Ortonville- The Main Street program is ready to roll.
Officials from Main Street Oakland County (MSOC) offered on-site technical services Aug. 17 and 18 to assist the four Main Street committees in developing first-year work plans to detail specific goals, objectives and activities for downtown. Sessions were held for each committee (promotions, design, organization and economic restructuring) and were attended by a total of 22 volunteers. Another 15 volunteers attended an introductory session.
‘I was extremely pleased with the tech visit turnout,? said Main Street manager and Downtown Development Authority executive director Julie Courtney. ‘It shows enthusiasm and support for the program.?
The mission of the Main Street program is to maximize economic potential within the context of historic preservation. Ortonville is one of only 10 communities in Oakland County who have the Main Street designation. Main Street communities are provided with technical services? experts who help determine how to achieve goals the community has for their downtown.
During the most recent tech visit, members of the MSOC staff met with committee volunteers. Each committee will complete a workplan, which lists volunteers to implement actual tasks, start and end dates for each task and a budget for activities.
Priorities include: a budget review process planned for the DDA and each Main Street committee by the organization committee; a downtown promotion brochure to be widely distributed to the community with a business directory, event calendar, walking map and basic village information by the promotions committee; a detailed inventory of downtown by the design committee to give understanding of building stock– the number of buildings, the square footage within the district, the number of floors and use of each building, the age, architectural style, condition, materials used and type of construction of each building; a workplan by they economic restructuring committee to find a short-term solution to septic problems downtown.
Numerous other plans will also be worked on, such as creating an entrance on Mill Street to Crossman Park for better public access; market analysis; business retention; fund-raising and a special event for the 150th anniversary of the Old Mill next year.
‘Some things will be brick and mortar type projects and other things will be base information,? says Courtney.
Next up is a three-day visit Sept. 13-15 from a resource team, including MSOC staff as well as staff from the National Main Street program, including people who have worked with small towns and were chosen with Ortonville’s needs in mind. Interview sessions will be held for stakeholder groups such as Chamber of Commerce members, downtown property owners, merchants, and financial, cultural and other organizations and community groups. Specific sessions will be held for committee volunteers. The public is encouraged to attend and a public dessert reception will be from 6:30-8 p.m. on Sept. 13 at the Old Town Hall, 486 Mill St. During the reception, workplans and initial findings from Main Street officials will be discussed briefly.
On Sept. 14, interview sessions will begin in the afternoon, with committee meetings in the morning and evening and from 7-8:30 p.m. on Sept. 15, will be a public presentation on the resource team’s observations and recommendations . Refreshments will be available.
‘The committees aren’t meant to be huge and cumbersome,? says Courtney who notes that volunteers are needed to make the program work. ‘What we need are people interested in serving to implement activities in the workplans. They will be given specific things to do. The reception will have workplans with specific tasks listed and people can choose what appeals to them.?
For more information on the Main Street program or how to help, call (248) 627-4976.