San Bruno eyes downtown subcommittee

“There needs to be some rebuilding of trust in our downtown. I know I feel it as the council representative for the district being in downtown. I believe a number of our merchants, they are more accepting, but they’re not really happy and they want to see more engagement,” he said. 

The request to formally agendize a vote on creating a subcommittee comes as the San Bruno downtown — which has been without a functioning Chamber of Commerce for years — now has two vying for legitimacy. 

The group formerly known as the San Bruno Merchants Association is revamping to formally become San Bruno’s Chamber of Commerce, its leader, Rebecca Molano, said. At nearly the same time, the original San Bruno Chamber of Commerce revitalized, rehiring Jamie Monozon as CEO.

Some councilmembers expressed concern that the formation of a downtown improvement subcommittee could put the City Council in the thick of the ongoing dispute. 

“If we do the subcommittee, I want there to be some very defined guardrails,” Councilmember Michael Salazar said. “I think right now there’s a big opportunity for things to get politicized downtown, and I just want to make sure we avoid touching any third rails when we’re down there.” 

The end goal — revitalizing downtown — is the same no matter what group one is a part of, Marty Medina said. 

“When it comes down to it, we serve the same community, and I’m hoping and seeing progress that whatever community group there is downtown — say there’s three — we’ll find a way to work together,” he said. 

Mayor Rico Medina also expressed worry that the subcommittee would duplicate ongoing community outreach efforts, as well as Marty Medina’s own work consistently connecting with and talking to his downtown constituents. 

Regardless, councilmembers agreed to put the item on a future agenda for further discussion.