Merchants discuss $210,000 loop repair, streetlight outages and parking changes

Merchants and association leaders spent much of the meeting on operational issues: poor lighting, trash misuse, landscaping, the possibility of using Measure A gas-tax funds for major asphalt repairs, and short-term parking to ease school pickup congestion.

Aaron Brown proposed reclassifying the town-center loop as a city road so the association could tap Measure A gas-tax funding for a full-depth reclamation. "We could make the loop a street. And then we would be able to utilize gas tax to fix all of that," Brown said during discussion. The board cautioned that converting the loop to a city street would require the merchants association to transfer that strip to the city and city-council approval.

Jordan Collum reported a contractor estimate: "The loop, would be 210,000, it's 45,000 square feet," and warned that undertaking the full project would use the association's asphalt-maintenance budget for approximately four to five years if done solely with association funds. Members identified the benefit of pursuing a city-led approach as a way to avoid raising assessments on merchants.

On lighting, members described Edison/SCE as requiring one ticket per pole and recommended creating a pole-number map so merchants can report outages accurately. The group agreed to inventory outages, circulate a list of pole numbers, and ask the city's government-relations representative and Edison contacts for a clearer explanation of prior LED-conversion proposals that stalled over contract language.

Trash and dumpster issues surfaced as a continuing concern: common recycling bins are intended for merchants and tenants, but merchants reported frequent use by non-tenants and contractors. The board noted the association pays for the day porter to collect overflow and said it had instructed code enforcement to act when inappropriate dumping is observed.

Members also discussed event use of the parking lot. The board restated that outside vendors not affiliated with the association generally may not host events unless sponsored by a member; city permits and insurance apply and the city manager can approve lower insurance amounts in limited cases. The association will prioritize merchants for the annual "pumpkin bash."

Next steps include mapping light pole numbers, inventorying outages, performing a school-time walk-through to design short-term parking, and returning with progress at the July meeting.