Fairmont to discuss downtown
FAIRMONT — When
Cathy Reynolds became
Fairmont city administrator
five months ago, she held
several listening sessions at
various sites in the community.
In addition to the traditional
economic driver of
jobs, one topic repeatedly
cropped up: downtown revitalization.
“To me, this seemed like
a key priority to this community.
People kept talking
about downtown, more retail,
more events,” Reynolds said.
Knowing that other organizations
and individuals
have an interest in reviving
the area, Reynolds decided to
combine the effort by recruiting
Ned Koppen, president
of the Fairmont Area Chamber
of Commerce; Linsey
Preuss, Fairmont economic
development coordinator;
Blake Potthoff, executive director
of the Fairmont Opera
House; and Dayna Johnson,
a Fairmont resident with extensive
experience in downtown
revitalization.
“We’re facilitators. We
are not the group that is going
to revitalize downtown, but
we are facilitators for that
process,” Reynolds said.
The five-member squad
has compiled initial information
on the goals for
downtown and is now seeking
community input and
involvement. A public discussion
will be held on Nov.
19 at the Fairmont Opera
House. It is open to all interested persons. Bring your
lunch and your ideas. RSVP
at info@fairmontoperahouse.
org.
“We intend to give some
background information on
downtown revitalization, why
we’re doing this, why we’re
helping facilitate, and then
start to get information from
the community,” Reynolds
said.
“From this session, we as
facilitators will try and clump
some of those goals together.
Then we’ll have follow-up
sessions to work through it.
The end goal is to develop
a strategic action plan about
the different activities we can
do, as a community, to support
those goals, to help reach
those goals.”
Reynolds calls the downtown
area “the heart and soul
of a community.”
“And revitalization is the
key to that,” she said. “Let’s
revitalize downtown. Make
it that core of activity that
radiates throughout the community.
It creates that sense
of being, that sense of place,
which is huge for a community.”
Fifty years ago, downtowns
bustled with activity
as people visited the various
shops and attended activities
centered around the area.
Then consumers began gravitating
toward malls, pulling
their business away from
downtown areas. Fairmont
was not unique to this trend.
It occurred across the country.
“Now there’s a big push
to bring back downtowns,”
Reynolds said. “It’s what
people are looking at when
they drive through a community.
It’s what catches your
eye.”
The discussion session on
Nov. 19 will be a first step to
downtown renewal.
“This session is to start
getting those ideas so we can
develop some goals. People
want to be involved, want to
be engaged,” Reynolds said.
“The five of us can’t do all of
this. We are facilitating the
discussion, but we’re not the
ones who are going to dictate
what goes on here. We need
everybody’s involvement,
and everybody’s input so it’s
a true community project.”
Unifying the mission of
downtown rejuvenation is “a
lofty plan,” Reynolds says,
and a project that must be
done in baby steps.
“If we can show some
small positive things and
keep improving on it, then
every step is a good step
in the right direction. We
can build on that,” she said.
“That’s why it’s got to be a
community effort, not just a
city or a chamber thing. We
all have pieces we can bring
to the puzzle.”
For more information
about the revitalization effort,
contact Reynolds at creynolds@
fairmont.org; Koppen
at president@fairmontchamber.
org; Preuss at lpreuss@
fairmont.org; Potthoff at director@
fairmontoperahouse.
org; or Johnson at dayna.
lynn.johnson@gmail.com.