Main Street Oakland County in the Village of Lake Orion is healthy and well, according to a year end assessment.
Nick Kalogeresis of National Main Street in Chicago and Bret Rasegan of the Oakland County Planning Unit came to town last week for their third check up on how the program is going. They met with members of the Downtown Development Authority Board and its various committees.
Lake Orion was picked to participate in the Main Street Program in September 2001.
‘Lake Orion is moving into its mature years. It’s getting past the infancy stage,? Kalogeresis said.
He described 2004 as a productive year. ‘Active work plans are in place. The design committee has had success in facade improvement. Signs are up; paint projects have been done,? he added.
‘Promotions (committee) have a good calendar in place. It’s bringing people downtown. The summer concerts are a good example.
He mentioned there has been cooperative advertising among the merchants.
‘You have a good foundation. Just a few bricks need to be added,? Kalogeresis said.
Rasegan said that much of the good progress in the village has been due to downtown coordinator Becky Goodman.
One weak point, as Kalogeresis has mentioned in past years, is the village’s Main Street program doesn’t have enough volunteers.
‘Lake Orion has to step it up, to sell the program. You need a deeper pool of volunteers. It’s all in how you sell it,? he added. ‘The committee needs to take it to another level.
He believes the DDA needs to know just how many volunteers it needs and for how many hours.
‘This needs to be explained clearly,? Kalogersis said. ‘There are different types of volunteers. Some volunteers might only want to do one project a year.?
He suggested that committee members build more partnerships with other organizations in the community, so they too can help.
According to Kalogersis, the concept of the Main Street program revolves around four committees and currently the village only has three committees.
‘Your economic development committee needs to be up and running again,? he said.
Kalogersis suggested a downtown master plan be developed. ‘That would improve public space, streetscape, parking lots. You might want new trees, paving at intersections, improve signage to trails,? he said.
One thing the village doesn’t need right now, but maybe in the future, Kalogersis said, is a parking garage. ‘You could be thinking about where you want a garage in the future. A master plan could help all of these things,? he added.
‘I hope your momemtum continues. The downtown belongs to everybody.?
Nine communities are currently involved in the Main Street Oakland County program. Its annual budget is between $160,000-$190,000.