The Chicken or the Egg?

    When the Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee began its work a couple of years ago, it was decided that a two-pronged approach would be used. The first “prong” would be to clean up and fix up Main Street, making it more attractive and personable. We felt that it was important to improve the visual integrity of our downtown.  Since that time, great strides have been made in that area, through the efforts of generous and energetic partners, and this will continue to be a work in progress to fit the changing needs of the downtown area in the future.
    The second aspect was to work on underlying structure and strategies to help Presque Isle’s Main Street regain its economic health. These efforts are not as visible, but are certainly as important. And, in order to sustain the visual integrity, we need to form and sustain the foundation it is built on.
    But how would we proceed? Which would we tackle first? We had lots of discussion regarding these two areas. One point of view was that the appearance was more important to revitalizing the downtown. People could see what we were doing and would be more likely to support our efforts. Another faction believed that the economy needed to be revitalized or all the beauty and cleanliness in the world would be totally unimportant and irrelevant.
    The Main Street program has helped us resolve this thinking. As is stated on the Maine Development Foundation Web site (http://www.mdf.org/downtown/economic_impact.html):
    The cumulative success of the Main Street Approach™ and Main Street programs on the local level has earned a reputation as one of the most powerful economic development tools in the nation. The National Trust Main Street Center annually collects statistical information on economic activity in local Main Street programs nationwide. These statistics are tracked from 1980 to December 2007 and reflect activity in more than 2,150 communities.
    • Total amount of reinvestment in physical improvements from public and private sources: $44.9 billion
    • Average reinvestment per community (i): $11,083,273
    • Net gain in businesses: 82,909
    • Net gain in jobs: 370,514
    • Number of building rehabilitations: 199,519
    In the state of Maine, the figures are staggering, as well:
    Maine Reinvestment Statistics:
    (As reported by Main Street Maine communities between Sept. 30, 2002 and Dec. 31, 2007)
    • Total amount of reinvestment in physical improvements from public and private sources: $45.6 million
    • Net gain in businesses: 120
    • Net gain in jobs (i): 625
    • Number of building rehabilitations: 54
    • Volunteer Hours: 117,486
    • Reinvestment Ratio (ii): $14.56 reinvested for every $1 spent
    This solves the dilemma of which is more important and which should be considered first. Structure and strategy need to be in place in order to invest in physical improvements. This physical improvement will, in turn, lead to a net gain in businesses and jobs. When one looks at a 14 to 1 ratio on reinvestment, it’s rather hard to doubt the power of a partnership between structure and beauty.
    Tom Stevens, Presque Isle city manager, aptly sums up this sentiment. According to Stevens, “The City Council and staff have worked hard to not only make immediate aesthetic improvements in the downtown for things like park benches and overall appearance, but also for long-term improvements. The recently completed downtown master plan and decision to locate the new community center in the downtown will serve to continue to sustain a viable downtown in the future.”
    We want a viable downtown for the future. We want the downtown to be a place that our children can come back to so they can continue to live in the wonderful community they were raised in and support their families here.
    We welcome your thoughts and opinions. It’s your city. We need your input in order to make it better. You can e-mail us at pidrc@yahoo.com or write us at: The Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee, 411 Main St., Presque Isle, Maine 04769.
    For more information about the PIDRC, e-mail us at pidrc@yahoo.com or call Sandy Gauvin (764-0876), Cathy Beaulieu at Wilder’s Jewelry Store (764-0309), or Patty LeBlanc (769-7731), or you can contact us at the address listed above.
    We meet at the Presque Isle Area Chamber of Commerce on the Houlton Road at 7:30 a.m. on the last Thursday of each month. Please join in our efforts to help our wonderful city.
    The Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee is an official committee established by ordinance by the Presque Isle City Council and serves as a
citizen advisory board to the council