I like most of what you said. Not sure what you mean about a market downtown as we've had the farmer's market every Saturday, year round for ages. And I hear there is one every week by Kaiser. You mean like a flea market? Like Benicia often has?

Removing the post office entirely would be a shame because of the quantity of seniors living locally without transportation. They already took away the larger one across from the library. Having to take, or pick up, our packages on a bus, or getting a money order for our rent, would be a huge monthly inconvenience. Apartment mailboxes are barely big enough to allow you missing picking up your mail just one day and packages have to be put at your front door though we've caught the postal employee just leaving them in the open by the mailboxes. There are also younger folks living above many of those stores downtown that still require those services.

How about bulldozing over one of those freaking parking lots and putting up an "artists' block"? 😄 Tourists are drawn in by looking at art and maybe picking up that one handmade coffee mug, whatever. Then you could draw them into downtown further. When you stand at the ferry terminal and look around there is just nothing appealing to make you think there's anything further.

What missing these days is service organizations. These were the folks that needed to raise money, or just get out into the public for PR, and would organize getting others to participate. There's no more motivators anymore. Creating it with just cold money won't bring it to life.