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Achieving our Vision, One Project, One Neighborhood, at a time. Watercolor by Katherine McGuire, katherinemcguire.com

AOV E-Newsletter May 29, 2008

In this issue:

Ventura's City Council Invites You to Discuss Ventura's Funding Priorities

The Ventura City Council invites you to share a conversation about where your household budget and the city budget meet. This is an opportunity to help us understand your priorities for City services.

Let's get together and talk about money matters. To set up a meeting with a Council member for your community organization, neighborhood group or club, please call Anne Hallock at 805-658-4739 or e-mail .

911 Emergency Communications System Response Fee to Fund Public Safety

The City Council has budgeted to add six police officers and three firefighters, contingent on the fee revenue to fund our 911 Emergency Communications Center, which is currently 100% supported by the City's General Fund. While controversial, the new fee is designed to continue Ventura's efforts to reduce emergency response times during a time when city revenues are falling due to the downturn in the economy.

About 15% of resident and business lines were enrolled in the "per use" option for the City's new Emergency Communications (911) Fee prior to the May 6th deadline. With approximately 158,000 lines estimated lines, forms were filed for 27,000 lines to be exempt from the $1.49 a month fee.

Developing Diversity and Building Business: City Hall Hosts Arts Leadership Conference May 30-31

On Friday, May 30 and Saturday, May 31, the City of Ventura Cultural Affairs Division will host a two-day arts leadership conference entitled "Diverse (Art) City: Embracing the Cultural Spectrum."

This annual networking and skill-building conference is intended to draw the regional arts community together and strengthen the capacity of nonprofit arts organizations and individual artists. The conference will be held at Ventura City Hall, 501 Poli Street, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Conference registration fee is $30 per day.

Ventura Pursues Retail Growth at Annual ICSC Convention

For the third year in a row the City of Ventura attended the International Council of Shopping Centers - Retail Convention (ICSC ReCon) in Las Vegas. The City was well represented by Mayor Christy Weir, Deputy Mayor Bill Fulton, Councilmember Ed Summers, and Economic Development division staff; Chamber of Commerce representatives Zoe Taylor and Ted Cook attended, as well as Visitors and Convention Bureau executive director Jim Luttjohann. More than 50,000 people attended the ICSC ReCon and toured more than two million square feet of exhibit space. The City had an opportunity to interact with various teams of retailers, developers, and brokers either at the City's exhibit booth or at one of 10 pre-scheduled meetings throughout the conference. Economic Development manager Sid White summed up the purpose of the event, "What happened at 2008 ICSC Las Vegas will not stay there - we got great leads and a peek into the future of retail."

Of course these leads will take time to materialize. The outcomes from last year's ICSC conference are just now starting to come on line. The City's attendance at the 2007 ICSC helped to catalyze the City's purchase of the beachside parking structure, the Hyatt Place project at the 101 Seaward exit, and the newly expanded and relocated Big 5 Sporting Goods store on Main Street. In addition to garnering multiple leads from major retailers, the City was also able to track and troubleshoot issues with pending commercial projects currently in the works. In between meetings, the City delegation attended speaker sessions to get an insider's look at the retail market.

Embassy Suites Hotel Takes Important Step Forward

Last month, the City's Design Review Committee approved the architectural design of the proposed Embassy Suites Hotel to be located at the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Figueroa Street. An environmental analysis of the project is the next step, and upon completion of the environmental analysis, the project goes to the Planning Commission for a final decision. Simultaneously, City staff has been working with Assemblyman Pedro Nava to facilitate a land swap between the City and State in order to assemble the land needed for the hotel.

Adding hotels is a central focus of the City's downtown revitalization strategy. Hotels are considered an economic development catalyst, as they bring in transient occupancy tax (TOT) and tourism revenue. When completed, the 162-room Embassy Suites Hotel will be yet another jewel in the City's downtown district.

City Manager Blog: Getting rich off retail?

Ventura City Manager Rick Cole gives immediate insight into breaking news. In his latest post, he shares thoughts on retail growth in Ventura versus shifting consumer spending trends.

"For the third year in a row, Ventura made a major push to market our community at the annual "Global Real Estate Convention" sponsored by the International Council of Shopping Centers. The event, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, was attended by more than 50,000 retailers, developers and shopping industry professionals.

Mayor Weir, Deputy Mayor Fulton and Councilmember Summers all participated, along with City staff and leaders of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce. Through a booth and a full schedule of meetings, Ventura made its case to retain and expand our offering of national retailers.

It is an eye-opening opportunity to track retail trends as well as do business. While attendance was down only slightly this year, it may mark the beginning of the end of the era of national retail expansion."

City of Ventura eNews: Achieving Our Vision

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Masthead Art: katherinemcguire.com