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. Fairfield Downtown Association 1000 Texas St. Suite D Fairfield California 94533 Phone: 707-422-0103 Fax: 707-422-1256  garsondesign.com
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to main newsletter page FAIRFIELD DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER June 2003 Beautification Update Each month Beautification Chair Cathi Jasso (Pac Cal Realty) walks the district with Emily Low (Main Street Program Coordinator) to provide a list of maintenance and beautification issues to the City of Fairfield Public Works Department. Cracked or missing bricks, dead or missing trees, loose or uneven sidewalks, weed and brush overgrowth, etc are all items that need to be reported so work crews can remedy ugly or unsafe conditions in our district. Please call Cathi at 428-1105 or the FDA office if you notice a repair or landscape issue that needs to be addressed. In keeping with this new procedure, Emily, city liaison Rich Atkins and two members of the Planning Department walked the district to identify signage, display and safety issues that need to be addressed. The good news is that very few infractions of the City of Fairfield Sign Ordinance were found. The not-so-good news is that many years of complacent enforcement of the sign ordinance have led to infractions that have become the standard instead of the exception For example, a number of our storefront windows are so covered with signs and notices that it is difficult to see inside the store. This presents not only a display problem (customers are unable to see what the merchandise inside the store is like); it is also a safety issue (a police officer called to the premises may not be able to see inside the business to assess a problem). A number of businesses are actually not appropriate for the zoning in our specific district. In attempting to bring new businesses to our downtown, we must all help create an inviting and attractive environment. We need to show pride in our location and make our display windows and signs professional and interesting. The Board of Directors has asked the City of Fairfield Planning Department Code Enforcement Officers Debbie Barnes and Mike Von Lonkhuysen to renew their efforts to bring businesses in compliance with the codes for signage and display. Effective August 1, 2003, Debbie and Mike will be making regular visits through the district and will inform property owners and merchants when there are infractions that need to be corrected. Please cooperate in this effort to make Fairfield's historic downtown the attractive and inviting shopping and entertainment district we know it can be. Copies of the sign regulation tables most applicable to downtown are attached to this newsletter. A copy of the entire Sign Ordinance is on file at the FDA office and merchants are welcome to review the document. Specific questions about the ordinance can be directed to the Planning Department on the second floor at City Hall, or by calling Debbie (428-7648) or Mike (428-7659). Would you like a meeting with Planning Department staff to learn more about the ordinances that affect the district? Call the office and we'll make arrangements to host a "town meeting" on the subject. Major facade renovation is under way at 800 Texas Street (Stamp Heaven). Take a look at the Webster Street face, and you¹ll see the shadows of past businesses. Plans include new stucco, repaired and replaced brickwork and new awnings. In addition, several more downtown property owners are working with City staff on design plans for rehabilitation of their building facades. Certified Farmers Market The Certified Farmers Market returns to downtown on Thursday, May 1st, from 4 to 8pm, on Texas Street between Taylor and Madison Streets. Nancy Reynolds returns as Master of Children's Arts and Crafts! She'll coordinate 23 weeks of FREE arts and crafts projects for kids of all ages. Last year, parents and children alike enjoyed making kites, planting seeds, braiding leather bracelets and using plenty of glue, felt, foam and glitter! Each week will see a different project. Use the Farmers Market to advertise your business: … Sign up for a free booth space … Extend Thursday hours to 8pm … Distribute advertising flyers at the market … Hand out samples at the market … Hand out menus or brochures … Sponsor a week's music- $150 … Sponsor a "Concert in the Courtyard"- $800 … Sponsor a week of kid's crafts- $50 … Do a cooking demonstration at the market (The Hilton Garden Inn is coming May 8th) SMALL BUSINESS TUNE-UP PROGRAM The Certified Farmers Market has been open since May 1st, and