Business Planning Process

For the past two years, the City of San José has been studying potential changes to the operating model for the Mexican Heritage Plaza. This process began with a report by the City Auditor released in March 2007.  In response, the City and the San José Redevelopment Agency hired consultants to produce two reports, the first (conducted by Maribel Alvarez, Ph. D. in collaboration with Tom Borrup of Community Cultural Development) focused on an assessment of the optimal uses of the Plaza, and the second (conducted by Strategic Philanthropy Advisors) focused on an analysis of the operations and maintenance agreement between the City and the Mexican Heritage Corporation. These reports were presented to the Council’s Rules & Open Government Committee January 30, 2008, along with a staff memo, and a response to the reports from the Mexican Heritage Corporation (MHC).

While the consultants conducted their study, an initial community input meeting was hosted by Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilmember Nora Campos on August 23, 2007.  After the January Rules & Open Government Committee meeting, another community session was held on February 25, 2008.  The notes from these two sessions can be found here.

On March 5, staff presented to the Rules & Open Government Committee a report by Strategic Philanthropy Advisors assessing the organizational capacity of MHC. That was accompanied by a response from MHC.

On March 18, staff made recommendations to the City Council to begin a business planning process for the Plaza, have the City take responsibility for maintenance, utilities, and event services, enter into a number of agreements with Mexican Heritage Corporation to assist in their transition to a new role as a Resident Arts Partner at the Plaza, and provide assistance to MHC with the 2008 Mariachi Festival.

The Council accepted these recommendations, and added a number of others based on a memo from Mayor Reed and Councilmember Campos. These recommendations established the business planning process described below.

Since then, staff has made three reports to the Community & Economic Development Committee, on April 28, May 27 and June 23.At the August 26 Council meeting, the Council approved staff’s recommendation to enter into a cooperation agreement with the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley. The Hispanic Foundation will work with the City to support the Steering Committee’s efforts in developing a sustainable business plan to achieve the vision of the Mexican Heritage Plaza as a community and cultural center.

Independent Convening Institution

In the Hispanic Foundation’s role as the Independent Convening Institution, it will assist in the selection and funding of a facilitator to lead the Steering Committee. Hispanic Foundation is well positioned to assist in the business planning process for the Plaza because of the organization’s cultural competency, community engagement, and philanthropic expertise. The role of the Independent Convening Institution is to assist the Steering Committee in its work to produce a sustainable business plan, assist in involving the community in that work, and provide financial support for the needs of the process.

Interim Membership-based Advisory Committee

The City encourages community members interested in participating in the process to either pledge volunteer hours or a monetary donation to the Plaza. Individuals pledging their support automatically become members of the Interim Membership-Based Advisory Committee, a body that will vote on 6 of their own members to hold positions on the Steering Committee.

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee will be the group responsible for producing a sustainable business plan for the Plaza.  According to the staff memo for the May 27 Community & Economic Development Committee meeting, the Steering Committee “must have enough expertise to complete a thoughtful business plan that considers all of the challenges of operating a successful cultural facility in San José in 2008 and beyond,” and “must be selected in a way that generates wide acceptance from all the stakeholders and the community that has displayed such passion for the Plaza.”

The Committee will have 13 members.  The chart below details how they will be selected:

Steering Committee Nominations

Pledging members can nominate themselves or another pledging member to the Steering Committee. Nominees do not need to be San José residents, but must have a keen interest in the Plaza and have the time and willingness to serve in this role through Fall 2009.

Nominees for the Steering Committee should represent at least one of the following categories of experience, interest, and perspective:

• Non-profit/community-based organization accounting, finance, and management
• Cultural facilities management
• Latino arts, culture, and heritage
• Arts education/academics
• Philanthropy
• Community engagement and representation
• Business planning

The designated selection groups will be responsible for ensuring that the members of the Steering Committee collectively encompass the experience, interest and perspective listed above.