Comment Up
It seems that one of the Mayor's clients in her marketing company is none other than the DCA in Lake Worth. The Downtown Cultural Alliance is a membership organization of Downtown
businesses, galleries, merchants and restaurants. It was formed to enhance the
downtown corridor. Commissioner Andy Amoroso was the co-founder of the DCA.
From the mayor:
Hi
Gang!
Yes... Things are always slow at this time of the year, but to stir up some
action downtown for you, we are doing a TV blitz on Comcast! So far
the following are paid for:
Coastline realty
Clay Glass
Studio/Java
Paws
Mango Inn
Webber
Sabal Palm
Sunflower (Call me please 585-8668)
Dave’s (Call me please 585-8668)
I need to know by end of day if anyone else is interested. Spread the
word today to your neighbors. I can not ask a million times like our last
run. If you can’t find $50, $100 or $500 a month to promote your business
and our downtown I understand. For those who have inquired why I don’t
get someone else to pay for it, I have tried to get a match program where we
raise $5000 and they match $5000 for a major monthly campaign but not enough
people stepped up. I was also promised a small monthly commission to
cover over time the over $13,000 worth of production that I’ve provided to date
for DCA members, but again not enough people stepped up.
Let’s shoot for a match again this year and be committed to achieving it.
The more positive exposure we get, the busier our businesses will be.
I know these are trying times folks, I own a business too. I made a
significant investment in you, now I just need you to invest in yourself.
Thanks,
Pam
Pam Triolo
President
First Impressions Creative Services, Inc.
“An Award-Winning Full Service Agency Since 1997”
120 N. Federal Highway, Suite 201
Lake Worth, FL 33460
Office: 561.585.8668
Fax: 561.586.5272
Cell: 561.371.2012
Pam@ficreates.com
www.ficreates.com
19 comments:
Well. Talk about self interest! I'm sure that nothing illegal is being done by our Mayor, but this sure does seem to fall into a grayish area. Again something that this Commission CAN do but probably SHOULD'NT do .They only care about who can scratch who's back.
No that message was not (as you put it), "From The Mayor".
It was from Pam Triolo,President
First Impressions Creative Services, Inc.
Thanks, mayor!
Mayor Pam is the best. She wants tall buildings for more people to shop.
I want everyone to know that our Mayor is doing everything she can to help our local businesses. We have been talking about television and radio advertising for years but the cost for a single business to do that is just to high. Pam came up with an idea along with the DCA to put together a shared advertising plan for our downtown. She spent hours using her own money and resources to film our businesses, create a song and produce a commercial that would spotlight all of the businesses who participated in the ads. We all agreed to commit a monthly amount to support the commercials based on what we could afford. The more money you put in the more air time your business got. Pam did all of the work to get this done at no upfront cost to us. The commercials began running last fall and than like most good things businesses started dropping out and the ads stopped. Pam even found an organization that would match every dollar we put in if we could raise $5000 for advertising. Unfortunately the big restaurants would not contribute and we lost the match money. The ads have not run since. The downtown businesses are currently in one of the worst summer slumps that we have ever had. Business is dead and tourists are not coming to the city even though we have a new beach complex and the Lantana bridge is closed. In an effort to try to help, Pam sent out an email to everyone trying to get the group to advertise again. The only way we can market the city is to get our name and businesses out there. Pam has never asked me for a dime to compensate her for the work she has done and if this falls apart she will have taken a personal business loss of at least $13,000. I pray that the downtown businesses can get together and fund the commercials. We really need to do something proactive. This is the first mayor of our City that has ever helped our local businesses with anything like this and I cannot thank her enough for her support. She is working for free using her expertise in marketing to help all of us. To even imply that she is doing anything wrong is just not right. All of us at The Sabal Palm House cannot thank you enough for helping us get on TV.
Marketing our city is a great thing. Luckily we have a mayor who has the expertise in this area to help out. Our beach is doing well. Did not realize that the downtown was dead...it always looks busy. Where can one see the TV ad?
well done john, it is obvious our downtown cannot survive the off season on locals. it is time for calmer heads to whew hotels to invest in l.w. whether its 4, 5, or 6 story. it does not cost anything to listen. florida survives on tourism, why should we be left out. it is time to listen to experts regarding hotel heights and then make a decision. nothing wrong with more golfers, people using the casino and pool, people shopping and eating downtown. seems like a win win.
Who are the "experts" on heights? YOU and John Rinaldi and this entire P&Z board and commission? As Allen West would say, "Y'all make me sick."
Never said I was an expert. But I do know Alan West resigned from the military to avoid a court martial. What he did makes me "sick."
It is spelled ALLEN. And what he did was great. Your comment was probably from someone who has no clue about fighting terrorists and war.
