Attachment 1From: Catherine Somers <catherine@losgatoschamber.com>
Sent: Monday, April 15, 2019 10:52 AM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>; Town Manager <Manager@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Town Council Meeting April 16 - Item 10 Downtown Maintenance and Beautification
Good morning Town Council and Staff –
Great event on Sunday – truly embodied the spirit of our Town!
I wanted to make a few comments on your Downtown Maintenance and Beautification Report. Thank
you for having this item on your agenda as it is important to keep everyone in the loop as to the costs of
downtown beautification and maintenance.
For starters --
YES! YES! And YES! -- to everything!
More sidewalk cleaning is essential. I have a few people stop by our offices every week to complain
about the sidewalks and how they are so dirty. We need to properly clean the sidewalks at least 8 times
per year if not more. For sure, we should have a contractor on call – particularly for Monday mornings
when needed.
Trash and Recycling pick up seems sufficient to me – but do not cut the service.
Tree Trimming – the service seems adequate.
The Planters – Consistency and Color. People need to remember the vibrancy of the town long after
they leave.
Street Sweeping – we could use a better contractor frankly – especially in the parking lots!
Speaking of the Parking Lots – perhaps you could find some money in the budget to put toward the
maintenance of parking lots. We sure could use some better signage and brighter lines. The planter
areas are abysmal. Certainly we can do better. When people park – the parking lot is their first
impression of our Town.
Tree Lights – need constant maintenance.
I would like to add a few items for your consideration -
Holiday decorations -- The Chamber and the Town could work more collaboratively on this effort as we
move forward.
Street Pole Banners - Again, if a priority of the Council is Community Vitality, the consistency of a
street pole banner program is important.
I could add more onto this list for sure – but will save a few comments the Council Meeting. It is of
course my hope that if we are successful in forming a PBID, we could use those funds to help with some
ATTACHMENT 1
of these on going beautification efforts. However, please bear in mind, that even if the formation is
successful, we will not see any of those funds until late in 2020.
We need to put some money into our priorities and we need to be sure that our downtown is as clean,
safe and beautiful as possible.
Thanks.
Catherine Somers
Executive Director
Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce
408-354-9300
408-335-6618 direct