We have been making progress on economic development in Martinez. I serve on the Economic Development subcommittee which meets monthly to review issues and initiatives facing our city and provides recommendations to the greater City Council for action. I have advocated for the Downtown Weekend Nights program to close streets to vehicle traffic on Friday and Saturday nights, the outdoor music permitting program, and supported additional funding for the non-profit Downtown Martinez and Co (previously Main Street Martinez) to continue to offer high quality community events and hire additional staff.
We have more work to do. Citizens can get frustrated that there are too many unoccupied businesses. I have supported the hiring of new code enforcement staff to identify buildings that are not up to code. Our next steps are to identify, evaluate, and implement initiatives to encourage retail and commerce areas in vacant properties both north and south of Highway 4.