Ohio Main Street Program

Wednesday - November 18: An informal question & answer session was held Wednesday evening with a representative of the Heritage Ohio program. Mr. Frank Quinn, Program Manager from the Heritage program was on hand to field questions. The get together was held at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Don Bangor and Pauline Carmichael on Riverside. It was hosted by members of Wellsville's Revitalization Committee.

It was attended by 24 interested people that represent a good cross of Wellsville residents and business people. There were Main Street merchants, members & future members of Council, members of the Chamber-of-Commerce, a CC Commissioner and a few of us regular residents. Everyone that crowded in Pauline's parlour expressed a desire to get the Village back on the road to prosperity. Mr. Quinn stated that the Main Street program focuses on the revitalization of old buildings, strengthen existing businesses, promoting the downtown and encourage new businesses.

Mr. Quinn got things started by asking what has been done in town recently to improve the image of the village. Some of the things mentioned was the revitalization of Broadway with the worked done replacing the old trees and the new walks with pavers. The rejuvenation of the fountains was brought up. The floodwall murals & Pete Amato Boardwalk were added in. The Ministerial Association's Paint-the-Town accomplishments were talked about. The new tourist brochure sponsored by the Chamber was sited as another positive move. Someone mentioned we're all new to this way of thinking but in the last five years enthusiasm has been snowballing.

Mr. Quinn remarked that a good focus is already in place in Wellsville on the design activity. The new tourist brochure is an easy to digest information format that should be widely distributed both in the village and beyond the village boundaries. Capturing the accidental tourist is always beneficial for any community.

He cited several different ways that the program is functioning in other areas of the state. In Wellington the Main St. program has a paid membership from the businesses in that town. The Oberlin program assumed the functions of a do nothing Chamber. In Lorraine County member communities have joined forces to promote the whole area. Quinn brought up that Toronto is also interested in the program and suggested there might be benefits with joining forces with them and other nearby communities. With public funding drying up in today's economy raising money presents an ever challenging obstacle.

Discussion turned to Wellsville's present appearance with store fronts used as storage rooms that are openly visible to anyone. Mention was made of out-of-town land owners that let village properties deteriorate while taking in their rental money. Quinn told the group about the program manager in Orrville that calls negligent owners once a week.

One resident brought up the need to enforce zoning regulations that are part of Wellsville ordinances. In Canal Winchester members make themselves "constant irritants" to village officials filing complaints repeatedly on unkempt & unsightly properties according to Quinn. County Commissioner Penny Traina explained the Neighborhood Stabilization that Village officials are participating in. Quinn said there are tax credits available for owners to restore historic buildings.

In wrapping up the Q&A session Quinn said that Heritage Ohio provides an assessment of what is in place, they provide connections to business resources to promote village businesses, instill an accountability of all concerned and present a vision of what could be. Attitudes are contagious as Quinn said. If one guy cleans up his place the guy next door is encouraged to follow suit just by witnessing his neighbor's improvements.

All in all it was an extremely interesting evening of discussion of what we have and what is possible that can be accomplished. The first meeting with the Heritage Ohio was held seven weeks ago on October 1. Just seeing the increased number of people interested in getting involved was definitely encouraging. It's a step in the right direction toward making the ville a place that is "rolling on the river". Look for a possible Town Hall meeting in the near future.

Thanks to the Sisters Carmichael for the invite and hosting this session.

ole nib