Caldwell Chamber seeks city support to bring back consultant Roger Brooks for downtown-district update

Travis Palmer, director of the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce, told a May 12 workshop that the Chamber has raised local funds and is asking city leaders to commit additional municipal support to bring consultant Roger Brooks back to update a downtown action plan.

Palmer said he and a small “keepers” group — formed after he was hired — pooled $5,000 and committed to raising an additional $10,000 from the community to show “universal community buy-in” for a multi‑month update by Brooks, who authored the original downtown action plan years earlier. “You have done a good job,” Palmer said in describing Brooks’s view of Caldwell. “There’s still a lot of work to do, but Caldwell can be an absolute gem.”

The Chamber’s presentation said the City’s comprehensive plan calls for a downtown plan update and noted the original Brooks recommendation envisioned periodic “temperature checks” every three to five years; Palmer said that follow-up never occurred and the Chamber sees the revisit as a course correction. Palmer told commissioners the Chamber will take a modest management fee (about 6% of the total) for coordinating public meetings and outreach and that Destination Caldwell and other civic groups have agreed to contribute funds.

Commissioners asked how the Chamber would raise the community match and what role the Urban Renewal Agency (URA) would play. Commissioner Moore said civic clubs might contribute and asked whether future revisit costs were included; Palmer estimated a future one-day revisit could cost roughly $4,000–$5,000. Palmer said the Chamber had discussed alternatives but selected Brooks because, in their view, he acts as a consensus builder: “he doesn’t come up with a plan for Caldwell. He comes up with a plan with Caldwell.”

Palmer also said the geographic scope of the proposed effort would radiate north from the established downtown core and that the Chamber intends to include URA, planning, streets, county and many community groups in stakeholder conversations.

Members of the public spoke in favor of bringing Brooks back. Chuck Stoddick, a longtime Caldwell resident, told the Agency he supported hiring Brooks again and urged the URA to consider the whole area rather than subdividing it. The Chamber said it intends to ask City Council for a line-item commitment; staff and commissioners said they expected the request to appear on the next available council agenda if the Chamber’s memorandum of understanding and contract are approved by the Chamber board.

Ending: The workshop concluded with the Chamber offering to answer follow-up questions and to present the contract/MOU to council once the Chamber board has approved it. Commissioners and staff said they want to ensure URA and planning staff are coordinated with any consultant work so the community vision aligns with URA infrastructure and redevelopment plans.