California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

In a sing of the times, the Santa Rose Press Democrat reported that the
community’s Main Street program, a business lobbying group formed seven
years ago to enhance its downtown, has ceased operations.

Part of the reason for the closure was that the Santa Rosa City Council
withdrew its funding of the mostly volunteer organization, due to the need
to reduce its own expenditures due to the downturn in its own budget created
by the recession.  City funding was the group's primary source of funding.
When the program was launched in 2002 the city gave it $150,000 a year, an
amount that reported dropped to $105,000 in recent years.

David Gouin, the city economic development director, said that Main Street
program, which had one paid employee, also faced a daunting task to collectively
represent the area. “Our downtown is a very diverse neighborhood. There are small
retail merchants, large property owner interests, a regional mall and a historic
district. "Having those divergent interests together makes it difficult for any
organization,” he said.

The Main Street program is one of many groups that have attempted downtown
revitalization over the past 16 years to act as a pro-business lobby at City Hall.
All of them folded for reasons that apparently included lack of funding or
volunteers.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.