Results are in: the Friday Night Music Series will be held at
the Community and Cultural Center’s amphitheater this year.
Results are in: the Friday Night Music Series will be held at the Community and Cultural Center’s amphitheater this year.
The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors took a revote at the behest of the Property Based Improvement District, which represents downtown property owners. The district’s board took the vote after downtown merchants rallied for a second year in a row to keep the popular live music and dancing event where it’s been for 16 years: on West Second Street.
Board members began e-mailing their revotes 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.
In late March, all 11 attending Chamber board members voted to move the series to the amphitheater. The new tally is unknown, as Hendrick did not return calls by press time.
The original 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 stage 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.
