Downtown Business Revitalization

["Priscilla Salant" <psalant@moscow.com>]

Visionaries,

Thanks to Sue Scott for clarifying her reactions to the Downtown
Revitalization plans presented at Monday's City Council meeting.  I
encourage the rest of the community to join the City Council in tackling the
tough issue of how to keep our downtown businesses as healthy as possible.

Last night's Daily News article captured the main themes that emerged on
Monday night.  Namely,

* several business owners expressed concern (from mild to major) about the
consultants' report,
* several council members are worried about the cost of what has been
proposed; and
* Barbara Richardson made an eloquent plea for us all to think about
developing a long-term conceptual plan that can guide short term operating
decisions.

I'd like to add an additional perspective, as a member of the Downtown
Revitalization Committee.  No plan, whether short- or long-term, will go
anywhere without the buy-in of downtown business owners.  For whatever
reason, we don't have that buy-in now.  Probably some business owners didn't
think this project would succeed, some didn't trust the process, some never
knew anything about it.  That doesn't mean we should forget the whole deal,
but we need to build more support one way or another.

There is much to be learned from the consultants' report beyond the design
concepts put forth through the consultants' drawings.  A major component of
the study addressed types of businesses that could potentially capture more
spending downtown -- the so-called "leakage" issue.  Because the consultant
who has been most involved with the project here in Moscow is a landscape
architect, I believe we haven't heard or discussed enough about the business
aspect of the study.  We should examine it critically and look for
opportunities for growth in downtown business vitality.

Many people from the business community, city govt, and economic development
organizations, as well as interested citizens, have contributed to the
process so far.  I urge the City Council to look at the consultants' report
in its entirety, think about how to get better buy-in, and keep moving
forward on this important issue.

Priscilla Salant