blog because I fell asleep before I wrote it last night.
I wrote most of the blog, but needed a few missing pieces, so I didn't finish it until tonight.
7:00 I met a former student of mine, Michael Sloggett who is the creator and founder of: http://www.fresnofusion.com/ It was great to catch up with Michael, to hear about his family, his real job and his continued hopes for Fresno Fusion. Fresno Fusion is a website focus on downtown Fresno. He'll be featuring Chinatown.
8:30 I met with City Manager Andy Souza for our one on one.
9:00 We had our agenda conference meeting with department directors and city council staff members. This was the meeting to review and form the agenda for the January 14th City Council meeting. There are a couple of downtown items on this agenda, there will be some relief for parking charges for the downtown Holiday Inn hotel on the Fulton Mall for one year. There will also be an item approving new highway signage for downtown Fresno. The Downtown Association will pay for the signs, but the City still needs to approve the signage.
9:30 Directors meeting. I reported on the Specific Plan contract which will go the City Council at their meeting on January 28th. I also reported on the State of Downtown breakfast which will be held January 26th.
10:00 Amy Huerta and I met with Eddie Clements from the Carpenters Union. We talked about the need to enforce requirements for unlicensed contractors. We also talked about the need for skilled craftspeople as we begin to renovate historic buildings. Eddie is a huge fan of downtown, we first met him at our Downtown Revitalization Update Meetings.
11:00 I met with Paul Fountaine and Sally Caglia from the Warnors Theater. We met with Jerry Bishop of Code Enforcement and Police Captain Greg Garner. We were meeting to give Paul and Sally some guidance on how to proceed through some of our City processes and the Alcoholic Beverages Control processes.
12:00 Elaine Robles, Dawn Steele and I met with the Provost and Department Deans at Fresno Pacific University. We gave them an overview of our plans and progress in the Lowell neighborhood. We had a nice boxed lunch in one of their conference rooms. It was a great conversation.
1:30 We had a meeting with Jerry Bishop, Scott Mozier, John Dugan, Bruce Rudd and Ephraim smith. We need to make some adjustments to our downtown incentives program. This is a new effort and we'll need to keep tweaking it as we go to make sure that we are getting the results that we are hoping for and the developers, businesses and investors need to keep revitalization moving forward.
2:00 George Smith and I met to go over some complications that we have applying for and Economic Development Administration grant for a commercial kitchen incubator that could be a part of a downtown public market. Solutions are there, but sometimes these things are more tricky than we guess when we get started.
3:00 I was the guest on KFSR's radio show The Pulse. I used to be a co-host on this show before I began at the City. It was fun to be back with Tim Stearns and Joe Moore. Boy were those simpler days! The show will air this Saturday at noon and Sunday at 9:00a.m. on 90.7 FM. Or after it airs you can listen online at http://www.kfsr.org/
4:30 Amy Huerta and Fernando Santillan organized today's Technology Affinity Group at Joe's Steakhouse ( http://www.joessteakhouse.com/ ) The guest for today's meeting was Kurt Madden the Chief Technology Officer for Fresno Unified School District. The Technology Affinity Group wanted to meet public sector purchasing managers and technology managers. We started with the folks at City Hall and are now introducing our partnering agencies to the local tech companies (and vice versa).
Amy, Fernando and I stayed afterward for dinner and have time to catch up with each other. I really enjoy the spontaneous opportunities to stay connected and to have fun brainstorming how we can do our jobs better and to achieve more and more results. The burgers were great!
I wrote most of the blog, but needed a few missing pieces, so I didn't finish it until tonight.
7:00 I met a former student of mine, Michael Sloggett who is the creator and founder of: http://www.fresnofusion.com/ It was great to catch up with Michael, to hear about his family, his real job and his continued hopes for Fresno Fusion. Fresno Fusion is a website focus on downtown Fresno. He'll be featuring Chinatown.
8:30 I met with City Manager Andy Souza for our one on one.
