Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Prairie Grove Chamber Considers Program To Help Downtown
PRAIRIE GROVE — Taryn Golden, Prairie Grove Chamber president, would like the city to become a member of Main Street Arkansas and its Arkansas Downtown Network program.
Greg Phillips, director of Main Street Arkansas, and two of his staff members addressed Chamber members recently telling them about the advantages of joining the program. However, the network only accepts applications every two years and the next cycle would begin in 2018, or maybe later due to a shortage of staff, Phillips said.
After the presentation, Golden said she would like the Chamber to apply to the program and start making preparations toward that goal.
The Arkansas Network Program was established about 10 years ago for smaller communities that do not have the resources to meet the requirements of Main Street Arkansas, Phillips said.
When considering applications, the program looks for communities with “some sort of historic fabric” in their downtown area and look at community involvement, especially involvement from outside the downtown area, Phillips said.
“You need to involve not only downtown merchants and the city government but citizens in general,” Phillips said. “A thriving downtown is important to everyone.”
Phillips said the downtown area does not have to be a designated historic district but must have some historical significance. Downtown Prairie Grove already has the historic “fabric” that the program wants, Phillips said.
To be a part of the network program, Prairie Grove would have to establish a local steering committee, possibly a non-profit organization or a Chamber committee, have a budget of $5,000 annually and agree to attend at least one training workshop each year. It would not be required to have a paid staff member.
Network members would pay a $ 500 annual fee as dues and also must join the National Main Street Center.
Being a part of the network program does not place restrictions on property owners, Phillips said. The only restrictions that would apply would be any approved by the city.
Benefits of the program include free technical assistance by members of the Arkansas Main Street staff. The office has consultants for interior design, exterior design and small business.
Mark Miller, small business consultant, said technical assistance provides one-onone meetings with independent businesses to help them compete against big box stores.
“We will do a walk through and look at the business through the eyes of a customer,” Miller said at the Chamber meeting.
Susan Shaddox, interior design consultant, said staff members identify areas to make the business better.
This starts with the outside of the building and then moves to the inside, she said.
“The way the business looks on the outside makes a determining factor whether someone goes into the store.”
Main Street Arkansas has a brochure that lists reasons a downtown area is important to a community.
Downtown is a symbol of economic health, quality of life, community history and local pride, the brochure says. It also represents the “heart of a community,” is a small business incubator, fosters tourism and is a place the community can gather for events, such as parades, speeches and holiday celebrations.
Phillips encouraged Chamber members to visit other Main Street programs. Both Siloam Springs and Eureka Springs started as members of Arkansas Network Program and now are members of Main Street Arkansas.