A number of community champions need to emerge to ensure the downtown enhancement plans become reality.
About 50 people came out to an open house to see how plans are progressing.
The group heard of benches of boulevards, new signage at entry points, new business design guidelines and even a pocket park where music could be played or people could enjoy a picnic outside.
All great ideas. Many needing further exploration.
But the reality is without a community champion or group all those plans, except the boulevards, will get dusty in a nice book at the village office.
Change takes money and someone to apply for that money or come up with it from their own pockets.
Taxpayers don’t have the extra cash to come up with millions of dollars for new lamp posts, and garbage cans, trees or art installations.
A bathroom in the downtown that’s open 24 hours for tourists is a nice thought but who’s going to pay for it?
Who’s going to pay for any of it?
At this point there’s money secured to upgrade the water main underneath the highway that runs through downtown and while that work is being undertaken new cutouts and benches will be put in in hopes of slowing down traffic.
That’s a great start but more needs to be done to ensure this plan doesn’t just waste away in a nice folder.
The arts group has enthusiastically jumped on board and come up with their first project of building large four to six foot quails that will be setup throughout the village.
The cute birds will hopefully inspire tourists to get out and have their picture taken and go into our local stores and restaurants instead of just dropping through.
Hopefully the arts the community isn’t the only ones dedicated to this plan.
Once the plan is complete later this year, it’s time for everyone to roll up their sleeves and figure out how we can make all these ideas a reality.
-T.B.