Downtown Fresno Partnership 2018 Annual Report TABLE of CONTENTS 1
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Downtown Fresno Partnership 2018 Annual Report TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Board & Staff 2. CEO Introduction 3. Clean & Safe 4. Trash Report & Ambassador Activities 5. Graffiti Removal, Landscaping & Sanitation 6. Crime & Security 7. Parking 8. High Speed Rail 9. Bus Rapid Transit & Bike Racks 10. Economic Enhancements & Business Development 11. Economic Development & property Referrals 12. Core Events 13. Third Party Events 14. Marketing & Communications 15. Social Media & Newsletters 16. Grand Openings & Website Statistics 17. Media Relations 18. Management & Administration 19. Downtown Fresno Foundation 20. Downtown Fresno Foundation Programs 1 Board & Staff Board of Directors Hilary Haron Scott Anderson Bob Gurfield Preston Prince Chair The Penstar Group Property Owner Fresno Housing Haron Jaguar Authority Mark Astone Kyle Kirkland Ken Ramos Treasurer Catalyst Marketing Club One Casino Wilma Quan-Schecter Wells Fargo City of Fresno Will Dyck Marlene Murphey Jessica Roush Secretary Summa Development Fresno Redevelopment Jean Rousseau T.W. Patterson Building Group Agency County of Fresno Nathan Ahle Robert Ellis John Ostlund Jake Soberal Fresno Chamber of Leasing & Investment One Putt Broadcasting Bitwise Industries Commerce Inc. Dennis Woods United Security Bank Staff Jimmy Cerracchio – President/CEO Daniel Griffith – Program Manager Chris Rocha – Office Coordinator Tatevik Hovhannisyan – Event Coordinator Bianca Camara – Events and Promotions Coordinator Lee Blackwell – Clean Team Ambassador Tou Lee – Hospitality Ambassador 1 CEO Introduction In March of 2018, my family and I accepted a new beginning in our lives. We started making plans to travel across the country with all our belongings and settle down in Fresno, California. After an arduous road trip, which seemed like it would involve my pets revolting against me, we arrived and I swiftly reported for duty at my new position at the Downtown Fresno Partnership (DFP). Once settled in, and after many conversations with stakeholders, staff, and residents, I realized that this was also a new beginning for DFP. The organization was in a position to try new ideas as it was ready to take its next steps into revitalization. Fulton Street was open, new businesses were excited to locate downtown, buzz was positive. With the assistance of the DFP staff and board of directors, we began instituting new policies aimed at responsible management, economic growth, and transparency in our actions. We’ve renewed lost relationships and created new partners. We’ve instituted new programs and increased communication with stakeholders. The following report highlights the accomplishments of the Downtown Fresno Partnership for 2018. We are very proud of our successes over the past year. We will utilize these successes to drive ourselves forward as we look to attract new development, new businesses, and more people to downtown in the coming years. Jimmy Cerracchio President & CEO Thank you for your support of Downtown Fresno Downtown Fresno Partnership Partnership. 2 Clean & Safe Clean & Safe Initiatives/Transportation Improvements Clean and safe initiatives are to include ambassador services and private security patrols to improve both reality and perception of public safety, streetscape and signage to make downtown more attractive. Three categories of ambassador services are to be provided: clean, safety, and hospitality. Hospitality ambassadors are to be provided in Zones 1, 2, and 3. Clean and safety ambassadors are to be provided to parcels in Zones 2 and 3 only. Due to budget and staff cuts, the Clean and Safe Team was reduced to one person in 2015. Downtown Fresno Partnership recently hired another ambassador to begin meeting the needs of all three zones in clean, safe, and hospitality efforts. Ambassadors Downtown Fresno Partnership currently employs two full-time Clean and Safety Ambassadors, who service and maintain several clean and safety, as well as hospitality aspects in PBID Zones 1, 2, and 3. Ambassador hours are between 7 am – 6 pm, Monday – Friday, 10am-7pm most weekends The organization re-started hospitality program by positioning Ambassadors in key areas during high traffic events 3 Trash Report (# of lbs removed) 1300 1175 1300 1225 Plant Debris 1550 975 800 1375 725 1000 900 105 90 75 75 90 90 75 60 45 60 60 Activities • Picked up 13,150 lbs of trash, debris and plants in Zones 2 and 3 • Coordinated gravity locking systems to be installed by Mid Valley on all dumpsters in Zone 3 • Distributed notices to all business/property owners in Zone 3 to outline City Code on dumpster use and maintenance • Tracked weekly dumpster use and maintenance in Zone 3 to report the number of locked/unlocked dumpsters to business, property owner, and City; as of November 2018, there are 27 locked dumpsters out of 66 total dumpsters in Zone 3 • Coordinated with Mid Valley Disposal to lock all 25 street cans in Zone 2 • All 25 lockable street cans and 10 non-lockable street cans