The second draft of the PBID management summary is available. It is the result of feedback from property owners in meetings in May. Other property owner input was received in previous consultant visits in December, January, and March.

An evaluation meeting was held in mid-July lead by Dan Doyle, Downtown Fresno Partnership. PBID formation consultants from Progressive Urban Management Associates, Brad Segal and Jamie Licko, joined the group by phone from Denver. Under consideration by the property owners are services, budget, assessment methodology, boundaries and governance.

During the meeting, concern about the many Downtown issues created a lengthy discussion about priorities of a successful PBID for Downtown Fresno. Points were made about the responsibilities of property owners in the policies and plans of government. The City of Fresno received compliments for their support of the PBID formation process and their thorough Baseline Services Report detailing City services. This is used to assure that PBID services supplement, not replace, City services. In response to a question about the attributes of a successful PBID for Fresno, Brad Segal replied visibility, control, a unified voice and influence

Following the discussions and questions, the group was polled based on green – yellow – red, where green is a strong go ahead, yellow is go ahead with caution and red is do not proceed/ not in support. Out of 16 votes, 14 were green, 1 yellow and 1 red.

Given that strong support, the next steps in formation are underway. The consultants will be fleshing out the summary into a complete management plan and property owners will be identifying and expanding support among their peers.

A status letter is being mailed to property owners in early August.

For more information, contact Dan Doyle (559.323-3320 or dan.doyle@cvcb.com) or Jan Minami (559.490.9966, 559.859.1763 or jminami@downtownfresno.org).