West Sacramento Chamber's
 Project Pride Initiative

Email Update November 28, 2007

Dear Chamber Membership,

As we enter the last few months of this year, we thought it would be good to give you an update on the progress we are making on Project Pride. The West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce embarked on an aggressive approach to provide necessary leadership from the private sector to help the City of West Sacramento accomplish some of the key goals and objectives that they are working on to revitalize the West Sacramento Community.

The projects selected were chosen by the Chamber body in conjunction with the City of West Sacramento staff and based on our ability to make a difference in helping them to be accomplished. There is real momentum and some of the committees are already making a real difference. The intent is to help speed up the revitalization efforts, remove barriers preventing them from happening and to bring the community together in accomplishing a common goal.

Administratively, Project Pride is conducting monthly sub-committee meetings as well as an update meeting for the related Chair people of the committee. We will be sending out monthly updates as to the progress we are making and are in the process of designing a website dedicated to this effort.

The Chamber Leadership asks each of you who are doing business in the community to get involved. If you or a staff member of your company can participate in one of these committees, we can make all these wonderful projects happen making our community a better place to live work and to play. Let’s make West Sacramento even better than it already is and let’s do so together!

Warren Smith
Sacramento River Cats and
Chairman, Project Pride Initiative

4Lighting of the Waterfront
Chair: Warren Smith, Sacramento River Cats, (916) 376-4718
This committee started out with the goal of lighting the Ziggurat property which is now occupied by the State Department of General services full time and is evolving into an advocate group helping to promote lighting technologies that will bring eyeballs to West Sacramento. The Ziggurat is already a beautiful building that is magnified when it is illuminated. The State has embarked on a Green Technology effort where they are trying to use lights in a way that meets the LEED certification. DGS would like to light the building in a way that highlights this edict by the Governor and the architectural beauty of the building.

DGS is conducting a test of different technologies where they will view the different options to see which ones accomplish this goal and will then investigate costs associated with the different option. This test will be conducted before the end of the year. DGS is also looking at the possibility of lighting the building full time in the interim, but wants to be able to communicate the game plan if doing so.

CalSTRS who is building their new headquarters next to the Ziggurat is participating in this test as they are trying to decide how they may accomplish the same goals for their building which they will move into in 2009.

4Boat Docks 
Co-Chair: Lori Heavin, Choice Mortgage, (916) 371-8991
Co-Chair: Bob Hemond, Sacramento River Cats, (916) 376-4716
This committee is trying to help the City rebuild the boat dock located on the Sacramento River in front of the Ziggurat building. The dock is in disrepair and since the property is in the river there are number of state and federal organizations which need to be worked with. In conjunction with the City Redevelopment Agency staff, they have been able to recognize all the appropriate departments that need to be worked with and are consulting with the contractor who recently built the dock located at the Captain’s Table Hotel which will be opening on the Sacramento side of the river just south of the Sutterville Road exit on I-5. They have identified funding sources within the City of West Sacramento budget that will fund the architectural and environmental studies necessary for the reconstruction and are working with the City Staff to help getting the consultants on board.

4West Capital Avenue Corridor
Co-Chair: Bryan Turner, West Sacramento Land Company (916) 371-6915
Co-Chair: Andrea Verdon, PMA Sacramento (916) 375-0200
The City of West Sacramento passed a sign ordinance over 10 years ago, which obligates businesses in the City which have signs located on poles to upgrade their facility by eliminating these signs and purchasing new ones. This ordinance matures in May 2008 and all businesses in this situation are required to comply with the ordinance. The Chamber through this committee is conducting workshops to help these businesses understand the ordinance and to put them in contact with organizations that can help them make the change.

They are also exploring the possibility of creating a Business Improvement district (PBID) as well as accessing State and Federal Tax Credit programs. These tools have been very successful in many parts of the region and have helped to revitalize areas where City’s may not have the funds to create new space through streetscape and landscaping redesign. Some of the areas of interest where they have been used successfully are Downtown Sacramento, Stockton Blvd., Florin Road and many other areas where businesses vote to impose a collective fee to make such improvements.

4Freeway Signage and Gateway Improvements
Chair: Tom Lumbrazo, Universtiy Park, (916) 372-5483
This committee is conducting research to see how we can improve the gateway entrances into the City of West Sacramento and are currently looking at property ownership and how such improvements can be made. They are focusing on the three major freeway entrances to the city and are in discussion regarding the themes and how they would represent the city and the related neighborhoods. Additionally, they are in discussions with the city about funding sources and how Cal Trans would view such improvements. In addition to road improvements, the committee is exploring how other visual gateways such as water towers, public art and other ideas could work for image enhancements.

4Public Art and Historical Markers
Co-Chair: Dave Dove, Collings Teen Center, (916) 375-0681 (Public Art)
Co-Chair:  Chris Bradford, Edward Jones Investments, (916) 372-3076 (Historical Markers)
Currently this committee is taking on two initiatives that can be accomplished in the very near future. First, they are exploring a mural project with the West Sacramento Land Company for the property upon which the Chamber offices are located. This public project would involve the youth of the community and would create an art project in conjunction with a local artist and the West Sacramento Teen Center that would dress up the privately held lot just north of the property with a mural that tells a West Sacramento story.

Secondly, they have determined a historical opportunity to mark California's first Salmon Cannery, which was located in West Sacramento and have receive roughly 30% of the funding for this improvement which includes a $1,500 contribution from the Chamber. They are also compiling a list of six other marking opportunities and are working with the West Sacramento Historical Society to incorporate these markers into an interpretive walking tour of the area.

4Public Recreational Access
Co-Chair: Todd Chambers, Richland Communities, (916) 782-3330
Co-Chair: Dennis Clark, Dennis Clark Consulting, (916) 930-9062
This committee is reviewing the four Specific Plans in the City with the General Plan looking at policies that would allow the public to have greater access to river, barge canal, Deep Water Channel, parks, trails, open space or other recreational facilities within the City. The intent of this committee is to provide additional assistance to ensure a review process will include these policies when projects are approved including proposed development projects, city initiated projects as well a flood levee repairs.