Summer Update and Invitation: Coleman Hawkins Park Input Session

Greetings community members. It's been a busy summer!

This summer, Main Street Saint Joseph has been continuing our work to facilitate communication between, and a shared vision across Downtown organizations. We strive to bring together, on a regular and recurring basis, the individuals who are working daily to make Downtown Saint Joseph a better place in the areas of Design, Economic Vitality, Promotion and Organization. 

Our goal has not been to create the path forward, but to help articulate, support, and publicize the path most desired by the community members who live, work and play in Downtown. 

Here are some things we've been working on this summer:

• Two task forces comprised of community members, leaders and stakeholders met monthly to determine next steps in the areas of Business & Residential Development and Cultural Identity for Downtown. The task forces disbanded this summer, as planned, after meeting their objectives. They recommended four Sub-Committees and Committee Chairs to continue ongoing work in four specific areas. These subcommittees are:
  
  
• Seasonal Banners
• Accessibility & Wayfinding 
• Kids Activities/Programming (Creation and Promotion)
• Residential Growth Downtown
  
  
• In addition to recommending the four subcommittees, the task forces revealed a strong desire to stay focused on bringing a grocery store to Downtown St Joseph, due to the strong demand from various community surveys and Town Hall events over the years. As such, the Main Street Saint Joseph Board will continue to stay informed on grocery store efforts, and evaluate ways our organization can best support them. (More on the steps we're taking in a future email!)
• Main Street Saint Joseph Committee Chair Training was developed by Main Street Saint Joseph Board members and held for the first time in August. The 2-hr training session was attended by volunteers who have graciously agreed to lead the 4 subcommittees listed above, and included facilitator tools for effective group brainstorming, evaluating ideas, and performing stakeholder analyses, and time/project tracking through Maestro, our community data tracking platform.
• A team of volunteers and marketing professionals has been meeting monthly, working on Promotions Committee activities, in effort to standardize existing Downtown marketing activities and set goals for future activities and events.
• Main Street Saint Joseph is participating in the Adopt-A-Block program through Saint Joseph Imagine 2040. We have adopted the Downtown block spanning Felix to Francis and 6th to 7th. (If you would like to participate in the Adopt-A-Block program, click the hyperlink above!)
• And last, but certainly not least, in June Main Street Saint Joseph officially achieved 501c3 status from the IRS and can now receive tax-deductible donations from community members.

WHAT'S NEXT:

Due to a lot of discussion on the beloved Coleman Hawkins Park and the desire by many to see improvements in this public space in the coming years, Main Street Saint Joseph is hosting an outdoor "open-house style" community input session on Saturday, Sept 2nd from 11am-3pm at the Park Gazebo. 

More info and RSVP here: COLEMAN HAWKINS PARK COMMUNITY INPUT SESSION

Event Description:

Lend your voice to Downtown improvements! Downtown Saint Joseph's beloved Coleman Hawkins Park, (aka Felix Street Square) is a hub for community activity, live music, special events, and so much more!

Your city leaders and Downtown organizations are looking into the future and want to better understand how YOU, our community members currently use the park and how you'd like to use it in the years to come.

COME PROVIDE INPUT! - An open-house style community input session will take place at the Gazebo, 11am-3pm Saturday, Sept 2nd (September First Saturday).
Please come weigh-in with your thoughts, opinions, and votes on what should remain constant in Coleman Hawkins Park, and what you'd like to see added in the coming years! No need to register or stay the whole time... Bring some friends, stop in when you can, lend your opinions, and be on your merry way!

Thank you for taking time to weigh in on the future of Downtown Saint Joseph's most beloved public space. Your input is valuable to Main Street Saint Joseph and to our City leaders.

__________________

Thanks to everyone who has lent their time, talents and voices this summer to Create a Better Place in Downtown St. Joseph... together! There are so many exciting things happening, and so many reasons to be optimistic about our shared future.

Dana Ekstrum, 

President, Main Street Saint Joseph