No matter which candidate is selected as Downtown Vision Inc.’s next executive director, continuing to make the urban core clean and safe and raising more money will be the main priorities.
That’s based on final interviews of four applicants conducted Wednesday by board members, joined by Downtown Investment Authority chair Oliver Barakat and CEO Aundra Wallace.
Jake Gordon, executive director of the Business Improvement District in Camden, N.J., said a clean and safe environment is the foundation of all urban improvement programs.
“Dirty and dangerous just don’t work,” he said.
Working closely with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to educate business and property owners about ways to reduce nuisance crime would be on the agenda for Jason Dennison, president of Downtown Sioux Falls, the South Dakota city’s Business Improvement District.
He said he also would support publicizing the crime statistics as a way to demonstrate that Downtown is a safe place to visit.
Sunny Gettinger, a former Google department manager, said the Downtown Ambassadors are doing a good job, but she would analyze the program’s scheduling and possibly revise the hours for the team of maintenance and hospitality workers.
The ambassador program accounts for about 50 percent of Downtown Vision’s annual budget of about $1 million.
An evaluation of the program also would be on Abel Harding’s list of what to do. Harding, board chair of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, said he would “study the role” the Ambassadors play.
He also addressed First Wednesday Art Walk, which has become Downtown Vision’s signature event over the past 14 years.
Harding said the once-a-month event is too expensive to sustain without a corporate sponsor and it might be time for another organization to take the reins, possibly the cultural council or Friends of Hemming Park.
Gordon also said the organization funding its events would not be the path he would support.
“The best event is the event you don’t have to put money into,” he said.
Dennison cited the annual “Riverfest” in Sioux Falls as an example. The event’s $90,000 budget is derived from $40,000 in sponsorships, $40,000 in beverage sales and $10,000 in vendor fees, he said.
He said nearly 60 percent of Downtown Sioux Falls’ revenue is earned income. Twenty percent comes from property taxes paid in the district and the City of Sioux Falls contributes the remaining 20 percent.
Downtown Sioux Falls also has a membership program, with annual dues from $300 for a small business to $5,000 for a “Visionary Sponsor.”
Gettinger said she would promote partnerships with cultural organizations and event promoters to create before- and after-event opportunities for people to spend more time in the neighborhood after they already are Downtown.
Harding thinks the first step toward increased sponsorship revenue would be to make it more clear what Downtown can offer as an experience. He said based on history, there are corporate sponsors who could be called on to be more involved.
“There is a huge group that has said they are committed to Downtown,” said Harding. “We just need to give them a product.”
Selection Committee Chair Patrick McElhaney said Downtown Vision’s next executive director will be determined in “a couple of days.”
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