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PO Box 1402
San Luis Obisp o
California 9340 6
Phone 805-541-028 6
Fax 805-781-264 7
www . downtownslo. corn
RED FIL E
MEETING AGEND A
DATE//o ITEM #.e 3
15 June 201 0
To :
Mayor Romero and City Council Member s
From :
Deborah Cash, Executive Director
Re :
Downtown Maintenance and Beautificatio n
The Downtown Association Design Committee at its regular meeting hel d
yesterday, June 14, 2010, reviewed and discussed the Downtown Maintenanc e
and Beautification staff report for today's meeting . The Board had, on June 8 ,
reviewed and discussed information about this item provided by City enginee r
Bridget Fraser on June 2, and provided a statement to Ms . Fraser supporting a n
option "1 .5" that is being considered .
Because the purview of the Design Committee is primarily the aesthetics o f
Downtown, the committee believes its observations and recommendations woul d
have been helpful to the Board before it issued its final recommendation .
The Design Committee wishes to offer its observations about the staff repor t
Option 1 .5, however it does so without an official endorsement of the Board ,
though it seems that both the Board's recommendation and the Committee's
recommendation can be accommodated with perhaps a "1 .75" version that looks
a little more toward the future with regard to infrastructure improvements .
The committee urges the City Council consider installing infrastructure to suppor t
the future, namely to install conduit under sidewalks that are going to b e
improved before the work occurs .Committee members feel very strongly tha t
the future of Downtown lies in improving not only the daytime look of th e
area but also in addressing its lack of lighting at night ; this can only b e
remedied by starting to plan now while funding is available .It would b e
highly unlikely that the City would want to come back at a later date and rip u p
improved sidewalks for this purpose ; it makes much more sense to review th e
proposed budget and look for a way to include the installation of conduit as par t
of this plan .
The Downtown Association has demonstrated that it wishes to be a part of thi s
effort to create a beautiful and safe nighttime environment, particularly as it look s
toward developing a nighttime economy and perhaps even implementing a
hospitality zone, of which lighting is an essential element . As partners, we wil l
look to contribute our resources where possible to realize a vision of what man y
towns have already found has meant a boost for business and a benefit for th e
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RECEIVE D
JUN 15 2010
SLO CITY CLERK
At this critical juncture in making changes to Downtown's physical features, th e
Design Committee respectfully asks that the Council include some allocation fo r
future infrastructure in this project .
Cc : SLO Downtown Association Board of Director s
SLO Downtown Association Design Committe e
Jay Walter, Director of Public Works
Bridget Fraser, Senior Civil Engineer