9:00 We had our agenda conference meeting with department directors and city council staff members. This was the meeting to review and form the agenda for the January 14th City Council meeting. There are a couple of downtown items on this agenda, there will be some relief for parking charges for the downtown Holiday Inn hotel on the Fulton Mall for one year. There will also be an item approving new highway signage for downtown Fresno. The Downtown Association will pay for the signs, but the City still needs to approve the signage.
9:30 Directors meeting. I reported on the Specific Plan contract which will go the City Council at their meeting on January 28th. I also reported on the State of Downtown breakfast which will be held January 26th.
10:00 Amy Huerta and I met with Eddie Clements from the Carpenters Union. We talked about the need to enforce requirements for unlicensed contractors. We also talked about the need for skilled craftspeople as we begin to renovate historic buildings. Eddie is a huge fan of downtown, we first met him at our Downtown Revitalization Update Meetings.
11:00 I met with Paul Fountaine and Sally Caglia from the Warnors Theater. We met with Jerry Bishop of Code Enforcement and Police Captain Greg Garner. We were meeting to give Paul and Sally some guidance on how to proceed through some of our City processes and the Alcoholic Beverages Control processes.
12:00 Elaine Robles, Dawn Steele and I met with the Provost and Department Deans at Fresno Pacific University. We gave them an overview of our plans and progress in the Lowell neighborhood. We had a nice boxed lunch in one of their conference rooms. It was a great conversation.
1:30 We had a meeting with Jerry Bishop, Scott Mozier, John Dugan, Bruce Rudd and Ephraim smith. We need to make some adjustments to our downtown incentives program. This is a new effort and we'll need to keep tweaking it as we go to make sure that we are getting the results that we are hoping for and the developers, businesses and investors need to keep revitalization moving forward.
2:00 George Smith and I met to go over some complications that we have applying for and Economic Development Administration grant for a commercial kitchen incubator that could be a part of a downtown public market. Solutions are there, but sometimes these things are more tricky than we guess when we get started.
3:00 I was the guest on KFSR's radio show The Pulse. I used to be a co-host on this show before I began at the City. It was fun to be back with Tim Stearns and Joe Moore. Boy were those simpler days! The show will air this Saturday at noon and Sunday at 9:00a.m. on 90.7 FM. Or after it airs you can listen online at http://www.kfsr.org/
4:30 Amy Huerta and Fernando Santillan organized today's Technology Affinity Group at Joe's Steakhouse ( http://www.joessteakhouse.com/ ) The guest for today's meeting was Kurt Madden the Chief Technology Officer for Fresno Unified School District. The Technology Affinity Group wanted to meet public sector purchasing managers and technology managers. We started with the folks at City Hall and are now introducing our partnering agencies to the local tech companies (and vice versa).
Amy, Fernando and I stayed afterward for dinner and have time to catch up with each other. I really enjoy the spontaneous opportunities to stay connected and to have fun brainstorming how we can do our jobs better and to achieve more and more results. The burgers were great!
1-05-10 back in the mix
It seems that there was a bit of a furlough hangover on Monday. I had a hard time getting this old brain to make the necessary adjustments to get back up to full speed (such as it is). By Tuesday it felt good to be back at it. Brain engaged...arguing, thinking, planning, speaking...
I started out looking at a downtown property that has been recently listed on the market. Just trying to keep up on what's out there.
I grabbed a quick 15 minute breakfast at Toledo's in the Cultural Arts District.
8:45 I picked up our Neighborhood Revitalization Manager Elaine Robles in front of City Hall and the we swung around to pick up John Raymond and Debra Barletta. We looked at three houses in Lowell that the RDA is working on with Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds. They are beauties. They are on College, Franklin and Glenn.
10:30 I had a meeting with City Manager Andy Souza, Planning Director John Dugan, Assistant Planning Director Keith Bergthold and Wilma Quan, Elliott Balch and Elaine from our department. This meeting was to continue to piece together the short, medium and long term planning strategies for the City of Fresno. Many of our planning needs an immediate and important. If you think about planning as a regulatory tool that shapes the future of a city, it is critical to have it right. Many of our plans still allow sprawl at the fringes and do not allow good development, or require good development, in the interior of our city.
