By Linda Taaffe

Los Altos

LAVA board dismisses Kathleen Byrne less than a month after its largest annual downtown fund-raiser

The Los Altos merchant group responsible for promoting most downtown festivities over the past 35 years publicly announced last week that it has been operating without an executive director for the past two months. The Los Altos Village Association Board of Directors dismissed its top employee, Kathleen Byrne, last August.

The Village Association is responsible for numerous city promotions, including the downtown Halloween window painting festival, Breakfast with Santa, the Hanukkah celebration, the Tree Lighting Ceremony and the Los Altos Arts and Wine Festival, which draws about 100,000 people annually.

Board president Amy Randazzo said in a press release, “The decision to replace Byrne was not made lightly, but it was deemed by the board of directors to be the correct move.”

Byrne had served as executive director of LAVA since 1997 after operating the Sacramento Downtown Association and acting as marketing director for a group of four shopping centers in San Bruno.

Under Byrne’s leadership, LAVA launched its own Web site, added a farmers’ market on State Street, increased its office staff and expanded its headquarters to enhance its viability. Byrne’s dismissal came less than a month after the association’s largest annual fund-raiser, the Arts and Wine Festival.

Randazzo said the association does not plan to fill Byrne’s position until the executive committee redefines the position and streamlines operations. The committee has already begun the process and expects to start its early next year, she added.

The group’s executive committee is moving “full speed ahead” on the holiday events, she said.

LAVA headquarters at 88 Main St. will continue to be open for business. Executive assistant Mary Juliano, Byrne’s right hand for two years, and event coordinator Robyn Budelli have stepped in to run the office.

The lease signs in front of the building are for vacant office space that LAVA does not use or own, Board member Beth Miller said.

LAVA’s purpose is to promote sales in downtown Los Altos and maintain a “village atmosphere.” LAVA is the only downtown association that puts on an arts festival of such scale without an outside production staff and is the only such association whose membership is entirely voluntary.

The Town Crier was unable to contact Byrne for comment.