There has been talk about aesthetic improvements and new
businesses in Downtown Elizabethton recently. This is great to hear!
Each community's downtown plays a vital role in the pride and identity
of the community. I now feel that downtown Elizabethton is ready to take
the next step to become more vibrant, but it will take commitment and
working together to achieve this.
Many people have heard of the
Main Street Program which has helped hundreds communities throughout
Tennessee and the Country revitalize their downtowns. While Elizabethton
may not be ready to take this big of a step yet, I believe the concepts
of the Main Street Program should start to be evaluated. Repeatedly,
these steps have proven to be effective and will strengthen our Downtown
as well. The program identifies eight guiding principles, but today I
want to focus on just three of those principles.
First is
comprehensiveness. In order for downtown to be successful, a plan for
comprehensive aesthetic improvements, promotion, and organization
must be implemented. All the businesses and stakeholders must take an
active role in working together to make downtown one united place
instead of multiple individual places. After all, a cord of three
strands is not quickly broken.
Next is the principle of self-help.
To put it bluntly, no one else is going to help or save our downtown. We
must invest in ourselves now and know that rewards will be reaped in
the future. After all, we don't build a house and then let it
deteriorate. We perform annual maintenance and make improvements so that
the house will increase in value. Our downtown is much the same,
businesses and stakeholders must invest in our downtown to increase the
value. No one else is going to do this for us!
Lastly, partnerships
are the third principle for us to consider. This is a very broad
principle, but generally, the businesses need to partner with each
other, downtown organizations, other business organization, community
leaders, and local governments. We must recognize that each partner can
contribute something that another may not be able. At the same time, we
must recognize that no one partner is more important that the other.
Your local governments may only be able to provide improvements to
streets, while other business organizations may help provide resources
to improve the business environment.
What else can we do to make
downtown a more vibrant place? Let's talk about it!
For more information on the Main Street program, visit www.mainstreet.org.
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