posted on March 27, 2009 18:49
Editor's Note: This week's post comes to us courtesy of one of our good friends and partners, Scottville Mayor Leon Begue. This post is a reprint of Mayor Begue's response ("My Turn: Main Street 101") to a "Letter to the Editor" in the Ludington Daily News from a local naysayer criticizing their local Main Street program. Scottville has been a Selected Level community in the Michigan Main Street program since 2007.
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By Leon Begue
Mayor
City of Scottville, MI
Recent articles and comments in the newspaper as well as on the web have been directed at the value of the Main Street effort being undertaken by citizens of the City of Scottville. These comments continue to reflect a lack of understanding of what the Main Street effort is all about. When we initiated Main Street a year and a half ago, the greatest fear of the two individuals who got the ball rolling was unrealistic expectations and individuals wishing for a quick fix that would not be the solution. Those unrealistic expectations are now rearing their heads and need to be addressed. When you boil it all down, here is what Main Street is all about.
Scottville Main Street is all about volunteers who are willing to invest their time and effort in finding ways to improve the city in which we live and work. More than 100 volunteers, about 50 of whom participate on a regular basis, work very hard and are very generous with their time and resources, developing and enacting a comprehensive work plan to revitalize our business district.
The basis through which this is being accomplished is by using the Main Street operating structure. That structure is comprised of a Board of Directors and four committees to which these volunteers have dedicated their time and effort. Those committees consist of the Organization Committee, the Economic Restructuring Committee, the Promotions Committee and the Design Committee. This is a proven approach, that when given time and support, has been shown to be a valuable and effective means of revitalizing a downtown district. Both large and small communities have seen real results from implementation of this process to direct their efforts and get everyone working on the same page.
Based upon our Vision and Mission Statements, the Board of Directors (9 volunteers) has charged each of those Committees (each with an additional 6-9 volunteers) with the task of developing annual work plans that address the incremental steps that need to take place to move our business district forward as we rebuild. As this is being written those committees are finalizing their work plans for FY 2009-2010. Based upon those work plans, the generous and committed efforts of the more than 100-strong volunteer base will work diligently to set those plans in motion.
The basic task of the Organization Committee is to manage the volunteer recruitment and development aspects of this process as well as oversee any Grant development and all fund raising needs of the organization.
The Economic Restructuring Committee looks at the issues and strategies around the redevelopment of our downtown businesses. Through tools provided by the National Main Street such as the Community Initiated Development Process, they take a look at underused properties in the business district and do the painstaking work necessary for that property to be properly packaged for redevelopment. This, as you might imagine, is the most involved of the processes, and requires the most technical and entrepreneurial mindset. Through the process, the volunteers are learning more and more about what is available, how to work with the city and the areas where we can look to improve business interaction with the city government. It is only through learning about this process and taking steps to work together that we can improve our situation and enhance our city.
The Promotions Committee pursues activities and events which will bring foot traffic into town and bring satisfied customers into our places of business.
The Design Committee takes a look at the “curb appeal” both of the downtown area but also of the community as a whole. They address a variety of issues such as those related to store front design, window displays; parking lot accessibility, design and maintenance; the eye appeal of how our downtown and residential areas looks and are maintained.
Main Street is not about quick fixes. Yes, we have made some small steps forward, such as the redesign of the Mall area. The Music Festival brought friends and neighbors into Scottville and business into our stores. Developers have visited and expressed interest in two of our vacant buildings. However movement forward also points to the foundation building steps we need to continue to take. We are working on those as we speak.
The decline of the downtowns of communities such as ours, has been taking place for the last 30 to 40 years. Main Street provides the organization and the tools for our volunteers to begin and maintain the rebuilding process of our downtown district. It will be 5 years, 10 years before we will begin to see meaningful and tangible results of the foundations we are building today.
For those who wish to contribute and be part of this rebuilding effort, this coming week will provide a tremendous opportunity. Representatives from National Main Street community will be in Scottville to review what we are doing and suggest ways to assist us in moving forward as we continue to work to better our hometown. For those interested and willing to put forth some effort, this will be an opportunity to add your creative ideas to that process. It is not enough to say the Main Street is all about “fluff”. It is about putting actions to words and volunteering time and effort.
What is Main Street? It is about people working together (for the long haul) to rebuild our community.
Thanks, Leon. We couldn't have said it better ourselves...