crowds are bigger than ever. The market is open every Thursday afternoon from 4pm to 8pm, on Texas Street between Taylor and Madison Streets. Attendance for the free children's arts and crafts activity has been very good, and the chef's demonstrations are proving to be very popular. Chef Aptakin from the Hilton Garden Inn and Bill Way, media technician for the City of Fairfield have been featured at the market, and have prepared some wonderful dishes using produce from the market. The recipe is copied and distributed to the audience, and free samples are presented. Please stay open until 8pm every Thursday evening to invite shoppers from the market into your stores. BANNERS & DECORATIONS Using funds generously provided by the City Council within the City of Fairfield General Fund, the FDA Promotions Committee will be able to buy promotional banners for the Tomato and Candy Festivals. We hope to have the Tomato Festival banners in place by July 15th. KENT BURNES Main Street training guru Kent Burnes provided a day of valuable merchant training on June 12th. Twenty-two business people took advantage of this free educational seminar. Our thanks to Klaus & Rosanna Jacobi (Rosanna's Bakery) for providing the continental breakfast and to Saed Ziadeh (Joe's Buffet) for providing lunch. This is in reference to the outstanding seminar presented by Kent Burnes at the Fairfield Center for Creative Arts on June 12th. Like most small business owners, I had to make the decision whether to hire someone to work in my place at my retail store to enable me to attend the all-day seminar. I thought about it for a day or two, vacillating back and forth, and finally decided that this might be a day worthwhile. After all, this seminar was a FREE seminar, (to FDA members), with both breakfast and lunch included thanks to the City of Fairfield, the FDA, Rosanna's and Joe's Buffet. The speaker's down-to-earth, street-smart approach of business concepts and his great sense of humor made for an extremely outstanding day. I was pleased with the positive business things mentioned that I had been doing all along; however, Mr. Burnes also pointed out areas that I needed to improve. I came back to my store with my mind completely "jazzed" and looked at my store with fresh new "eyes and ideas." It has been a couple of weeks since I attended the seminar, but as I unlock my front door for business each morning, I find Mr. Burnes words continuing to drive and motivate me as I go through my day. I hope the next time we have an opportunity to learn from the "experts" that every seat will be occupied. The seminar was very well organized and went off like "clockwork." Take a day from your busy schedule and take in all there is to learn, you just might find something that inspires, stimulates and motivates you to return to your business a bit more energized. Thanks again, Mimi Weddington, Stamp Heaven" Tomato Festival Update TThe 12th annual Tomato Festival is set for Saturday, August 9th. Tenbrink Farms will supply at least 50 varieties of heirloom tomatoes for Tomato Alley. Most of the elements familiar to the festival will return. Craft and commercial vendors will increase, and Sue is processing applications daily. Call as soon as possible to reserve your free space- no further applications will be accepted once Sue reaches 120 booths. Currently, only Second Time Around and Silk Mart have reserved spaces. The festival will stretch from Taylor Street to Jefferson Street, with a music stage, dance area, food court, beer sales area and covered dining area at each end of the event. All the musical entertainment is now under contract and includes Inner Soul, Silver Spur, Souled Out, the Jackie Payne & Steve Edmonson Blues Band, Dejavu and Kafe Rico. In addition, the popular Salsa band Julio Bravo and the Del Campo Dancers will perform from 6:30 until 8:30pm to end the festival with flair. This year's Cooking Contest is being sponsored by the Soroptimist International of Solano County and will be held before the festival so the winners can display their cooking talents and award-winning dishes at Tomato Alley. Pepper Belly's will once again sponsor the "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" film festival with continuous showings of the movies, and Carole Warren will continue her tradition of coordinating the contests. The FDA will distribute a special festival-day coupon package containing one-day specials from participating merchants. Marge Block (Napadashery- 428-3332) is selling the ad space in the flyer. $25 will buy a one-quarter page- sized ad, approximately 4"x4". 