Chamber talks about revitalization

THOMPSON FALLS – The Chamber of Commerce met on Friday to have an informative meeting on the opportunity of becoming a member in a program called the Montana Main Street program.

Jen Kreiner brought the discussion to the chamber.

“(The program) came under our radar a few months ago…these are the very early stages of potentially becoming involved as a member of the community,” said Striner.

The Community Development Division of the Montana Department of Commerce administers the program.

According to their website, “the Montana Main Street Program helps communities strengthen and preserve their historic downtown commercial districts by focusing on economic development, urban revitalization, and historic preservation through long-range planning, organization, design, and promotion.”

Program coordinator, Tash Wisemiller, gave the chamber a rundown on the program, which he stressed focuses specifically on the revitalization of downtowns.

Currently there are 21 members statewide, and although the program will help all communities, becoming a member has its benefits.

Membership is free, however, there has to be a clear vision for the town, good representation and the city has to be on board with joining the program.

There are four key points to the program: promotion, design, organization and economic restructuring.

“It’s very generalized where it will be an umbrella for lots of downtown projects,” said Wisemiller.

Under promotion, the main idea is promoting community businesses, the community and historical resources through tourism. Whether that be through a website, the main key is to have an idea of what you want to promote.

Wisemiller explained the program offers competitive grants at the state level.

“The idea is to enable communities to have the vision and then fulfill that vision with funded grants to where those ideas can become reality with maybe limited local resources,” said Wisemiller.

Design primarily focuses on upgrading buildings and facades in the downtown core while focusing on historic preservation.

“The idea is that public improvements for your community and specifically for your business would help your economy, help with visual appeal, and the esthetics of the community,” said Wisemiller.

The third point of the system is organization and getting a local effort going throughout the community to work towards a common goal.

“A lot of communities are doing that already but if you collectively identify your biggest concerns for the community, we can work with the city in unison coming for a grant,” explained Wisemiller, stating that the Main Street Program can help fund at least part of the project through grants.

The last step is economic restructuring. Wisemiller explained the community can get a grant to identify marketing or business plans that will help identify what local businesses are needed in town.

“You could recruit a complimentary business that doesn’t compete with anyone who is already running a business in the community,” said Wisemiller.

Along with that, façade improvements fall into this group making it easier to fill vacant spaces by sprucing up empty storefronts.

“With membership what we’re looking for is communities that have a vision for their downtown, there’s some sort of theme of historic preservation in the community and what I mean by that is saving your town’s historical landmarks,” said Wisemiller.

With a background of nonprofit management, history and tourism, Wisemiller understands many of the underlying issues in the revitalization process.

There is no deadline to decide whether the town will become a member, the main thing is to spread the word and get as many people on board if the town does decide they want to be part of this program.

Kreiner explained the next step is deciding whether or not the program would fit well with Thompson Falls.