HomeMy WebLinkAboutREDvariousb3RED FIL E
– MEETING AGEND A
DATE Y'/5,o ITEM #6 -3
From :Tres Feltman[SMTP :TRES@HANDSGALLERY .COM]
Sent:Monday, June 14, 2010 10 :07 :49 P M
To :Council, SloCity
Cc : Deborah Cash ; Landy Fike ; Pierre Rademake r
Subject :Downtown maintenance & beautificatio n
Auto forwarded by a Rul e
Dear Council Members ,
My name is Tres Feltman. My wife and I own Hands Gallery in downtown SLO and I a m
on the board of directors of the Downtown Association . I am writing because I am
unfortunately unable to attend the city council meeting Tuesday night . I am aware of th e
$640,000 budgeted for downtown enhancements and, while I welcome any and al l
improvements to the downtown, I wanted to plead my case for building a vibrant nigh t
time economy in our downtown . As our downtown continues to improve, throug h
remodels and retrofitting of existing buildings and change due to new development I
believe the city must consider downtown lighting, in many forms, as an important part o f
the downtown's future . When the city replaces old sidewalks, runs new water/sewer lines ,
or does any kind of infrastructure improvement it must always consider the opportunity
to run electrical conduit to each of our tree wells . This would not be a large additiona l
expense at the time of doing these improvements and would be an immediate benefit t o
the economy of our downtown . Lights, lighted tress in particular, have been show t o
improve business in many downtowns such as Santa Barbara, Ventura, Paso Robles, an d
countless cities throughout the US . As you consider the allocation of funds for th e
improvement of our downtown I implore you to not underestimate the value, the return
on investment, of allowing for the lighting of our beautiful trees in the downtown .
Thank you ,
Tres Feltman
Hands Galler y
(805) 543-192 1
www . HandsGallery .co m
From :Brett Cross[SMTP :BRETTCROSS@YAHOO .COM ]
Sent :Monday, June 14, 2010 9 :58 :25 P M
To :Council, SloCity
Subject :Downtown Maintenance and Beautification Project- Item B 3
Auto forwarded by a Rul e
I was pretty surprised to see a $640,000 project slated for maintenance an d
improvements along Higuera St . between Morro and Broad, especially give n
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the budget forecast that was in today's paper (Monday edition). Obviously
the City has money budgeted for this project so the question then reall y
becomes is this the most important project given the community's desires .I
certainly don't believe so . I know some of you may want to argue that thi s
isn't about competing needs but expending $640,000 of public money is al l
about competing needs and thus specific projects .
For a number of years there has been public support for a new skate park .
The City has already spent money on the design of the project, it is ready t o
be built . What is lacking is funding . It's time to fund the skate park . And it's
appropriate to use the funding that is being budgeted for the downtown
project . The skate park project will bring more benefits to the whol e
community than replacing sidewalks, pedestrian lights, tree planting, and th e
other expenditures that are planned as part of the downtown project .
This community lacks recreation opportunities for children and adults wh o
do not participate in what I call "mainstream" sports . Along with a skat e
park- which many other communities smaller than San Luis Obispo have ,
the community lacks a BMX park, and a community sailing program . Jus t
to name a few obvious recreation opportunities that have not be met in thi s
community which many other communities have created .
Those recreation opportunities are what makes a community a desirabl e
place to live and a desirable place to families who are looking to relocate .
There is much talk about building workforce housing, which is all great an d
wonderful but without recreation opportunities for those families all th e
workforce housing in the world will not keep or bring families to ou r
community .
I encourage you to make what will be a tough choice, though it shouldn't be ,
and use the funding that is being proposed for th e
downtown maintenance and beautification project to finally build the muc h
needed skate park .
Sincerely,
Brett Cross
ART SOBISPO
San Luis Obispo Count y
Arts Counci l
570 Higuera St ., Ste. 17 5
P .O. Box 171 0
San Luis Obispo, C A
9340 6
Phone: (805) 544-925 1
Fax : (805) 544-1522
office@artsobispo.org
www .artsobispo .or g
Board of Director s
Steve Bland
Presiden t
Mary Kay Harringto n
Vice-Presiden t
Jane Voigts
Secretary
Fred Ventura
Treasure r
Kristin Bridgefor d
Julie Frankel
Crissa Hewit t
Richard Mortensen
Ann Ream,ex officio
Stacy Willis
June 14, 201 0
Mayor Romero and City Council ,
ARTS Obispo's Art in Public Places Committee, that includes a member of th e
San Luis Obispo Downtown Association Design Committee, has discussed a t
length the utility box art project and its process . We ask that you approv e
staffs recommendation and move forward with this exciting downtow n
beautification project .
It is our understanding that there will be new newspaper stands, as well . We
would like to suggest an additional beautification idea. The back of these stand s
could provide another space for creative expression . For example, they coul d
include historical, whimsical, informational or directional images . Painte d
newspaper stands, along with the utility box art, will be a wonderful addition t o
the downtown area .
Respectfully submitted ,
Ann Ream
Chairperson Art in Public Places Committe e
ARTS Obispo, San Luis Obispo County Arts Counci l
Staff
Marta Pelus o
Executive Director
Jenna Hartzel l
Program Directo r
Sara Heinrich s
Operations Manage r
Barbara Radovich ,
Arts in Education Coordinator
Marnie Parker, AmeriCorp s
Volunteer Coordinator @
ARTS Obispo
Advancing the Arts in San Luis Obispo County
From :chinosrocks@gmail .com on behalf of Javie r
Cadena[SMTP :JAVIER@CHINOSROCKS .COM]
Sent :Monday, June 14, 2010 7 :05 :17 P M
To :Council, SloCity
Subject:Dowtown SLO Superblock
Auto forwarded by a Rule
Dear council ,
I am reaching out to you for a concern I have with the options put forth in the Downtow n
Maintenance and Beautification plan . I am the owner of Chino's Rock & Tacos locate d
in the Downtown Centre in San Luis Obispo . I also own three other locations in Sant a
Barbara, Isla Vista and Paso Robles . Over the years I have been able to see how othe r
downtown's work and how they are made successful for business to thrive and tourism .
One complaint I hear over and over again is the lack of lighting in our downtown . It doe s
not create a welcoming environment to spend more time in the downtown area afte r
dark . I propose that the city really makes a "Super block" that other cities talk about an d
I am proud to say I live here . In order to do this, tree lighting must be implemented int o
the plan. I have seen this idea proven due to the fact that Paseo Nuevo, in Santa Barbara ,
recently added LED lighting to its trees . Business owners, especially Live Culture, ha s
seen an increase in sales . Please consider at the least adding the "infrastructure" o f
conduit and power boxes to the tree wells before making the expense of repaving th e
sidewalks . I am proud to call San Luis Obispo my home and I want to make sure that w e
are designing a city for the future .
Thank you for your consideration ,
Javier Caden a
Presiden t
Viva Enterprises
chinosrocks .com