The Mail revealed last week that the association was at the brink of folding after a handful of members showed up to its annual meeting on February 23.

Then-president Lidia Cammarano said she was going to advertise the organisation's demise in a public notice, but after receiving a phone call from a trader wanting to join she decided to hold another meeting last Tuesday week. Mr Miles said his first task as new president would be building the membership base, with a concerted effort at attracting more owner-operators of small business from the suburb.

"We've already got about 10 new members who are a little bit more gung-ho, but the more members we have the stronger the voice.

"Of course, we welcome all members, but I'm keen to get more people involved who really spend the balance of their time in Footscray as the place is closer to their heart and they have better knowledge [of the area]."

Mr Miles said a key issue for the association was Maribyrnong Council's decision to install fixed parking cameras in Footscray.

'"We will be forming a plan over the coming months to bring this to a head, the ultimate goal being their complete removal.

"This is something that the Footscray Asian Business Association has already being doing a lot of work on and I'll be meeting with them soon to discuss anything the FTA can do to assist their initiatives."

The FTA will hold a fortnightly meeting on the second Thursday of each month for members and other interested parties.

The association's next meeting is at 6pm on April 8 at the Footscray Club, upstairs at 45 Paisley Street, Footscray.