Business owners and the Business Improvement District advisory board had a lengthy discussion about the BID's impact on merchants and its future, Nov. 7
Ultimately, BID advisory board members voted unanimously to form a subcommittee, headed by Jana Jones, BID vice chair, and Daniel Boyer, BID member, to speak with merchants and study the possibility of amending the BID boundaries and amending BID assessments on businesses.
Board members also voted unanimously to put merchants on notice about a future vote on the 2014-2015 assessments.
Sentiment has run the gamut on the BID. Some businesses simply feel they don't want to pay the assessment, some businesses feel they receive no direct benefit and some don't like the BID's financial choices, said Jeff Kugel, director of Planning and Redevelopment.
Some area merchants spoke at the Nov. 7 meeting to express their concerns about what they feel are obvious flaws with the BID's actions and communication.
Some spoke in favor of the BID.
"Overall, I think that the activities that are going on in the Village have improved so much. It keeps people's minds on the Village," said Lois Sparling of Classic Coffee. I support the BID, wholeheartedly and I think that there are problems that need to be addressed and fixed."
Norma Reinoso of Salon Cache sees no benefit for her business in paying an assessment for BID activities, adding that she feels her location on the southwest corner of Foothill Blvd. and Glendora Avenue is not part of the Village.
Gary Boyer, owner of Southland Properties and former chairperson who helped form the BID, spoke very blunt about the direction the BID has undertaken.
"It shouldn't have taken a petition … to get certain members of this board to finally wake up," Boyer said. "Even as soon as last month, we made an announcement that we're going to limit the number of BID members that can participate in our website. We voted to spend $800 a month to manage a website that not everybody can participate in. The decisions that are being made are ridiculous."
Some board members acknowledged the issues surrounding the BID.
"Communication, absolutely there's an issue," said Jana Jones. There are so many people that don't know what the BID does. I'm getting comments--merchants coming directly to me-- [saying] sorry that they signed the petition, because they did not know what they were signing."
In either April, or May, is when affected businesses may vote on the future of the BID.
"I don't think you can ignore 250 signatures. There is an issue in the Village and I think most of us up here know that," said Daniel Boyer. "At this point in time, it's either figuring out a way to try and amend things, or it needs to go away."
