Heart of the matter

Polson on a mission to revitalize its downtown

A lake. A dam. A brewery. A store with an eccentric advertising style.

There are many reasons to visit Polson, but Sue Taylor, executive director of the Polson Community Development Center, hopes to add one more: downtown.

"We have an awful lot to offer people, but we've kind of kept it a secret," she said.

Spurred by the development center, Polson is applying to become one of the first two communities in the state to join the Montana Main Street program. The Legislature established the program, which is funded by the gas tax.

Main Street is part of a nationwide effort to preserve historic downtown buildings while stimulating economic development. Since 1980, the program, part of the National Fund for Historic Preservation, has helped more than 1,800 communities improve their downtown areas.

Revitalization doesn't happen immediately, though.

"What the National Trust teaches the community is that your downtown didn't get to the state it is in overnight," Taylor said, "and it won't change overnight either."

"This isn't a quick-fix for communities," said Ann Desch, the state Small Business Development Center director who oversees the Montana Main Street program. "This is an incremental process that takes dedication and commitment over a time frame."

This includes more than just a time and labor commitment, Desch said.

"One thing I want to get across is there are no grants for this program," she said. "It's the value of the services we'll be offering."

The Montana program will provide between $25,000 and $30,000 worth of services annually, Desch said. But actual funding for downtown restoration projects must come from the communities themselves.

"It's a bootstrap program," she said. "We don't provide the money. The community comes up with the money."

This means Polson has to find its own funding. The town may tap into the tax-increment-financing district, Taylor said.

Such districts are traditionally used to jump-start sluggish parts of the economy and help cities restore areas that need it.

Whatever money is needed to fund the program, Taylor is convinced it will be worth it. With new jobs created, increased business and other benefits to having a prettier, more functional downtown, each dollar the city invests will be returned with interest.

Since 1980, this reinvestment ratio - the average amount of new investment for every dollar a community spends operating its Main Street program - is more than $26.

Taylor has seen the Main Street program in action and thinks it will work wonders for Polson. Before starting work Jan. 1 with the Polson Community Development Agency, she was a Main Street manager in Portage, Wis.

Portage became a Main Street community in July 2003. Since then, the city has created a downtown directory so visitors will know what is there. Retailers have combined their advertising efforts to make better use of their money.

And buildings have been improved.

Taylor remembers one "extreme makeover" done to a candy store. During a four-day period, volunteers gutted the store, gave it new flooring and paint, a new awning and new fixtures. Now the shop is flourishing, Taylor said.

The key to Main Street's success in Portage was its community involvement, Taylor said.

"The program itself is designed to be volunteer-driven," she said.

Polson isn't the only community that plans to apply for the program. Desch expects 13 cities to submit applications.

In addition, two communities are asking to be grandfathered into the program. Libby and Stevensville have been operating programs similar to Main Street for years, Desch said. Now they want to become certified Main Street participants.

Libby and Stevensville will not compete with the 13 applicants, Desch said.

The 32-page application is due March 2. A selection committee will announce the winner April 3.

The state will train the winning communities in how to operate the program. Main Street Center also will send experts from Washington, D.C., to provide instruction and direction.

Main Street directs communities in a four-point approach to making over their downtown areas.

"They believe it is the best way you're going to achieve good and lasting results," Taylor said.

The first of these points is organization. An organization committee deals with communications, fundraising, recruiting volunteers and developing ongoing management.

Design is the second point. The design committee deals with building improvements and fixing up other public facilities, such as benches and garbage cans.

Point three is the promotion committee. This group hosts special events and tries to kindle a sense of community pride. They also create and define a positive image to attract new businesses, customers and volunteers.

This is something Polson still is working on, Taylor said.

"If you don't do it yourself, others will do it for you," she said, explaining the need for Polson residents to define the town's image.

The promotion committee also will try to maintain public interest in the program. This is something she wishes had happened more in Portage, Taylor said.

"One of the things we weren't so good at is kind of tooting our own horn," she said. "When something good happens, we want to let people know that this is what's happening."

The final part is the economic restructuring committee. The Main Street program is about more than merely making buildings look good, Taylor said.

"One of the main focuses is to strengthen the current business base," she said.

The economic restructuring committee focuses on business recruitment and retention, and monitors changes in the local market.

It's called a "restructuring" committee rather than an economic development committee because the objective is to reorganize businesses that are in place to make them more effective, Taylor said. Communities don't often develop something new instead.

"What we're trying to promote is using the tools that are already out there across the state," Desch said.

Through those tools, Desch hopes to see the program help more than the original two chosen cities.

"A lot of Montana communities have a lot of potential to have really great downtowns," she said.

That's something more communities should strive for, Taylor said.

"If you lose your downtown core, you are losing the character of your city," she said.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.