Hi Folks

I wanted to give an update on my research about meeting rooms for us in downtown Santa Barbara.

Finding a place within walking distance of the Transit Center at least gives people the option of arriving on transit.

1) Community Environmental Council:
They have a perfect location and meeting room on Anapamu right off State Street. Unfortunately, they do not seem to like to let other groups use it. I have not gotten a clear "no" but nothing positive yet either.
2) Balboa Building:
Great location and meeting room right by Paseo Nuevo on State Street. COAST (Coalition for Sustainable Transportation) meets there and architect Alex Pujo has his office there. Unfortunately, he said it would not be possible.
3) Santa Barbara Bank and Trust. Great meeting room and location near the Library on Anacapa Street. Unfortunately, they are only available during normal business hours. Surprising, because I was on a board in Oakland and we had evening meetings at Sumitomo Bank there.
4) Architectural Foundation of SB. Perfect meeting room with a little kitchen, on Victoria two blocks from State Street. They need to check with their board and will get back to me. I would guess it would not be free.
5) Main Library. We used to meet in the Townley Room in the basement. It is not cheap at $35 for non-profits. However, there are two very nice meeting rooms adjacent to the big Faulkner Gallery. These are only $20 for 3 hours. I checked for 2nd Mondays out for several months. March was taken, but the rest are open.

My recommendation: We should reserve the Library meeting room for April. Maybe the Chapter will be willing to pay for meeting space, as it is a lot cheaper than the office.