4,000 flyers will be hand-distributed to guests at the Tomato Festival. Contact Marge or Sharon in the FDA office to reserve your space. There is no profit built into this flyer- your $25 will offset the printing cost. Volunteers from the high school leadership groups will distribute the flyers during the Tomato Festival. Payment is due by August 1st to ensure sufficient time for printing the flyers. If you"d like your logo included email it to the office- mail@fairfielddowntown.com. Welcome Home Our Troops! On Friday, August 15th, from 10am until 3pm, Travis Air Force Base will be hosting a large homecoming party to welcome back the majority of Travis troops from Operation Iraq Freedom. The event will be held in conjunction with the annual At Wind Travis family picnic, and will include a cookout, music and entertainment for the kids. The Fairfield- Suisun Chamber and the Vacaville Chamber are seeking community support in the form of cash sponsorships and in-kind donations to help offset the costs of the event. Cash donations will allow the committee to purchase the supplies, but in-kind donations of picnic supplies, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, buns, chips, cookies, bottled water, sodas and grilling supplies are very welcome. For more information or to arrange for donations, contact Mark Essman at the Fairfield-Suisun Chamber (425-4625- mlessman@ffsc-chamber.com) or Gary Tatum at the Vacaville Chamber (448-6425- garyt@vacavillechamber.com) CANDY FESTIVAL UPDATE Plans for the third annual Candy Festival on October 11th, are moving along well. The Promotions Committee of the FDA and the Arts & Community Events Division of Fairfield's Community Services Department are working together to bring about an enhanced (bigger & better) festival. Corporate sponsors to date include Jelly Belly, Thompson Candy Company, WestAmerica Bank, Solano Garbage, Sam's Club, KUIC Radio and CC Yin McDonald's franchises. The festival will kick off on Friday, October 10th, with a free concert by 70's singing legend David Cassidy. Fans from as far away as Denver, Colorado have called for "ticket" and airport information! The candy tents and all other events will be open from 10am to 5pm on Saturday the 11th. The festival will take up all of Texas Street from Great Jones Street to Jefferson Street, and will use the side streets to the alleys. Based on current sign-ups, we are on target for thirty candy-related companies and over 120 crafter and commercial booths. A small contingent of food vendors will be included this year to add to the terrific mix of restaurants we already offer downtown. We will offer two stages of entertainment- one at each end of the festival- with covered seating and refreshments available near each stage. Entertainment will include the Whippersnappers Barber shoppers from Napa Valley, local school musical groups, Owen Baker Flynn from Pier 39 in San Francisco and many more! As always, downtown association members are entitled to free booth space. However, you need to call Sue as soon as possible to reserve it before all spaces are taken by paying vendors. Pepper Belly's Comedy and Variety Club will sponsor continuous showings of children's movies. The Fairfield High School Grad Nite Committee will sponsor a penny arcade. FDA Web Site www.fairfielddowntown.com Have you visited our web site lately? Check it out! Garson Design updates the site every month. Most recently, new links to member web sites have been added. You can also get sample pricing on template sites custom designed for FDA merchants. Joe's Buffet and Redi Office Emporium have new web sites that are linked to the FDA site. From the home page click Member Sites or Get Your Own Web Site to get pricing information and see samples of existing sites. If you already have a website provide the information to Steve Garson (428-1743) or the FDA office and we"ll make sure your site is listed on the FDA site. For $15 per year, Steve will add an active link from the FDA site to your site. FDA Meeting Schedule The FDA Board meets the third Thursday of each month. Meetings start at 8:30 AM at Pepper Belly's (849 Texas St) and adjourn no later than 10:00 AM. The meetings are not limited to Board members. All FDA members are encouraged to attend and make their opinions, wants and needs known to the Board. The Promotions Committee meets the second and fourth Thursdays from 8:30am to 10am in the FDA conference room. Please participate in this committee and help plan the promotional events that bring visitors to your stores and businesses. The agenda for Board meetings is posted at the FDA office. Office Manager Sharon Trujillo with your email address and she