Ortonville-For the eighth year in a row, the village has received reaccreditation as a Main Street community.
The designation allows the village to continue receiving benefits from Main Street Oakland County program, an economic development program which assists communities in preserving historic buildings and emphasizes ‘a sense of place.? Resources provided through the program, such as facade grants, an architect to design plans, and educational support, help downtowns be successful in attracting both businesses and customers. Accreditation is necessary to retain MSOC services and in order to be accredited, the village had to meet 10 criteria.
‘You have to do it perfectly to be accredited,? said DDA Executive Director and Main Street Manager Molly LaLone. ‘Not that everything we do is perfect, but if we don’t cover all areas, we don’t get accredited. It’s hard work paying attention to all those points throughout the year. Everyone has worked hard? it takes the entire community, not just the DDA.?
Main Street Oakland County Coordinator Bob Donohue was joined by Alex Hritcu, also of MSOC, and Jeff Siegler, a National Main Street consultant from Ohio, in evaluating the village on Dec. 8. The trio spoke with elected officials, Downtown Development Authority members, business and property owners. The evaluation takes into consideration accomplishments in the past year, including development of new events, or growth and success in existing ones.
‘Sewers seem to be a stumbling block to more development, but there is a lot of optimism and collaboration and success over the last year,? said Siegler.
Donohue agreed.
‘The village has taken hot and cold approaches to sewers in the past, but the current village manager (John Lyons) has experience in this area. Ortonville knows exactly what they need to be successful, so it’s time to get over the sewer issue.?
Both men praised the events held in the village over the past year, particularly Beets, Beats, and Eats, held on Friday nights during the summer at Crossman Park, and CreekFest, which has expanded to encompass multiple days and features fireworks and a carnival. They were also impressed with the update of the village’s tax-increment finance (TIF) plan and the formation of the Friends of Amos, a non-profit group created to raise funds for the village.
‘All the volunteers worked hard and care about downtown Ortonville as the heart of their community and that is why we continue to be accredited,? said LaLone. ‘I’m pleased the village of Ortonville continues to support the DDA by updating the TIF plan, and very impressed with the growth of CreekFest and all the things the different groups in the community do to make it a premiere weekend event in this area.?
The Main Street program uses a four-point approach for which there are separate committees: organization? building consensus and cooperation; promotion’marketing the downtown’s assets to local citizens, new businesses, customers and new private investors; design’improving the physical appearance of the downtown by rehabilitating historic buildings and encouraging new compatible construction and long-term design management; and economic restructuring? strengthening the downtown’s existing economic base and finding ways to expand it with new opportunities.
The 10 criteria used to evaluate progress in Main Street communities are broad-based community support; vision and mission statements; historic preservation ethic; paid, professional DDA/Main Street Program Director; program of ongoing training; reporting of key statistics; Main Street Network membership; comprehensive work plan; active board and committees and adequate operating budget. Communities must meet all 10 criteria annually to receive accreditation.
To learn how you can volunteer in the Main Street program for Ortonville, call Molly LaLone at 248-627-8070.