Theresa Kiernan will focus on community relations
Morgan Hill – After three months without a leader the Morgan Hill Downtown Association has a new executive director.
Theresa Kiernan, 48, began leading the merchants’ group Monday. She’s looking forward to helping the association grow its membership now that downtown property owners have approved a self-assessed tax district that will raise $75,000 a year for downtown projects over the next five years. In addition to that funding, the Morgan Hill City Council approved $70,000 in June to pay for the group’s administrative costs, including Kiernan’s salary.
“There are a lot of things going on, a lot of things we’re looking forward to doing. But right now after having the office closed for three months, we’re in the throes of getting things running again,” Kiernan said.
Kiernan joins the association at a pivotal moment. The group’s first executive director, Dan Craig, left in June after working three years to establish a self-funding mechanism for the association. In July, that goal was reached when a majority of downtown property owners approved a new tax district to pay for capital improvement projects such as street lighting and decorative benches.
Now that there’s “some semblance of order,” the association needs a different kind of leadership, said Lesley Miles, a member of the downtown association’s board.
“We were looking for a downtown ambassador,” said Miles, a local architect who owns Weston Miles Architects, Inc. with her husband. “Downtown is going through a renaissance.”
Kiernan moved to Morgan Hill five years ago with her husband and two children. She’s held jobs as community relations manager for DMB El Rancho San Benito – a proposed new community in San Benito County off Highway 25 – and was director of the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce for three years. Before moving to Morgan Hill, she lived in downtown Hollister and was “very interested” in supporting downtown businesses.
“This is not unfamiliar to me. It’s just getting used to new people,” Kiernan said.
The seeds of the downtown association were planted in 1978 when the Main Street Program was developed by the Trust for Historic Preservation in an effort to reverse the deterioration of America’s central business districts. In 2002, the association was formally created to guide and manage the downtown revitalization effort. It was incorporated as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization with a full-time executive director, governed by an all-volunteer board of directors who typically own businesses.
Eric Wallace, the association’s president, said the group is beginning to pull more weight at City Hall. For the last four years, the city council has approved funding for the association but has made it known the group should seek its own funding. Now that the association has forged a new tax district to manage projects, communication between the group and city officials is improving, Wallace said. Additionally, he’s pleased members of the city council consulted with downtown merchants during the past six months to craft Measure F, a citywide initiative on the Nov. 7 ballot that could increase mixed-use development downtown.
“We’re trying to form a synergy … We’re in a position now where we’re going to get clarity on who’s involved,” Wallace said, adding the group is looking at starting a dynamic membership drive to include more local businesses.
Wallace said Kiernan, who has years of community relations experience and a background in business administration, would bring even more cohesiveness to the group.
For now, Kiernan’s priorities include getting to know the association’s 10-person board and the various city officials with whom she’ll be working. And, she’s already busy planning for the 10th annual Safe Trick or Treat, a downtown Halloween-night event sponsored by the association and the City of Morgan Hill.
“We still need volunteers,” she said, adding she’s always happy to answer calls and meet new people at her new office.
Tony Burchyns covers Morgan Hill for The Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 ext. 201 or tb*******@*************es.com.
