Clarity on Chamber Committees

Randy Martinsen,
President & CEO of Accelerated Marketing Group
2010 Napa Chamber of Commerce Chairman of the Board

I have recently heard from some Chamber Members, that some of the Chamber’s committees seem redundant or mysterious.  In an effort to clarify what our committees do I hope to bring light to each of them in coming articles.  This month I want to explain the purpose of ITT.

The Infrastructure and Transportation Task Force Committee (ITT) is a sub-committee of the Napa Chamber of Commerce’s Legislative Action Committee. Its mission is to educate business members of the infrastructure and traffic issues for improvement and integration in community life. It is possibly the only group that brings together transportation experts on a regular basis to meet with business leaders, and is chaired by one of the Chamber’s past Chairman, Ed Shenk.

Meeting bi-monthly with city and county transportation planners, the group discusses specific traffic issues and how they relate to businesses and their employees. 
For example, in our February 2010 meeting, Barry Martin and Mark Tomko gave an update on the Napa Railroad Relocation Project affecting traffic on First, Third and Soscol streets.  A few months ago the original closures were scheduled to occur simultaneously and cause extreme hardship to commuters and businesses.  Because of recommendations made by this committee, the Chamber urged the City and developers to consider them.  The result was the closures will be much shorter and allow for traffic to flow more easily through the closures. For details you can go to the following websites: www.napafloodcontrol.com & www.napaflooddistrict.org.

Jeff Doran, a past chairman of the Napa Chamber, gave an update on the 17 studies completed by the City in past years to return First, Second and Third streets back into two-way streets.  The studies have shown how this action can bring more traffic into downtown, which will increase business. The estimated cost to make this change is around $5 million. When compared to more than $500 million spent to revitalize downtown in the last few years it seems a small price to capture much of the business that is passing by Napa City. The committee recommended the Chamber take a position to urge the City to take immediate action on this issue and make the changes the studies show will help our downtown businesses.

Another notable item on the agenda was a draft letter to the Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency (NCTPA) in support of the Vine Trail. The committee recommended the Chamber send the letter, which supports the Napa Valley Vine Trail’s Case Statement to build a network of 3 interconnected non-motorized trails to span the Napa Valley. We feel this is an important part of making Napa more accessible to local residents via alternative transportation and a more desirable destination for visitors as well.

There were 25 other projects discussed in this meeting by City, County and Caltrans officials, all of which touch businesses and employees in Napa. We feel keeping you informed of these projects and their progress is an important part of our mission and goals.

If you would like to participate in this committee, you may contact the Chamber and request to be notified of the next meeting date.  You can also request minutes of the meeting to be e-mailed to you when they are published - or go to our website to read them at: www.napachamber.com/ittforce.html.