Gainesville’s City Council voted Tuesday to pull its funding for Main Street Gainesville and instead start its own Main Street program.

Main Street Gainesville is the mini-Chamber of Commerce for the city’s downtown businesses. Until Tuesday, the organization received the majority of its funding, about $60,000, from the city’s hotel/motel tax revenues.

In the past, Main Street Gainesville has sponsored events like the Blue Sky concert series, Trick or Treat on the Square and Downtown by Candlelight.

Coordination of the city’s downtown events will now be performed by a city employee in the city’s revamped Communications and Tourism office, said Gainesville City Manager Kip Padgett.

Padgett said Tuesday’s decision was to make sure the City Council had direct oversight over the Main Street program and to bring a different "vision" to the agency.

"Some council members had expressed some concerns that had been relayed to them about ... the future of the Main Street program," Padgett said. "And while it’s been very successful, they just felt a re-energization of it would be helpful in carrying it forward."

"I think council was very proud of the program, but just felt like it needed a new boost, and bringing it in-house would give it that new boost," Padgett said.

The city’s decision to create its own Main Street program and hire its own Main Street manager came three months after the City Council pulled funding from the Lake Lanier Convention and Visitors Bureau and decided to hire its own tourism marketing employees.

The city funded both the CVB and Main Street Gainesville with revenues from the hotel/motel tax.

The new city employees who will handle tourism and Main Street will also be paid with revenues from the tax.

The city will begin advertising for the new Main Street position immediately, Padgett said.

The chairman of the original Main Street Gainesville Board of Directors, Debra Harkrider, did not return a call seeking comment from The Times on Tuesday, and the future of that original group is uncertain.

However, Padgett said some board members from the original group, which are downtown business owners, have indicated they would like to be on the city’s new board. The city should have its new board established in early 2010.

"They’ve been very cooperative with us to help us with this transition, and I think they’re looking forward to working with us," Padgett said.