JUNE UPDATE
Hi again, everyone! As promised, I wanted to update everyone on Main Street progress since our Town Hall on May 27th.
Before reading, I would like you to keep in mind that our Community Empowerment Grant is for TWO YEARS of guidance from Missouri Main Street Connection. That means a lot of the work we're doing now may seem slow, but we're putting in place crucial building blocks that will make a successful, long-term organization that hopefully has far-reaching impact for our community... starting with Downtown!
Below is an overview of what our board has been working on since May 27th.
SINCE OUR TOWN HALL:
On behalf of our board, I want to thank you for sticking with us during these lengthy initial stages. And please do let me know if you have thoughts or preferences on how you prefer to receive communications or what information might be missing from these udpates that you'd like included in future updates.
Before reading, I would like you to keep in mind that our Community Empowerment Grant is for TWO YEARS of guidance from Missouri Main Street Connection. That means a lot of the work we're doing now may seem slow, but we're putting in place crucial building blocks that will make a successful, long-term organization that hopefully has far-reaching impact for our community... starting with Downtown!
Below is an overview of what our board has been working on since May 27th.
SINCE OUR TOWN HALL:
- Finalization of Organizational Bylaws - COMPLETED - We will now pursue our 501c3 status.
- Downtown Building Inventory - IN PROGRESS - This will capture the current state of our downtown landscape so we can assess vacancy/useage, set goals on utilization of downtown space, and eventually measure outcomes. Do we want more retail? More dining? What percent vacancy do we have? The building inventory is a lengthy process but it will help us answer these questions. Volunteers are helping to complete this lengthy but important project.
- Enrolled for Board Training - SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 10 - This will allow our board to become intimately familiar with the Main Street methods and ensure we are accountable to their proven metrics, and to our community and shared goals.
- Economic Data Reporting - Two board members attended a session on Economic Data Collection and Reporting. Our board, and in particular, the Economic Vitality Committee, will be tasked with providing quarterly reports to Missouri Main Street Connection on building/infrastructure updates & investments, new businesses, closed businesses, volunteer hours, and much more. Measuring these factors will be time-consuming, but integral to our success. Without measurement we will not have a clear picture of current state, would not be able to set achievable goals, and most important, know when we've met them.
- Missouri Main Street State Conference - JULY 28-30 - What is normally a live event is being offered virtually this year. Two of our board members are already enrolled for this three-day event, in which we will attend sessions and learn best practices from all over the state. We will bring our learnings back to the board, our committees, and our community with the hope of applying them locally.
- Committee Activity - TBA - With all of the above taking center stage, and with a current focus on board education and building a strong organizational foundation, our committee chairs have not yet been able to hold committee meetings. That said, each committee--currently consisting of a few board members to each committee--will be meeting separately this month to discuss next steps and focus on building out our committee members and volunteer pools. If you have interest in serving on one of the four committees--Organizaton, Economic Vitality, Promotions or Design--feel free to email me, and we'll keep you posted on committee activity! While we certainly want to maintain the momentum and energy from the Town Hall, it is equally important that we establish certain processes and expectations before we ask for volunteers to contribute their valuable time. Thank you for your patience on this! We can't wait to work more with the community...very soon!
CAN I ASK YOU A FAVOR? - I created this blog to keep a complete and comprehensive record of the origins, initial stages, and continued updates of Main Street Saint Joseph. If you have a neighbor, colleague, friend, family member, community leader who should know about our organization, please send them the link to this blog! They will have access to all communications since the beginning, so they can get the full update. And, please encourage them to add their name to our updates list so we can keep them in the loop! Thanks so much.
Have a fantastic weekend. Stay cool out there!
Dana Massin
Vice President, Main Street Saint Joseph
dana.m.massin@gmail.com
816-646-3250
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