To the other wiseguy who just can't stand the idea of a casino at our beach at all especially one that was totally rebuilt, who tried to post about my comment about the beach that seems to be doing well--I talk to the merchants-they confirm. Steve Carr said the revenues are fine and his projections were spot on. How come you keep on dissing our beach redevelopment particularly our casino? Time to move on.
Your comments Lynn show you do not grasp municipal revenue projections.
Lynn, I don't think that any of us are experts on how high a hotel needs to be to be successful. The Gulfstream Hotel was built almost 100 years ago when our city was new and just beginning. It was built over 65 feet tall and the citizens loved it. The hotel is now a failure and the fact that it has been closed for over 5 years has had a major impact on the economic viability of our downtown. We really need a new hotel. We have to realize that the ability of a new hotel to survive requires that the facility have the room to offer modern ammenties such as a spa, pool, meeting rooms and parking for all the guests and visitors to the hotel. There are only a few parcels of land where this new hotel could be built east of Federal. These parcels are not big parcels of land. Neither I nor you or anyone else who is not an expert in the hotel business knows how much space, rooms and floors will be needed for any new hotel to succeed in our city on any of these lots. I think what the previous poster is saying is that we need to recognize that we must learn more of what will be needed to get a sucessful hotel up and running. If Marriot took over he Gulfstream and presented plans that included a beautiful new building that blended in with the old one on the property right next to the existing building, that included all the amenties that a sucessful hotel needed to survive and was 6 floors just like the old hotel, why would that be a problem? How would the character of city change. For all of us to be attacking each other over this issue makes no sense to me espically when no one is coming to build this new hotel. Downtown may look busy to you but the fact is we may see many businesses give up and move out. I do not have the answers to solve this but I am open to any suggestions. If someone can build a hotel that will work with only four floors than I say build it. If the same investor asked for 5 floors should we really tell the guy to go somewhere else or should we be willing to work with the idea that we can go to 5 floors if it adds to the value of the city and looks great. This is the discussion we all need to have instead of: those people who want 6 floors want us to be another Miami. I just want us to be a successful Lake Worth with one beautiful new hotel. Nothing else and nothing more.
@ 10:35--I guess I am one dumb schmuck.
@ 10:42--I just disagree with you on what a hotel MUST have to be successful. A builder will ALWAYS want to build as high as he is allowed to build. I think we voted.
8:43... How did the thoughtful comments @8:35 deserve such an immature response.
The point is that unless you have knowledge of the hotel business in south Florida you don't have a clue of what is needed to successfully operate a hotel. You are just guessing that a 4 story hotel on a small lot will make it. Well that 4 story new hotel will cost millions of dollars and no investor will build it if the hotel cannot generate enough income to support the debt.
I appreciate John Rinaldi's comments. But I do think that a mayor should not be cajoling downtown businesses for money -- because now, as an elected official, she's in a position to make things tough for them, or not. I also find it very interesting that Coastline is on here. A local real estate company that seems to be partly behind this very big push for higher heights. Hmmmm....I wonder why. Could it be that the firm needs those big bucks that would come rolling in from the sale of a hotel...that Coastline is not in great financial shape following the housing bust? That given that homes are now selling for half or two-thirds of what they were in 2006 and 2007 that the company is over-extended? I also don't believe the downtown is in a slump. John Rooney stopped selling furniture because people don't have much use for these enormous carved wood pieces from Indonesia. Lots of people buying coffee at Starbucks, though!! And steak dinners at Callaro's, and shepherd's pie at Brogues. I see this on Main Streets everywhere. It's not that there are no people. It's that the stores are not offering things for sale that people want to buy. Come on, Lake Worth. We want to buy local. We don't want to pay Amazon shipping charges. Sell something we can use, or give as a gift. Then we'll fill our bags with your goods. The mayor, meanwhile, should quit politics. She doesn't seem to get it at all, and has no respect for the people. We said NO TALL BUILDINGS. What about this does she not understand??
it is time for calmer heads to whew hotels to invest in l.w. whether its 4, 5, or 6 story.
What CRAP! Get the hell out of Lake Worth and go live in New York!
It is time to acknowledge that the majority of Lake Worth voters do NOT want 65 feet tall bldgs. in our downtown. It is time for our ELECTED officials to start representing the people, not lecturing to them (MAYOR!)
You may just not have a downtown or a city if your unwilling to accept the reality that 2 additional floors on a hotel will not make us NYC, Miami or any other big city. I can only assume that anonymous at 10:45 wants the Gulfstream torn down because it's too tall. It just might happen or it could become a rehab center. But at least we will be a tiny building city. I just don't get the logic.
That's bull and you know it.
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