Downtown Clarkston has good bones, but it could use a better mix of businesses.
That’s the word from Bob Donohue, the Main Street Oakland County Program Coordinator, who recently met with members of the community to discuss Clarkston’s entry into the mentoring phase of the MSOC program.
The city council agreed to move forward with MSOC’a county sponsored economic development program that provides organization, design, promotion and economic restructuring assistance to traditional downtown areas in Oakland County’last fall.
On June 23, Donohue and other members of the MSOC program gave a presentation to interested residents and business people at the old township hall.
A healthy downtown is one with a good business mix, he said after the meeting.
‘You want the visitor or shopper to have a wide variety of options; not all office or all service, but a good mix that also includes entertainment and specialty retail,? he said. ‘So, maybe they can drop the car off at one end of town for new tires and walk in town to get their hair done, buy a birthday card or have lunch.?
Main Street Oakland County was established in 2000, and is patterned after the National Trust’s Main Street Center, which, according to information reported on the Oakland County website, was founded in 1980 and has been successfully utilized in over 2,000 downtowns in 40 states since 1980.
The MSOC program is currently working with 11 other communities: Farmington, Ferndale, Highland, Holly, Oxford, Ortonville, Lake Orion, Pontiac, Rochester, Royal Oak and Walled Lake.
As Clarkston enters the mentoring phase, an aspect of the program developed about three years ago, representatives from Rochester and Holly will serve as ‘mentors.?
‘Clarkston has a good stock of historic buildings and a historic district,? Donohue said, explaining why the communities were matched. ‘Holly has a strong historic district, so that’s one reason; they can help with how to handle downtown development within confines of a historic district.?
Both downtowns, he pointed out, also have ‘a couple of underutilized key buildings.?
Rochester, he said, is conveniently located and has achieved good results for local business owners.
‘Rochester has been very creative in co-op advertising so to directly affect a positive bottom line for the businesses,? Donohue said.
While full-fledged involvement in the program requires participating communities to establish a Downtown Development Authority’and a corresponding budget’the mentoring phase is a time for questions and answers.
‘It’s a two or three year process to understand how this will work,? Donohue said. ‘We want to go slow because naturally people want to know ‘what is this going to cost me, what are the benefits and how does it work???
As for funding a DDA?
‘It’s too soon for that right now,? Donohue said. ‘Right now they want to build support; a year from now they should have the answer for that.?
If the city does decide to move past the mentoring phase, an application must be filled out, reviewed and approved by a committee of non-county employees, along with someone from the national Main Street Center out of Washington.
The committee would look at issues like whether Clarkston is ready for full time downtown management, whether a board of directors and the necessary committees have been put in place.
If the community does decide to go forward, an initial budget of about $ 50,000 would be necessary.
‘It’s essentially like setting up any other business,? he said, noting all the usual expenses for space, phone, insurance, setting up a website, mileage and such. ‘You’ve got to have money to advertise’that’s important’and you need some money to fund committee events.?
The DDA would also need someone to run it, at a part-time salary of about $25,000.
Where does the money come from?
Ideally, said Donohue, a number of places.
Business memberships, sponsorships, bank involvement.
The federal Community Revitalization Act requires banks in the community, or those who service the community, to give back five percent of profits.
‘A lot of our communities use banking dollars,? Donohue said. ‘Sponsorships, too. It’s a little harder in this economy, but people are still looking for the biggest bang for their buck. There’s lots of it going on; you just need someone who knows how to appeal to people.?
On July 20, the county wil host a meeting of six communities currently in the mentoring program and those assigned to help them.
‘The networking gives a lot of assistance,? he said. ‘We like to encourage what we call ‘R and D.’ Rip off and duplicate. If another community is using something you like, use it.?
The city is under no obligation to continue past the mentoring phase of the program.
In difficult economic times, setting up the program, assembling a board of directors, getting volunteers involved, putting together committees so they can hit the ground running when the time is right.
It’s also a good time to get planning and zoning in place.
‘How you do that is through visioning sessions held over several months,? he said.
‘Everyone has a chance to give ideas for what they want downtown Clarkston to be in next 10, 15, 20 years so you can look at issues like ‘do our master plan and zoning ordinances allow what we want to do???
If you’re well managed and you have a good business mix, you’re probably a great downtown. And Clarkston is right there on the edge. It’s a cool little downtown.”