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Main Street program aids Plainwell
By Ryan Lewis
Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 26, 2008 4:34 PM EDT
Revitalizing a community requires first knowing how to do it. The city’s economic development manager Emilie Schada has applied for a program that will help give the city the resources to figure that out.
She reported to city council Monday, March 24, that The Cool Cities Michigan Main Street program had accepted Plainwell’s notice of intent a couple weeks ago and had invited city officials to apply for an associate level status.
Plainwell Mayor Rick Brooks said, “I always knew we were a cool city; this just makes it official.”
A handout at the meeting said that if Plainwell is accepted at the associate level, it “will receive three years of intensive technical assistance through MSHDA, with a focus on revitalization strategies designed to attract new business investment and job creation to its central business district.”
MSHDA is the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, which, among other goals, provides assistance to create affordable housing and engages in economic development activities statewide.
So, while the 14 Main Street communities, which include Grand Haven, Muskegon and Niles, are the targets of much of the Main Street program’s efforts, Plainwell will also reap some of those benefits.
Schada said, “It’s a free program. It’ll help us test the water to see what the community wants to pursue to revitalize the city.”
Also part of that revitalization is a faŤade improvement program to which she’s hoping several downtown businesses apply. The April 30 deadline is approaching.
“It’s one of the last years these grants will be available,” Schada said.
While she believes there are potentially three businesses that could benefit from the grants that range from 25,000 to 250,000, interested owners may call the city for more information.
In other business, council members:
approved the transfer of a liquor license from the Old Plank Road Restaurant to Head House LLC.
The transfer follows on the decision last fall to deny the license’s transfer out of the city to Eagle Creek Golf Club Inc., located between Otsego and Allegan along M-89.
City manager Erik Wilson said the council viewed the license as an economic development tool. He said the purchase price was the same.
Head House LLC owns the multi-use building that now contains the coffee mill; the upstairs banquet hall will utilize the license.
The building was previously the Eesley Mill.
accepted a bid for city street sweeping services from Superior Sweeping Services of Kalamazoo.
Because the city’s aging sweeper needs continual service, department of public works superintendent Rick Updike had recommended hiring an outside service to save the city an estimated $8925.06 over in-house costs.
The contract is worth $10,340.
Council members also voted to have Updike seek bids for selling the city’s street sweeper, a 1989 Johnston 600.
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