So it is important that our downtown plan, the downtown neighborhood plan, and the larger changes to the City's general plan all work together and be done in the most rational order. I am thankful every day for the expertise and perspective that John Dugan is bringing to our city!
12:00 I spoke to the North Fresno Exchange Club, a service club that meets at the Shaw and Van Ness Piccadilly Inn. This was a very fun and engaged group of people. Many wanted to volunteer to help the downtown effort. They had great questions and we talked for about an hour. I was very encouraged after meeting with this fun and intelligent group!
2:00 Elliott and I met with Suzanne Bertz Rosa who is helping us to put together the presentation for the Mayors' State of Downtown Breakfast on January 26th. The breakfast is nearly sold out, so don't delay if you want to attend. Call the Downtown Association asap.
3:30 We had our weekly staff meeting. It was the first with Janet and Alex. It was a fairly light meeting, we did some introductions and some catching up.
5:30 I met Steve Froberg, who is with Ashwood Homes at the Downtown Club. I knew Steve while he was the City Manager in Lemoore. Steve is one of the nicest people I have met. He was also a great City Manager while he worked in Lemoore. Ashwood does about half of their business in affordable housing, an area that I am continually learning about. I'm sure that I have said it somewhere in this blog before, but housing is its own animal. There is really a housing-industrial complex that exists between the government housing policies, banks and other types of community lending institutions, affordable housing developers and housing advocates. It is its own world.
I started out looking at a downtown property that has been recently listed on the market. Just trying to keep up on what's out there.
I grabbed a quick 15 minute breakfast at Toledo's in the Cultural Arts District.
8:45 I picked up our Neighborhood Revitalization Manager Elaine Robles in front of City Hall and the we swung around to pick up John Raymond and Debra Barletta. We looked at three houses in Lowell that the RDA is working on with Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds. They are beauties. They are on College, Franklin and Glenn.
10:30 I had a meeting with City Manager Andy Souza, Planning Director John Dugan, Assistant Planning Director Keith Bergthold and Wilma Quan, Elliott Balch and Elaine from our department. This meeting was to continue to piece together the short, medium and long term planning strategies for the City of Fresno. Many of our planning needs an immediate and important. If you think about planning as a regulatory tool that shapes the future of a city, it is critical to have it right. Many of our plans still allow sprawl at the fringes and do not allow good development, or require good development, in the interior of our city.
So it is important that our downtown plan, the downtown neighborhood plan, and the larger changes to the City's general plan all work together and be done in the most rational order. I am thankful every day for the expertise and perspective that John Dugan is bringing to our city!
12:00 I spoke to the North Fresno Exchange Club, a service club that meets at the Shaw and Van Ness Piccadilly Inn. This was a very fun and engaged group of people. Many wanted to volunteer to help the downtown effort. They had great questions and we talked for about an hour. I was very encouraged after meeting with this fun and intelligent group!
2:00 Elliott and I met with Suzanne Bertz Rosa who is helping us to put together the presentation for the Mayors' State of Downtown Breakfast on January 26th. The breakfast is nearly sold out, so don't delay if you want to attend. Call the Downtown Association asap.
3:30 We had our weekly staff meeting. It was the first with Janet and Alex. It was a fairly light meeting, we did some introductions and some catching up.
5:30 I met Steve Froberg, who is with Ashwood Homes at the Downtown Club. I knew Steve while he was the City Manager in Lemoore. Steve is one of the nicest people I have met. He was also a great City Manager while he worked in Lemoore. Ashwood does about half of their business in affordable housing, an area that I am continually learning about. I'm sure that I have said it somewhere in this blog before, but housing is its own animal. There is really a housing-industrial complex that exists between the government housing policies, banks and other types of community lending institutions, affordable housing developers and housing advocates. It is its own world.
Monday, January 4, 2010
1-4-09 Welcome Alex and Janet
I got back into the routine with an early morning run and by getting into the office a little after 7:00.
