Earlier this year, on a series of dark, cold, rainy nights, Sweet Home citizens got together and determined that they were tired of having a downtown that was described by visiting experts as “worn, blighted and unhealthy” and more.
We (I say that because I was one of them) criticized what we thought was wrong with downtown and gave our opinions about what would make it right. Then the real work began: making something happen.
The movement hasn’t died and the energy is still there. That’s the good news.
There really isn’t any bad news right now, except that the people who have stuck around to try to figure out where and how to move ahead are wrestling with the issues that accompany any effort like this. And even that is not bad. That’s part of the necessary process.
In the name of full disclosure, let me make it clear that I’m part of this, since I’m a downtown business owner and I’m on the steering committee for this effort that’s been given the name of SHARE – Sweet Home Active Revitalization Effort. This is kind of a weird position for me since, as a journalist, I try to limit myself to reporting news, not making it. However, this goes beyond being a journalist, so I’ll try to minimize any lobbying for my personal preferences for downtown and stick to the issues that we all should be thinking about.
Even though a limited number of people have volunteered (or been drafted) to participate in the various organizing committees for SHARE, the issues we’re dealing with are issues every Sweet Home resident, business owner and downtown property owner needs to be thinking about.
As we reported in last week’s The New Era, organization for SHARE has made progress. We have four committees that will work under the umbrella of the Sweet Home Economic Development Group. SHEDG offers not only potential financial backing for any business district redevelopment effort, but it provides organizational structure that we don’t really need to re-invent.
Many of us tend to think of SHEDG solely as the organization behind the Oregon Jamboree. That’s correct, except that SHEDG’s purpose for existence is much more than that, even if the Jamboree has become such an enterprise that it has dominated SHEDG’s attention in recent years. The Jamboree was founded to bring cash into Sweet Home to be used for – what? – economic development. True, SHEDG is planning to use a large chunk of its savings to purchase property so it can expand the Jamboree, which means a lot of cash isn’t going to be readily available in the short term. But that is what’s necessary to keep the Jamboree producing the cash we need to revitalize Sweet Home, and we need to be patient.
That’s particularly true now that Brownsville is trying to latch onto Sweet Home’s coattails by producing its own copycat country music festival (despite the organizer’s assertions that there’s no intent to do so and that there’s plenty of room for more than one festival in this part of the Willamette Valley).
The Jamboree has become a good thing for Sweet Home, after many years of hard work and development, and SHEDG would be foolish not to do what it takes to keep it that way.
Now is the time, though, to plan for the day when there will be more cash available whether it be from SHEDG or from private investors or from grants.
One of the questions right now is what do we want downtown Sweet Home to look like?
Some people are talking about color schemes and architectural requirements. Some are talking about city codes dictating standards that will give the business district something besides the “worn, blighted, unhealthy” appearance described by the previously mentioned experts.
What is it going to take to create a business district that will make local residents want to shop here at home? John Morgan, who has served as facilitator for three of these planning meetings, says (rightly, in my mind) that “tourists are gravy.”
It’s pretty clear that businesses in Sweet Home need diversification. They need to offer products and services for local residents, but they also would be foolish to ignore the tourist traffic.
There are a lot of potential tourism bucks flowing through Sweet Home during the summer, and even in winter. We need some magnet stores and businesses to lure some of that cold, hard cash before it gets to Sisters or, coming out of the mountains, these people’s hometowns.
We have to make them want to stop, whether it be for ice cream, for dinner, for country music paraphernalia, for cool clothing deals, for outdoor gear, for gas, for a car wash – whatever. The sky’s the limit. We just have to find the ladder.
Another question that is being batted around is this: What, exactly, is our primary business district? On which part of town should we be focusing? Clearly, Sweet Home’s business district stretches from 1st Avenue to the RV parks along Foster Lake. We can’t fix everything at once, so we have to start somewhere without ignoring the rest. Part of the plan is to figure out where to start.
A third question is: What, exactly, is revitalization? Is it new coats of paint (preferably something a little less jarring than dominant yellow or hot pink)? Is it architectural uniformity (read: theme town, as in Sisters)? And how do you get reluctant (stingy?) property or business owners to take steps to clean up their act?
Another question: Fixing up the town costs money. Who’s going to pay? The city has provided $40,000 in seed money to get this thing rolling. That’s a start. SHEDG has programs available to help merchants with facelifts. There are grants out there. Who’s going to go after them?
Still another question is how do we help business owners make it in Sweet Home, especially if costly facelifts and improvements are necessary to make buildings presentable and safe? Education would clearly help many, particularly prospective business owners. There’s discussion of how we can help people do business in such a way that they don’t go down the tubes after a few months.
These are only some of the issues the various committees are addressing. They’re issues that can make a difference in Sweet Home.
They’re issues that affect you. That’s why you should get involved in this.
If Sweet Home is going to going to get off the mat, economically, after that big punch from the spotted owl legislation, it’s going to take people with ideas that work and energy to make it happen. It’s happening in Brownsville. It’s happened in Albany. There are serious efforts to make revitalization happen in Lebanon.
Help make it happen here. If you want to get involved, the easiest way to make contact right now, while things are taking shape, is to call City Hall at 367-8969.