Would a town council by any other name still be representative of the community?
That is the question being posed soon to its membership by Pacific Beach Town Council, whose board is recommending a name change to the Pacific Beach Community Association.
“This idea is not new; it’s been raised in years past, but for various reasons, never acted upon,” said PBTC board member Ron Walker. “We feel that this is the right time for a change, in order to best further our goals in the community.”
This statement was mailed out recently to PBTC board members explaining the reasoning behind the group’s proposed name change. “The PBTC desires to increase community awareness of the organization’s mission and accomplishments, and to grow membership,” said the statement which concluded, “A major obstacle to this effort is a widespread misunderstanding of what the PB Town Council is, how it operates, and who may participate. Much of the confusion stems from the name, ‘Town Council.’”
The statement proceeds to note that many residents infer that the town council is governmental, a lower-tier subgroup of the San Diego City Council, and therefore do not understand that PBTC is actually an all-volunteer membership organization.
“Many believe that the PBTC is ‘in charge’ of establishing Pacific Beach regulations and that it plays a role in enforcement,” according to the PB Town Council statement. “Thus, the PBTC is often perceived as unresponsive and ineffective. This discourages membership and other forms of participation. We often hear reluctance from potential members to join a ‘council’ – they don’t realize it’s simply an association membership.”
PB Town Council president Marcella Bothwell noted the process of changing the PBTC name will involve both California state and federal entities, and ultimately involve a vote of group trustees.
“The board of directors voted to recommend the name change to the general membership, and the general membership will vote on the proposed change at the July 20 general meeting,” Bothwell said, discussing what a group name change will actually do.
“It changes the way we are perceived by many folks who are unfamiliar with the true structure, mission, activities, and accomplishments of the organization,” she said. “We believe the new name describes the group in a more accurate and welcoming manner.
“We hope that the name promotes inclusiveness and welcomes members who thought the ‘town council’ meant they could not simply join the organization, and thereby increase our collective talent to make PB the best it can be,” Bothwell said.
The PBTC board is convinced the organization will benefit from a new name that is more accurate and immediately understood. The word “community,” for instance, is viewed as welcoming and inclusive by potential members, and connotes working together for positive change.
In addition to being more inviting, the board notes the initials of the new name, PBCA, better positions the organization as part of the fabric of PB.
The board points out that research indicates that “community” is an important concept and organizational attribute to potential new members, especially true among younger residents whose increased participation is essential to the group’s future success.
Should the new name be adopted, Bothwell said it won’t change the basic broad mission of the group: The betterment of Pacific Beach. “By increasing our appeal and involvement, our goal is to do more,” she said adding, if the general membership approves the name change, “we’ll need to make some regulatory filings for it to be official.”
Added Bothwell: “Right now, fewer than 1% of the estimated 40,000 residents of Pacific Beach are members of the town council. We’ll use every available medium and event to reach, influence, and recruit additional potential members. That will include print media, social media, community group-sponsored events such as the upcoming BeachFest, and our own community events and enhancement activities.”
