Main Street Fairmont met with Matt Wagner from the National Main Street Center on May 22-23. The purpose of this meeting was to introduce us to the new transformation strategies of the Main Street program.
During his visit, Matt met with property owners, realtors, civic institutions, city officials and key business owners to get their input on the current strengths and weaknesses of downtown Fairmont. With their input and the results of 403 surveys taken by the general public, Matt put together a presentation to help us better understand these new strategies and how we can use them to re-evaluate and refresh our goals and objectives.
Then on June 20-21, we had a visit with Kathy La Plante, also with the National Main Street Center. She helped us incorporate these new transformation strategies into our 2018 Work Plan.
We will still be using the "Four Points" approach to revitalizing downtown, but we’ll also be using our new customized strategies and work plan to help guide us through the upcoming year.
The typical four points of Main Street are:
The “Four-Point Refresh” will give us more organizational flexibility, with emphasis on the STRATEGY, not the Main Street point.
The Objectives of the Refresh Transformation Strategies are:
Transformation Strategies are shaped by an understanding of the downtown’s economic opportunities
and reflect the community's vision. They will guide the direction of the revitalization initiatives and will be implemented through all "Four Points".
During his visit, Matt met with property owners, realtors, civic institutions, city officials and key business owners to get their input on the current strengths and weaknesses of downtown Fairmont. With their input and the results of 403 surveys taken by the general public, Matt put together a presentation to help us better understand these new strategies and how we can use them to re-evaluate and refresh our goals and objectives.
Then on June 20-21, we had a visit with Kathy La Plante, also with the National Main Street Center. She helped us incorporate these new transformation strategies into our 2018 Work Plan.
We will still be using the "Four Points" approach to revitalizing downtown, but we’ll also be using our new customized strategies and work plan to help guide us through the upcoming year.
The typical four points of Main Street are:
- Design: Improving all the physical and visual aspects of the downtown
- Organization: Cultivating partnerships and resources for the downtown
- Promotion: Marketing the downtown
- Economic Vitality: Capital, incentives, and other economic and financial tools for business and property development
The “Four-Point Refresh” will give us more organizational flexibility, with emphasis on the STRATEGY, not the Main Street point.
The Objectives of the Refresh Transformation Strategies are:
- Introduce some national trends impacting downtowns
- Become familiar with the Main Street Refresh model
- Showcase your data and survey results
- Introduce your recommended "Transformation Strategies"
- How do you choose your strategies?
- How does it affect your work plan?
Transformation Strategies are shaped by an understanding of the downtown’s economic opportunities
and reflect the community's vision. They will guide the direction of the revitalization initiatives and will be implemented through all "Four Points".
