PORT ANGELES — A meeting will be held Thursday to discuss the direction and future of the Port Angeles Downtown Association.
The association’s 13-member board of directors, however, voted not to support the meeting.
Thursday’s meeting is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. in the Elks Club third-floor ballroom.
All downtown merchants, interested members of the public and city officials are invited to attend.
The meeting’s was organized by Sandy Long, a former vice president of the downtown association, and a group of former association board members.
She said the meeting would be held despite the lack of support by the association’s board.
“Many members of the association want to ask questions about the future and direction of the organization now that the executive director has resigned — from getting a new executive director to possible restructuring of the organization to make it more effective,” said Long.
“The meeting is going forward, and I hope everyone concerned about downtown will come even though this meeting it is not sanctioned by the board.”
The meeting comes in the wake of the resignation, effective Oct. 27, of Arla Holzschuh, executive director of the downtown association since September 1997.
She said she was retiring to devote more time to caring for her elderly mother, who lives in Victoria, although she will continue to live here.
Long noted that one option that should be discussed was possibly merging the downtown association with the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce to get more cost-effective and broader marketing for downtown merchants.
However, the downtown association’s board said earlier this month that it wasn’t interested in discussing a possible merger with the chamber.
“This is the kind of big issue that should be discussed by the whole membership,” said Long, “not just the board of directors.”
Meeting items
Long and 13 downtown merchants sent a letter dated Sept. 5 to the association’s board — which is elected by the downtown merchants — asking for Thursday’s meeting.
The letter said: “Items we would like to see on the agenda include:
“A discussion of the pros and cons of remaining affiliated with the [state and national] Main Street Program [Main Street helps communities develop strategies to stimulate long-term economic growth and pride in downtown areas.].
“An examination of other organizational options for the PADA.
“A request that the PADA board of directors appoint an ad hoc committee made up of PBIA members [PBIA stands for Parking Business Improvement Area; members, in general, are the downtown merchants] to develop an up-to-date job description, decide on salary and benefits for, and implement a process for hiring a new executive director (including an interim director if necessary) for PADA.
“A review of the 2006 budget and financials to date (January through August).
“A report on the current status of the organization’s application for 501(c)(3) [nonprofit organization] status.
“A request to appoint an ad hoc committee of PBIA members to review and revise the PADA bylaws.”
Response from board
The association’s president, Kevin Thompson, owner of Family Shoe Store, responded in a Sept. 12 letter addressed to “Sandy and Co-signers.”
The letter said the association’s board had decided it “would be in the best interest of the membership” to schedule a meeting at another time when officials of the state Main Street Program would be present to “answer questions and concerns regarding the value of a Main Street program to our community.”
Thompson’s letter added:
“Because our first priority, at this time, is finding a new executive director, it will be necessary for us to revist the other topics in your letter at a future date.
“The procedure for recruiting a new executive director is already in place, and we are moving forward with the process as rapidly as possible.”
The letter suggested that members of the downtown associations with concerns either attend one of the board’s meetings the second and fourth Monday of every month or the association’s monthly “Morning Mingle” the last Wednesday of every month.
Pay yearly assessment
The downtown association represents more than 200 merchants in Port Angeles. Its mission, according to its Web site, wwwportangelesdowntown.com, is “to develop and promote a healthy and prosperous Downtown for Port Angeles, Washington.”
Merchants within the PBIA, or Parking Business Improvement Area — roughly, most of the downtown business core — are automatically members of the downtown association.
They must pay a special yearly assessment to the city — from $160 to $400 a year — which is then returned to the association to pay for the group’s executive director, downtown promotional activities and maintenance of downtown parking lots.
The PBIA was created in 1986, and the assessment is calculated on a business’ square footage.
Individuals and groups outside the PBIA interested in supporting the downtown can also pay a fee and join the downtown association.
The group manages the downtown parking lots. It does monthly and yearly maintenance — sweeping, snow removal; restripping, resurfacing.
Its best-known achievement is Art on the Town — there are almost 50 sculptures around the downtown area. It also tries to buy at least one of the art objects on behalf of the city every year.
There are now more than 15 sculptures that are now on permanent display, paid for by the downtown association.
The downtown association also encourages building maintenance and facade rehabilitation; it pays $300 toward each renovation efforts to help defray expenses.
It coordinates Halloween trick or treating downtown, the Christmas tree-lighting and the lighting of 130 downtown trees every holiday season.
It also purchases banners and lights and Christmas decorations and is currently installing new benches downtown.