Results have not yet been announced on the Morgan Hill Chamber
of Commerce Board of Directors revote on whether to move the Friday
Night Music Series from West Second Street to the community
center’s amphitheater.
Results have not yet been announced on the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors revote on whether to move the Friday Night Music Series from West Second Street to the community center’s amphitheater.
The chamber board decided to cast an e-mailed revote at the behest of the Property Based Improvement District (PBID), which represents about 120 downtown property owners.
The Chamber board began e-mailing their vote to Board President Tim Hendrick late last week. Final results were expected Monday, but were delayed since some board members had been out of town, Chamber Vice President Brian Sullivan said.
Chamber Executive Director Chris Giusiana said she was anxiously awaiting the results, since the kickoff event is just over one month away, on June 5.
In late March, all eleven attending Chamber board members voted to move the series from West Second Street to the Community and Cultural Center’s amphitheater. The decision was met with a public outcry as downtown merchants, led by Carta Luna gift shop owner Patty Curtis, mounted an effort to have the Chamber rescind their decision.
Last Monday, the PBID Board of Directors weighed in with a unanimous vote to ask the chamber to keep the popular series where it’s been for 16 years.
The district’s vote was followed by a related motion to become a sponsor of the series – with the caveat that it stay on Second Street.
PBID board member Gary Walton reasoned that since the chamber might use the Third Street Promenade’s amphitheater once that project is completed next year, it makes little sense to move it to a new location for just one year.
Last year, when the chamber considered the same move, merchants came together as well, raising money and volunteering their time to make the event a success on Second Street.
The community center move was based on several factors, Chamber officials said, including the larger facility that was equipped to handle large crowds with parking and restroom facilities on location. The chamber reasoned that at the amphitheater, which has a capacity of about 1,000 to Second Street’s 200, the series would have room to grow and be more family-friendly than the current location.
