03-04-10 Thursday

7:00 I met with the housing brain trust, Rollie Smith, Preston Prince, Keith Bergthold, and Eileen Neely. I continue to be amazed at what a different world housing is. It has its own laws, funding, politics. It's always good to know how much you know and how little you know. Housing is its own world.



8:30 I had my one on one meeting with Amy Huerta. We mostly talked about some of the logistics for the Fresno Food Show. I made some calls to try to round up potential buyers from grocery stores.


9:30 Renena Smith is the City's Budget Director. Renena presented more mid-year budget information to the City Council. All Department Directors were required to attend, in case the city Council members had any questions for us. The Mayor is doing a great job of sharing information as it becomes clear. It is not easy news and will lead to hardship for many people and reduced service for the community, but it is better to be clear and allow information to drive the best possible decisions.


11:00 I met with a few gentlemen about a building that they own in the South Stadium area. They were unsure whether or not they should sell the property or keep it to renovate as part of the revitalization effort. I gave them information about the changing regulations, the City's vision for an entertainment district, and the fee deferral. I'm not sure what direction they'll go, but I want people to have the best information possible.


12:15 I had lunch at the Shepherd's Inn with former Congressman Chip Pashayan. I hadn't seen him for many years. He owns some property in the South Stadium area and he requested some help with understanding City processes. It appears that he'll have to do some work to the building before he'll be able to use it.


2:00 We had our weekly review of Specific Plan activities with the Planning Department, John Dugan and Arnoldo Rodriguez. Coordination is key. Plus, John Dugan is so darned smart, it's always a pleasure to here what is doing in the planning department.


4:00 Representatives from the City and the Redevelopment Agency had a conference call with consultants on the viability of gaining funding from the Economic Development Administration for the public market and commercial kitchen incubator.


5:30 I had the opportunity to give a tour of the Fulton Mall to a class from Fresno Pacific University called Theological Ethics and the Environment. We met at the Warnors Theater and walked down to the Mariposa Mall. After we walked back we went through the KJWL studio and into Broadway Studios.


I had one of our interns on the tour, named Tony. Tony hadn't been to ArtHop before so I took him past Mono and van Ness and over to Chris Sorensen's studios too. We stopped into the Iron Bird Lofts Cafe too.