will send you copies prior to the meeting. Fairfield Downtown Association Board of Directors 707-422-0103 CHAIR: George Fernando Redi Office Emporium -426-2659 capocsgm@aol.com Term expires June 2003 VICE CHAIR: TREASURER: Nino Giacalone Fusilli Ristorante - 428-4211 ninonapa@aol.com Term expires June 2003 DIRECTORS: Tony Brantley Brantley's Taekwondo - 429-3744 Term expires June 2002 Klaus Jacobi Rosanna's Bakery- 422-2253 Term expires June 2004 Judy Davis (Associate Member) SGolden Horizon Mortgage - 425-5314 Email- wjd8604@aol.com Term expires June 2004 Gary Dyas (Associate Member) Community Home Lending- 446-6565 gdyas@mortgagemania.net Term expires June 2005 Cathi Jasso Pacific California Realty - 428-1105 paccalcat@jccomp.com Term expires June 2002 Richard Lockwood Touch of Faith - 425-3393 Term expires June 2003 Wayne Mayhew Pepper Belly's- 426-4622 mayhew@pepperbellys.com Term expires June 2004 George Romero (Associate Member) HiTec Cellular & Paging- 421-2189 hitec@computronix.net Term expires June 2004 Bob Reich (Ex Officio Member) Fairfield Center for Creative Arts - 428-7760 rreich@ci.fairfield.ca.us Staff: 422-0103/phone Emily Low (Main Street Program Coordinator) emily@fairfielddowntown.com Sharon Trujillo (Office Manager) Sue Violette (Event Planner) mail@fairfielddowntown.com City Liaison: Rich Atkins - 428-7572 ratkins@ci.fairfield.ca.us Associate Memberships inancial institutions, insurance and investment agencies were exempt from the 1971 assessment district. Associate Memberships now allow those businesses to join the association and take an active role in the operations of the organization. Businesses pay $125 per year, while individuals and families pay $35 per year. This is a way for us to increase active participation from the community and add to the FDA operating funds. FDA Membership Benefits As members of the Fairfield Downtown Association, you are eligible to participate in the following: … Medical coverage through Western Health Advantage- call our broker, Carlos Badell- 800-870-4510- for more information. … Dental coverage through Blue Shield- call our broker, Carlos Badell- 800-870-4510- for more information. … Reduced rates on bulk rate/ pre-sort mailings using the FDA account. … FREE flyers for special events or promotional mailing. … Free photocopies. … Reduced rate advertising in the Daily Republic*** NEW*** Call Robert Ponce- 427-6965 for information. … 20% discount on vision care from Dr. Mark Christensen, 744 Empire St, 425-2187. … Press release preparation for special promotions. … Low cost web site design through Garson Design- 428-1743- www.garsondesign.com … FREE link between the FDA website- Fairfielddowntown.com - and your website. … Low cost training and seminars through California Main Street and Solano Small Business Development Center. … Facade Rehabilitation assistance programs through the City of Fairfield. … Announce promotions in the FDA newsletter. … Advocacy with Fairfield Planning and Economic Departments. … Advertising in the FDA newsletter- $25 for a business card-size ad. Please help the revitalization efforts by "scouting out" new businesses for our district. Business recruitment packages are available in the office. If you're traveling, take a package along- you never know when an opportunity will arise! In addition to restaurants, the business development strategy targeted scrapbook shops, a frozen yogurt or ice cream shop, a health foods store, shoe Think about it- which is better- two or three City staff people working on bringing businesses to downtown OR 250 plus merchants who are already doing business downtown going after businesses to enhance their own? Let's work together to bring more businesses to downtown Standing Committees The FDA Organization Committee, Business Development and Beautification Committee are preparing their annual work plans for the new fiscal year. If you are interested in participating in these standing committees please contact the chair of the committee- Gary Dyas- Organization, Cathi Jasso- Beautification. Business Development needs a chair, so this is a good opportunity for those of you who expressed an interest in this committee in the merchant survey completed in January! Organization is the administrative committee and is responsible for membership and fundraising drives. Beautification is responsible for the overall look and maintenance of the district. Promotions oversees coordination of our special events through the year. Business Development focuses on recruiting and retaining businesses in the district. Public Safety Contacts
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