Gainesville established the Downtown Advisory Board in June, and the new members are searching for their way to impact the city after feeling unheard.
“We’re not sure whether our time is well spent—or certainly not well spent to date,” said Linda McGurn, chair of the board.
At Tuesday’s regular meeting, the board members talked about how they felt five months into their terms. A lot of that time was spent talking about downtown parking and the streatery concept off SW 1st Street. Since the last DAB meeting, the City Commission had voted to move forward with its plans for both projects, plans already in the works before the DAB started its work.
McGurn said the board thought they had a chance to advise the City Commission since final votes remained outstanding, but she said the issue seems shut despite the disagreement of many businesses.
The project eliminates parking spaces, and McGurn said she’s not sure where the board’s recommendations for overall parking ended up.
The DAB voted against keeping SW 1st Street permanently closed, but the City Commission recently voted to redo the entire street for pedestrians only. Construction is scheduled to start in December 2025.
McGurn said there is always a chance the City Commission will reconsider the project. In the meantime, the board members discussed looking at the streatery concept to try to lend suggestions on the layout.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Board member Anthony Lyons said he’s not sure about the impact he’ll make on the DAB. He said he wants to have input on the streatery concept but also said his time might be better spent elsewhere—he’s not sure if he or the DAB could move the needle on downtown issues or just convene to hear updates.
He said he wanted the board to tackle downtown issues holistically instead of piecemeal as topics came up.
Board member Jacob Ihde joined Lyons and McGurn in questioning the amount of time spent on the board. To cut down, the board said they don’t need to hear presentations on projects that lack an opportunity to advise.
The members said they want to work on projects that will be forthcoming instead of updates on current work.
At the meeting, Rick Smith, director of the Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency, said the board is new and will need to work to find its rhythm and then start making impacts. Other projects that start from scratch will have more opportunities for the DAB to weigh in and shape them versus already in the works ideas like downtown parking and streatery.
“Downtown, it’s got needs and wants that are going to persist well beyond our lifespan and those can still be fleshed out by this board and given teeth,” Smith said.
He encouraged the members to stay with the DAB and said the board was a good idea as a forum for the issues of downtown to be heard.
Board member Richard Allen said hopefully the board will grow in clout as it continues. In the short term, he said that might look like board members soldiering on without major changes so that board members in four years’ time have more impact.
The board members also discussed looking at the downtown strategic plan and proposing amendments or any changes. Board member Sara Puyana said the downtown needs to improve its trash disposal as well, with that item planned for December.