WG businesses would like to hold elections in December

Merchants say they also want to make immediate changes

By Moryt Milo

The Willow Glen Business and Professional Association decided to rewrite its bylaws to elect a new board this December and redefine its purpose at a general membership meeting last week. Merchants also want to immediately organize holiday decorations for Lincoln Avenue.

Some 20 members gathered Nov. 8 at Washington Mutual considered three major items as critical to helping define the association's future leadership: reviewing the business association's survey results; addressing change to its bylaws; and forming an election committee.

The business association--which oversees the use of Business Improvement District money on Lincoln Avenue--has been trying to redirect itself for the past few months, since it canceled the September Founder's Day street festival and its president, Karen Naegeli, resigned, also in September. The city's office of economic development asked the association for an accounting of its financial records and meeting minutes and has been working to help the association get back on its feet.

Of the association's 370 members--business owners in the Lincoln Avenue Business Improvement District--53 responded to a survey to determine what the goals of the association should be. Gary Garchar, owner of shopwillowglen.com, presented the survey results to the membership. He said members rated communication between merchants and the association; avenue beautification; parking problems; and community celebrations, such as Founder's Day, Dancing on the Avenue and the holiday tree lighting ceremony, as key issues.

Steven Hanleigh, owner of the Realty Center, said the percentage of responses to the survey was good. He said people need to be able to define an organization's purpose in order to become part of it.

"The only way to get people aboard is to have a very defined purpose," Hanleigh said.

He also said that community celebrations and decorations should not be association priorities.

"It's a business improvement district," he said, "not an arts-and-craft festival. It's not big enough to do all that stuff."

John Karamanos, co-owner of The Glen, also agreed that the association needed to "get back to basics and focus on only one or two issues." He said Willow Glen merchants need to recognize that Lincoln Avenue has lots of competition.

"Campbell, downtown San Jose and Santana Row will all be competing with us, and we need to decide who we are and if we really want to be event planners," Karamanos said.

District 6 City Council member Ken Yeager said Lincoln Avenue is a vital commercial center, drawing people from within and outside of Willow Glen neighborhoods.

He said the San Jose Redevelopment Agency is funding a consultant who will work through Yeager's office and with merchants and residents to determine how to preserve and improve the avenue. The consultant would help develop a long- and short-term plan for implementing changes on Lincoln Avenue, he said.

"The consultant will review parking issues, pedestrian safety, transportation, beautification and event planning," Yeager said. "The consultant will also ask neighbors what they want on the street and research how to better market businesses on the avenue."

But Marketing Maniacs owner Darlene Tenes said she wasn't sure if a consultant was necessary, and other merchants said the money could be put to better use.

"What are you going to find out that we don't already know by hiring a consultant?" Tenes asked.

Yeager responded that the consultant would coordinate changes with the association's new executive board, which will have a completely new slate of officers next year.

"I'm an optimist," said Mimi Braatz, owner of Mimi Braatz Advertising. "I think we can find the right people to take office and go forward."

Braatz said five members volunteered for the association's nominating committee to assist in soliciting new board members--Braatz, Hicklebee's co-owner, Valerie Lewis, Park Place owner Linda Waltrip, Details co-owner Bernie Levine and La Concha Spa Salon owner Gloria Maciel.

The association also wants to move the elections from February to December, which will enable the newly elected officials to prepare a 2002 budget and events. Changing the elections requires a revision to the current association bylaws.

The association plans to form a bylaw committee to draft new bylaws. Hanleigh agreed to chair the committee with about five other merchant members. Nanci Klein, manager of corporate outreach for the city's office of economic development, offered to facilitate the bylaws process.

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