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Don Saye, member of the Economic Development Subcommittee and Member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber and a downtown merchant, announced that he had begun the process of fonning a new Downtown Merchants Group, which grew out of the downtown merchants coalescing around the issue of the Broadway Sidewalks Project. Mr. Saye said it appeared there would be forty active members of this group, and businesses along streets perpendicular to Broadway had been invited to join. Mr. Saye asked that the Council recognize the restoration efforts of the new owners of the old Quong Lee laundry, the historic building at 726 Main Street. MEMO 11/26/96 Mayor Hartnett invited Council Members to comment on the Subcommittee recommendations: Councilwoman La Berge referred to the SKMG report and agreed with the results of the two surveys cited that the most important thing the City can do to support and strengthen the business environment is to clean-up the City, including visual improvements and infrastructure improvements. Councilwoman La Berge said the Council had already put in place a code enforcement strategy and expressed how important it was to combine these strategies to assist economic development, as well as make the necessary infrastructure improvements in signs, roads and street lights. Councilman Ruskin also expressed his support for visible changes and said he considered it one of the Council's most important tasks within the next year. He said the Code Enforcement Beautification Team "is now working up some recommendations, and will be back to the Council with those recommendations soon." Councilman Leipzig said the recommendations were a good start, and agreed with his colleagues that code enforcement was very important. He said "we can implement all the reports and proposals we want, but if we don't do the basics, businesses will not come here.... We have to clean up the visual blight. We have to make sure the infrastructure is sound, well lighted, and a safe environment for businesses. That's what they look at. They don't look at, unfortunately, reports as good as they are, from our Chamber.....We know what businesses look for, good transportation, good job sector, infrastructure and a safe, clean place to do business, where there are dollars to be spent." Councilman Leipzig said he was glad the Chamber had eliminated the auto mall concept. He said the large focus group meeting was very positive and he felt the dealers did not want an auto mall. Councilman Leipzig said he could not support the auto strategy of allocating $75,000 for expenditure on something the staff could not identify. He said there was no leakage of auto dealers as far as he could tell, and suggested the Council "tell the dealers we want them here" but not allocate any funds at this time. REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTE BOOK NO. 55 NOVEMBER 25, 1996 MINUTES Page No. 054 PAGE 7