We all came back from our furlough today. City hall was closed December 24-January 3. It was nice to be off and to have City Hall closed, so that people weren't still churning out emails or needing any decisions. It's easier to shut down for a few days when everyone is off at the same time.
Before the furlough and holiday we found out that we were going to lose two of our temporary employees and friends Jenna and Fernando. We received our two new team members Alex and Janet today. They came to us from other departments as people who were laid-off bumped others within the City structure. Jenna and Fernando will be with us for a little bit longer to train Alex and Janet. We had a good amount of time with Janet and Alex today to welcome them into our department and to orient them to the exciting new work that they are about to undertake.
9:00 A meeting with: Planning Director John Dugan, Planner Manager Darrell Unruh, and Historic Preservation Officer Karana Hattersley-Drayton. Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Marlene Murphey and their consultant Jerry Freeman. Elliott Balch and me.
This meeting was to discuss the needs of the City and the Redevelopment Agency for Historic resource surveys and who has resources to cover the costs for historic analysis work. There are a variety of reasons to do historic surveys. A plan like our Fulton Corridor Specific Plan will require a level of survey work. The Redevelopment Agencies plan to continue their merger of redevelopment areas will require them to say how historic analysis of resources will be handled.
10:00 At our weekly management meeting we introduced Alex and Janet to the functions of the department: Downtown Revitalization, Administration, Local Business Initiatives, and Neighborhood Revitalization.
12:00 We took Janet and Alex to the Cosmo...can't go wrong, the place is great.
2:00 Donna Gavello, Elliott and I met with John Ostlund, the owner of K-JWL and KYNO. John has always been a downtown enthusiast and has always has his business downtown. John was instantly supportive of the DT FACES' efforts to bring more festivals and entertainment to the Fulton and the Stadium.
4:00 I had a phone one on one with Elaine Robles to prepare for some pretty big meetings that we have this week: Fresno Pacific University, Larry Powell-Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, and a meeting with the Redevelopment Agency.
5:00 I met with Blake Konczal the CEO of the Workforce Investment Board for an after work chat at the Downtown Club.
We all came back from our furlough today. City hall was closed December 24-January 3. It was nice to be off and to have City Hall closed, so that people weren't still churning out emails or needing any decisions. It's easier to shut down for a few days when everyone is off at the same time.
Before the furlough and holiday we found out that we were going to lose two of our temporary employees and friends Jenna and Fernando. We received our two new team members Alex and Janet today. They came to us from other departments as people who were laid-off bumped others within the City structure. Jenna and Fernando will be with us for a little bit longer to train Alex and Janet. We had a good amount of time with Janet and Alex today to welcome them into our department and to orient them to the exciting new work that they are about to undertake.
9:00 A meeting with: Planning Director John Dugan, Planner Manager Darrell Unruh, and Historic Preservation Officer Karana Hattersley-Drayton. Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Marlene Murphey and their consultant Jerry Freeman. Elliott Balch and me.
This meeting was to discuss the needs of the City and the Redevelopment Agency for Historic resource surveys and who has resources to cover the costs for historic analysis work. There are a variety of reasons to do historic surveys. A plan like our Fulton Corridor Specific Plan will require a level of survey work. The Redevelopment Agencies plan to continue their merger of redevelopment areas will require them to say how historic analysis of resources will be handled.
10:00 At our weekly management meeting we introduced Alex and Janet to the functions of the department: Downtown Revitalization, Administration, Local Business Initiatives, and Neighborhood Revitalization.
12:00 We took Janet and Alex to the Cosmo...can't go wrong, the place is great.
2:00 Donna Gavello, Elliott and I met with John Ostlund, the owner of K-JWL and KYNO. John has always been a downtown enthusiast and has always has his business downtown. John was instantly supportive of the DT FACES' efforts to bring more festivals and entertainment to the Fulton and the Stadium.
4:00 I had a phone one on one with Elaine Robles to prepare for some pretty big meetings that we have this week: Fresno Pacific University, Larry Powell-Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, and a meeting with the Redevelopment Agency.
5:00 I met with Blake Konczal the CEO of the Workforce Investment Board for an after work chat at the Downtown Club.
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