Changes are happening at the Third Avenue Village Association. In April, the TAVA Board of Directors chose not to extend Executive Director Luanne Hulsizer’s contract after nine years of service, deciding to go in a new direction by hiring a consultant to help with TAVA management.
Hulsizer’s employee agreement ended June 30.
Hulsizer made $92,000 per year, with a $500 health allowance per month, all which came out of TAVA’s budget.
She began at TAVA with Cambria Solutions, Inc. in 2012, a management consulting firm out of Sacramento, as the new executive director of TAVA for three years, before being hired directly by TAVA in March 2015, with a salary of $85,000 per year and a $500 health insurance allowance per month. Cambria’s original Request for Proposal was for $135,220 for its services, payable by a fixed monthly retainer of $11,268.33.
Board President Kendall Manion said that it put out an RFP, and only received one from New City America, Inc., a San Diego-based company that “organizes and empowers communities through the formation of management of business and assessment-based, community-benefit districts,” according to its website.
NCA currently manages business association Little Italy San Diego locally. The RFP for the management of TAVA would be a flat fee of $195,000 per year, or $16,000 per month, paid in two installments per month.
At a special board meeting on June 21, Manion said there was discussion about the board not conducting its due diligence by only looking at one proposal.
“City representative Kevin Pointer made a motion to push the contract through instead of creating an ad hoc committee to dig in and understand the contract, what it offered and where it was short sided,” she said. “No action was taken due to a loss of quorum and will be reviewed again at the regularly scheduled board meeting in July.”
Pointer is the senior Economic Development specialist for the city of Chula Vista appointed to the board by the city manager.
Pointer said that Manion saying that motioned to push the contract through is not accurate.
“There was not a motion, not terms to push something through. It was never discussed or mentioned, and I would recommend that you look at the approved meeting minutes for that meeting to get the full details to the exact language in that motion,” he said. “There was no discussion on pushing anything through.”
The approved minutes of the June 21 board meeting were not available at print time.
Manion said they also hoped to ratify the interim executive director position at that meeting, but without a quorum, was unable to do so. She said the only action at that time was a motion by Pointer to prevent the appointment of two female board members.
“In May 2021, the board of the Third Avenue Village Association discussed a plan of action to address the diversity and inclusionary demographics of TAVA’s board of directors,” said Manion. “At that meeting, the board voted and approved a motion that as president, I would identify two women to appoint to open, short-term vacancies with terms ending in (December) 2021. The current board ratio is 10 men/1 woman.”
Pointer said his understanding of the May motion was that the board would strive to increase diversity on the board.
“Whether that be among females, the LGBT community, LatinX community, Asian American, Pacific Islanders, the goal is really to increase diversity. And my understanding was that the board president Kendell Manion would go out and make inquiries to solicit interests from individuals to fill vacant board seats,” he said. “It was not my intention or belief that the discussion was to immediately fill board seats. My motion at this most recent board meeting in June was not to immediately fill board seats because we are not at this point suffering from a lack of board members. There is a good amount of board members on the board now. Ultimately, I made the motion to add the individuals that she was recommending to the nomination committee’s consideration list. The nomination committee will be announced at the first meeting in September, so we are coming up on the point where the nominating committee will be considering potential board members for the elections. Ultimately, it is the membership’s decision to vote in whomever they would like to represent them on TAVA board.”
Manion recommended Christianne Penunuri, co-owner of Groundswell Brewery and past member of the TAVA Board of Directors, and Karen Riggott, co-owner of El Primero Hotel and property owner within the district. Riggott is also a past member of the TAVA Board of Directors.
Manion said the new motion made instead approved adding their names to the upcoming ballot for the following year, a process she said, “has proved difficult for underrepresented groups to break through over the last three elections.”
“As TAVA Board President, and only female on the board, I am committed to seeing proper representation of Third Avenue village on our board of directors and will continue to work to ensure that there is room at the table for women, for people of color, and for those whose voices have yet to be amplified,” said Manion.
Hulsizer, an at-will employee, said the board decided to end her contract in mid-April “without reason or cause,” then created an ad hoc comittee to explore a new direction. As executive director for nine years, she said she has seen some remarkable things happen in the Third Avenue district.
“During 2018 the Third Avenue Village district was rapidly advancing in its recognition as a growing neighborhood,” she said. “This surge that began with the craft beer industry in 2016, caught the attention of investors who subsequently committed to the revitalization of The Vogue, brought the district new restaurants such as El Cruce +241 and Farmer’s Table, along with the plans to establish several market rate urban-living complexes.”
Hulsizer said one of the greatest impacts on the district was the investment of funds from the city of Chula Vista and SANDAG.
“The Third Avenue Streetscape project revitalized the landscape and hardscape of the district which in turn contributed to the attraction of the craft beer and restaurant industries,” she said. “With the contribution of both these industries, TAVA was able to utilize events and social media to attract visitors from throughout San Diego and across the age demographics of 21 years and up. In 2019, 45,000 visitors attended TAVA’s one-day event Lemon Festival. Third Avenue has finally found its relevancy and a reason for San Diegans to spend their money on Third.”
Hulsizer said the unexpected consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic mandates in March 2020, the TAVA board of directors knew that property owners and tenants would need a support system that was not focused on event and gatherings in the Village.
“TAVA adapted its economic development strategy for 2020 to focus on marketing and public relations by hiring the professional firm Alternative Strategies to catapult the Village and its businesses into a stronger advertising campaign which included multi-media, social media, and web-based exposure,” she said. “The collaboration of TAVA and Alternative Strategies brought about vast improvements in our marketing footprint including more than doubling our social media following and multimedia exposure while also increasing member involvement. TAVA will continue this commitment through December 2021 pushing the revitalization of the district back to prosperity.”
Hulsizer said looking forward, the organization should build on TAVA’s current foundation of eating and drinking establishments. “It would be beneficial for the organization to focus on the attraction of relevant retail and the creation of events that encourage a vital pedestrian friendly environment where adults and families can spend several hours enjoying San Diego’s newest neighborhood,” she said.
Hulsizer said a personal moment of success was providing TAVA with the organizational leadership needed to successfully renew the Property-Based Improvement District for an additional 10 years.
“What many people do not realize is that the TAVA PBID is responsible for the maintenance of the landscape, the hardscape, the daily trash pickup, and the graffiti abatement,” she said. “Without the property owners voting every 10 years to renew their PBID assessment, the environment of the Third Avenue Village would suffer.”
Hulsizer said that her time with TAVA was filled with her passion for the Village.
“I have enjoyed my time with TAVA and sharing the passion that many have for of the Village,” she said. “However, being that it was not my decision to leave my position, I now look forward to meeting up with my Chula Vista friends at our favorite Village spots.”
Manion said that the Third Avenue Village Association is heading into a transition period starting July 1.
“It is more important now than ever before for all Third Avenue businesses to attend board meetings, speak up, and make sure their voices are heard,” she said. “Participation ensures the appropriate oversight of financial resources and ensures the success of Third Avenue and its respective businesses.”
The next TAVA board meeting is on July 7, at 7:30 a.m. The meeting will be held virtually at https://zoom.us/j/91763686814.