in Zone 2 received weekly service by Mid Valley Disposal 4 Graffiti Removal Removed 2,164 instances of graffiti in Zones 2 and 3, reported 78 instances of graffiti in Zones 1, 2, and 3 for a total of 2,242 instances of graffiti removed or reported 349 Removed Reported 241 215 197 189 180 184 165 164 148 132 4 9 5 6 7 4 7 8 11 3 14 Landscaping & Sanitation • All 74 non-irrigated planters in Zones 2 and 3 received daily watering and maintenance by Miller-Clark Landscape Co. • Reported requests for pressure washing and street sweeping services to the City of Fresno Sanitation Team on an as needed basis • Held 5 Environmental Enhancements Committee meetings 5 Crime and Security • Altered overnight security patrol hours in Zones 2 and 3 to 10 pm – 6 am to accommodate security concerns and patterns • Worked closely with Central California Private Security and Downtown Fresno Policing Unit to see an overall decrease in crime – robberies are down -47%, burglaries are down -38%, vehicle burglaries are down -60%, stolen vehicles are down 33%, sex offences down 80%, larceny down 18% and zero homicides. • Held access to a dedicated cell phone number for non-emergency, immediate responses from the Police Department • Held 11 Security Roundtable meetings with staff, Central California Private Security, CIS Security, Civic Center Square, City of Fresno, SP+ Parking, and the Downtown Policing Unit 6 Transportation Parking Downtown Fresno Partnership (DFP) has taken in active role in improving the parking experience for visitors. There are 2,000 metered parking stalls, 8 city-operated and two private parking garages in downtown Fresno. The City of Fresno has prepared an RFP for smart meter services which includes credit card enabled parking meters as well as a mobile app to facilitate payments. The RFP will be issued in January 2019. Additionally, surface parking lots will also be receiving credit card enabled pay stations. Also, City of Fresno owned garages will soon receive mobile credit card machines to facilitate card payments for daily parkers. DFP is also actively promoting parking options to visitors and businesses by promoting information for available parking, including; Smartcard: a cash-free option at the City of Fresno for $33. $3 to sign up for a card loaded with $30 in parking meter credit, which is good for 40 hours of meter time. This option has been around since 2006. First hour free: Three city-owned parking garages offer first hour free parking, with $1 an hour and $9 daily maximum. Evenings and weekends free: City-owned meters and garages are free after 6 pm and on weekends, unless there is an event at Chukchansi Park, Convention Center, Saroyan Theater, or Selland Arena. Parking validations: downtown businesses receive a special rate from SP+ for purchasing bulk validations for city-owned garages. Customers can also contact SP+ or Ace Parking directly to purchase parking validations, or check with businesses to receive parking validations. 7 High Speed Rail In the past several months, there have been a number of road closures in downtown Fresno for high-speed rail construction. Downtown Fresno Partnership has remained in contact with Fresno County Economic Development Corporation, City of Fresno, and Chinatown Foundation to advocate for the best possible circumstances for businesses and property owners during construction road closures. Tulare Street. In October 2017, Tulare Street between downtown Fresno and Chinatown closed for approximately two years. Fresno Street, two blocks north of Tulare, became the primary detour route for drivers through the construction. Ventura Avenue. Crews are expected to begin work on a similar high-speed rail underpass at Ventura Avenue. The Downtown Fresno Partnership has pushed for Ventura Avenue to remain open until a viable option is available to connect downtown Fresno and Chinatown. Crews have begun preparing to reopen Mono Street before closing Ventura Avenue. Kern and Mono Streets. Railroad crossings at Kern and Mono Streets closed prior to Tulare Street’s closure, and Kern Street between H Street and Chinatown has been designated for eventual permanent closure. The board of the Downtown Fresno Partnership voted unanimously to support keeping Kern Street open during the construction, and submitted a letter to the California High Speed Rail Authority. Eventually, Kern and Mono will be permanently closed – two out of the three streets that connect downtown Fresno and Chinatown. 8 Bus Rapid Transit Fresno’s Bus Rapid Transit, “The Q,” launched in mid-February. There are 17, 40 ft-long buses that travel 16 miles on Blackstone Ave. to downtown and from Ventura Avenue/Kings Canyon Rd. to Clovis Ave.; buses run every 10 minutes. The Q makes daily transit service more accessible and safer, with 51 stations and surveillance cameras and lighting at each stop. The downtown Fresno hub is located at Courthouse Park. Businesses hope that the system convenience and proximity to Fulton St. will attract new customers . Bike Racks The City of Fresno has also installed some Bike Racks as requested by Downtown Fresno businesses.