Downtown Long Beach Alliance moves forward after longtime executive director leaves

The Downtown Long Beach Alliance isn’t missing a beat, the organization’s committee seat has said, contempt the divided with Kraig Kojian, who was the DLBA’s enforcement manager for astir 25 years.

Kojian was the people of a missive that surfaced successful October accusing him of creating a hostile enactment environment. The missive was sent to the 2 downtown City Council members successful August, according to a story the Long Beach Post, past forwarded to the DLBA board.

After an investigation, the committee and Kojian “mutually agreed to portion ways,” according to a connection released connected Nov. 17 by the DLBA. Neither Kojian nor the committee would remark connected the issue.

Loara Cadavona, who became seat of the DLBA committee soon earlier the Kojian probe began, said enactment already has begun to find a caller enforcement director. Broc Coward, the main operating officer, is handling day-to-day operations.

“This month, the DLBA Board of Directors volition reappraisal and ballot connected the committee liable for the broad hunt for a caller President and CEO,” Cadavona said successful an email. “We are moving expeditiously successful this hunt and are assured that we volition find the close campaigner to collaborate with our talented unit and prosecute with stakeholders to successfully physique connected DLBA’s agelong past of serving the downtown.

“DLBA is invested successful the strategies, programs, and services that are making a quality successful our community,” she added. “The organization’s projects and initiatives connected behalf of Downtown Long Beach volition proceed uninterrupted during this time.”

Mike Berman, the DLBA’s communications manager, expanded connected the organization’s efforts going into December.

“We started moving connected the fund successful March, and the fund looks large contiguous — without immoderate betterment enactment money, too,” Berman said. “We update the strategical program each 3 to 5 years, and we started outreach for that successful June and July. We’re getting tons of input.”

One of the larger efforts present is moving toward renewing the Property-Based Improvement District that the DLBA manages, which a ample chunk of the organization’s revenue. PBIDs indispensable beryllium renewed each 10 years done a ballot of spot owners.

Kojian led the effort 10 years agone to see residential properties successful the downtown PBID. Owners of those properties volition besides ballot connected the renewal. PBIDs complaint spot owners an yearly interest to supply services successful the area.

Berman said those services proceed arsenic well.

“We’ve got 5 main goals,” helium said. “That’s the Clean and Safe program, marketing, innovation, practice successful the nationalist realm and being an advocator for the concern community.

“We haven’t missed a beat,” helium added.

The superior accent for the past 18 months has been helping concern owners upwind the coronavirus pandemic. The DLBA had launched 15 antithetic initiatives during that clip and invested $400,000 successful businesses, Berman said.

Going forward, short-term goals are to proceed helping the system recover. The goal, Berman said, is to surpass pre-pandemic levels of concern and revenue. Part of that effort is stated successful the caller strategical plan, which includes a absorption connected uncovering solutions to the downtown stateless population.

“The caller program calls for a Business Navigator to enactment businesses of each types done the concern startup process arsenic good the instauration of a Homeless Outreach Program to supply existent clip triage effect successful coordination with the metropolis of Long Beach and work organizations,” a connection successful the caller strategical program says. “The DLBA is good positioned to enactment the plan’s imaginativeness of Downtown arsenic the thriving municipality halfway of Long Beach.”

Despite precocious challenges, Berman said, DLBA continues moving forward.

“Yes, determination volition beryllium a alteration successful leadership,” Berman added. “But we haven’t missed a beat.”

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