PBID Panel Averts Clash Over Vacancy by Downsizing Group to 15 Members

Bill Jaynes’ bid to join a group planning a possible assessment district in The Village ended Thursday night when the panel decided not to fill a vacancy.

Jaynes, owner of All Things Bright and British on La Mesa Boulevard and a regular critic of the so-called PBID process, came armed with sheets of paper signed by nearly four dozen people endorsing his candidacy. 

But he didn’t get to show them, or read his candidate statement in a La Mesa Community Center room packed with 29 people but a posted limit of 25.

Committee chairwoman Lynn McRea, a local accountant, heard a motion to leave the Property-Based Improvement District Formation Committee at 15 members, after the March resignation of Kurt Kohler.

After no discussion, she asked for the ayes and said  “the motion passes.” She was reminded by a member to call for opposing hands.

Jaynes, videotaping the meeting with his Flip camera, made no immediate move to challenge the board on changing its size.

But later, in the public comments portion of the meeting, he told the group that he had more than 40 signatures from property owners, business owners and residents supporting his bid to fill the vacant seat.

“Had they heard that,” he wrote in an email to La Mesa Patch, “I hoped they might have decided differently [regarding] the vacancy.”

He said he told the panel his effort to join the board “wasn’t about me.”

But its “hasty” decision, he said, “had effectively disenfranchised voices of many people who couldn't attend but would end up paying the tab for this project.”

With city-hired PBID consultant Ed Henning and Community Development Program Coordinator Chris Gonzales offering guidance, the committee began looking at what it would do with a $250,000 annual budget.

The district wouldn’t take effect until after a vote of property owners—weighted to give the biggest properties the most votes.

PBID panel member Arlene Moore confirmed that the $250,000 figure wasn’t the panel’s idea. Henning, who is being paid $32,000 to guide the group, called it “a good starting point,” based on the size of this district.

Henning shared a possible breakdown of costs for the PBID—$67,000 for “supplemental maintenance” beyond what the city provides, $60,000 for “supplemental security” beyond police patrols, $25,000 for “economic enhancement” including physical improvements, $26,000 for promotions and marketing of the downtown Village and $72,000 for operations and management.

A survey sheet was passed out, and members were asked for “yes or no” votes as to whether they wanted that element financed by the PBID—even though Henning called it “a chicken and egg” decision.

Of 15 voters, 12 wanted a security component, 12 wanted marketing and 13 wanted physical amenities, for example.

The committee meets again April 28. Agendas and minutes are being posted here on the city’s website.