Ortonville- The weather was wintry this week, but village plans for summer are underway.
Area residents are invited to attend a Beets, Beats and Eats focus group meeting at 6 p.m., March 1, at the Old Town Hall.
Dinner will be provided as members of the Downtown Development Authority review past seasons of the community event that takes place on Friday nights during the summer, assess new ideas for the 2016 season and accept volunteer sign-ups.
BB&E typically begins in June and ends in September, features weekly themes including Kids Night and Pet Night, offers acoustic musical entertainment, and has various restaurants and organizations offering dinner.
DDA Director Molly LaLone, who was present at the village council’s Feb. 22 meeting, gave an update on the organization, whose mission is to promote economic revitalization, support local businesses and preserve natural and historic heritage through use of the Main Street program.
In 2015, 1,957 hours of volunteer work were committed to the village, with $78,600 in private sector investment. There were 19 days of downtown events with more than 19,000 downtown event attendees, 28 partnerships with community organizations and 250 individual and business supporters.
The village is one of 11 Main Street communities in Oakland County eligible for resources from the National Main Street program.
The Main Street program is a national economic development program which assists communities in preserving historic buildings and emphasizes ‘a sense of place.? Resources provided through the program include facade grants, an architect to design plans, and educational support to help downtowns be successful in attracting both businesses and customers.
The village was reaccredited as an MS community in January and the DDA plans to use information and technology from MSOC to do a market analysis of the community and pinpoint where area residents are spending money, the products they spend money on, whether the village is currently satisfying demands, and if not, whether a business can be recruited to meet needs.
A market analysis overview meeting is planned for 9:30 a.m., April 12, at the Old Town Hall. The meeting is open to anyone who currently owns a business in the village or is planning to open one downtown and is interested in an overview of the typical customer in the village and their wants and spending habits.
Details: Molly LaLone at 248-627-8070.