Downtown group seeks public input
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Members of the Maryville Downtown Improvement Organization are working for the day when vacant storefronts and empty sidewalks will be a thing of the past in the city’s central retail district. The organization, founded about 18 months ago, will host a “town hall” meeting next Thursday in hopes of attracting public input for revitalizing the area in and around the courthouse square.
Formed about 18 months ago, the Maryville Downtown Improvement Organization is preparing to introduce its vision for revitalizing the city’s traditional retail district to the public.
The group, which is affiliated with Missouri Main Street Connection, a private, non-profit concern specializing in downtown redevelopment, will host a “town hall” meeting from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, March 26, at the Maryville Community Center, located at 1407 N. County Club Drive.
MDIO board President Matt Gaarder said this week that the meeting, which he emphasized is open to the public, has three basic purposes: setting forth what the organization has accomplished so far, explaining its vision for the future, and gathering new ideas from citizens with regard to how development and growth on and around the courthouse square might best be accomplished.
“This is a community thing, and not just a meeting for downtown business owners,” said Gaarder, who owns Rapid Refill, an ink and toner franchise located at 418 N. Main.
This summer, the city of Maryville provided MDIO with the $9,600 required to bring Missouri Main Street on board. The private, non-profit agency — formerly a part of the Missouri Department of Economic Development — specializes in providing information, research, technical assistance and organizational expertise geared specifically toward downtown revival efforts.
After the seed money was in place, the fledgling group began assembling a revitalization blueprint that is expected to take about two year to complete.
The town hall meeting is one of the efforts included in that plan, which also called for creation of a board of directors and the formation of four standing committees, whose members will seek to address issues relating to Organization, Economic Restructuring, Design, and Promotion.
Gaarder said the chairs of three of those panels have been selected. They are: Kevin Romig, an assistant professor of humanities and social sciences at Northwest Missouri State University, whose academic interests center on urban planning (design committee); Sam Mason, underwriting sales executive for KXCV/KRNW FM, the university’s public radio station (promotion); and Josh McKim, executive director of Nodaway County Economic Development (economic restructuring).
Gaarder said appointment of a chair for the organization committee is pending and will likely be made in the near future.
With MDIO’s basic structure and action plan in place, Gaarder said the next step is to find local residents willing to serve as members of the standing committees. It is hoped that some of those people will at least start thinking about stepping forward during next week’s meeting.
The town hall session is to be followed this summer with work-plan training and development for MDIO members and an exploration of funding and fundraising options in order to put the plan into effect.
While the first year of the MDIO/Missouri Main Street partnership is to be largely given over to planning and development, it is hoped those activities will lay the groundwork for concrete changes in the downtown district, which officially stretches south to north from Jenkins Street to Franklin Park and east to west from Vine to Fillmore.
In addition to Gaarder, MDIO board members include: Brian Schieber, Nodaway Valley Bank; Marlene Carmichael, Carson’s Sports Grille; Keitha Clapp, Maryville Florists; Rod Couts, Accent Printing; Phil Cobb, Maryville Daily Forum/The Post; Kay Wilson, Nodaway News Leader; Dana Schmidt, Bearcat Boogie; and Maryville City Councilman Jeff Funston.
