Feature Story
How to Turn Around Downtown
If you're in your car and no cops are around, you can flip a "U-ee". But if you're a community leader trying to find a way to make downtown more vibrant and economically strong, there's no such thing as a quick "180". It takes time and perseverance and a lot of people working together toward a common goal.
We talked to seven community leaders in Dayton and asked them to give us one or two good ideas they had about what could be done to improve the economic health of Downtown. We asked them to address both strengthening existing businesses and helping attract new businesses.
The people we talked to agreed on many things, and many ideas came up more than once. They all made the point that small towns are struggling throughout the country, due to the weak economy, and Dayton is hardly unique with its empty storefronts and recently closed shops.
For each person, we've tried to highlight something specific that they suggested, so please remember that the vision of this group as a whole is much more cohesive and consistent than it might appear as presented here.
Lisa Ronnberg
Executive Director, Dayton Chamber of Commerce. She is also Managing Director for Columbia County of the Southeast Washington Economic Development Association (SEWEDA).
We wear a lot of hats in our office – everything from tourism and events to business and community development, as well as workforce and capacity building. We work closely with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at WSU and offer classes, in partnership with them, on business start up, marketing and business development. We can also coordinate confidential, one on one, business counseling with the SBDC for current or prospective businesses. Currently SBDC is assisting at least three businesses in Columbia County.
Additionally, we coordinate the Community Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) meetings to determine the priorities in our communities and county. This document can help us make decisions as opportunities arise and can be used as a strategy tool for economic development activities. This document also provides requirements for state and federal funding to Columbia County.
The Chamber, as a membership organization, is always looking for ways to support and promote our members, enhance business opportunities, and provide the tools for their success.
Ginny Butler
Chair of Dayton's Historic Preservation Commission and Museum Curator for the Dayton Historic Depot Society. She is also the founder and former owner/operator of the Weinhard Hotel in Dayton.
For a business to survive on Main Street, it almost has to be owner-operated. I'd like to see a package of incentives put together that could be offered to business owners who are considering opening up in Downtown Dayton. These could include such things as a temporary property tax reduction – coupled with a rent reduction if the business is a renter – and a temporary reduction or waiver of city or electrical utility charges. It could also include incentives from other businesses, such as reduced costs for accounting services, computer services or advertising.
I feel that the Chamber of Commerce, or a group affiliated with the Chamber, should be working on this and other efforts to help recruit new businesses, and in efforts to help existing downtown businesses to succeed. For instance, the Chamber could help put together more co-op advertising for existing businesses.
Anne Walsh
Senior Environmental/Communications Manager for Puget Sound Energy in Dayton. She is a member of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Blue Mountain Community Foundation Trustee and former President of the Walla Walla Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
I believe the many entities who can offer help to downtown businesses should work together to create a strategic plan that includes a short-term vision and a long-term vision. These entities include the City and County governments, the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Development Task Force and even the Port of Columbia. The best way to accomplish this is to have this effort led by an independent facilitator who isn't a participant in one of those organizations and doesn't have a personal stake in the process.
I also think that we could take better advantage of some of the excellent resources we have. For example, there are many retired people living in Dayton, who have lots of experience in business. Why not ask them to be business advisors to local or prospective business owners?
Craig George
Mayor of Dayton. He is also president of the Board of the Southeast Washington Economic Development Association (SEWEDA), which covers Columbia, Garfield, Whitman and Asotin Counties.
The best thing City government can do is to get streets and utilities improved and put in as good condition as possible. We try to make downtown look as good as we can.
SEWEDA is a great resource for downtown businesses and prospective businesses. We can conduct studies to find ways to improve the business climate. We also are the agency where leads come from the state, of businesses looking to relocate to Washington. We are currently developing a response team that can handle these leads and try to get new businesses to Dayton, including downtown.
SEWEDA also offers classes and one-on-one business advice that new and existing businesses can take advantage of. The Chamber of Commerce is the local contact for SEWEDA, and businesses should contact them if they would like help. These services are available at no cost to business owners.
Jennie Dickinson
Manager of the Port of Columbia and former Executive Director of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce.
We need to make sure we take care of our current downtown businesses and help them thrive. How about conducting a survey of local residents to see what products and services they'd like to have available in Dayton that they can't get now? This would be valuable information for existing downtown businesses, providing them an opportunity to adapt their inventory and increase revenue. If a product or service is identified that doesn't fit an existing business, that could be the starting point for recruiting a new business to downtown.
I also think we've lost our sense of cohesion downtown. During October I saw no fall decorations on Main Street, and very few storefronts decorated. One idea would be to put displays in empty storefronts to bring them to life. These displays could showcase area attractions that are not on Main Street, such as the Patit Creek Campsite. We need to all work together and be cheerleaders for our downtown.
Rich Hendricksen
Columbia County Planning Director. He has also been involved in planning, economic development and historic preservation in several other small towns in Washington and California.
The National Main Street Program, which is part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, offers excellent guidelines for a town like Dayton. They focus on four things: organization, promotion, design and economic restructuring. This program is part of the Dayton Development Task Force's bylaws, so we have the organization. And the Chamber does a good job with promotion.
Design is where historic preservation comes in. The Main Street Program guidelines recognize that historic preservation and economic restructuring must go together. Preserving downtown's historic nature is impossible without a strong economic base there, and a strong historic element helps with economic development.
The one thing I would add is that our efforts should be focused on creating a vibrant pedestrian-oriented Main Street. Besides being a business center, downtown is our social and cultural center. This means that in the central two-block core, we should encourage retail shops, restaurants and other activities that draw residents and visitors.
Bette Lou Crothers
Owner of the State Farm Insurance Office in Dayton. She is also President of the Dayton Development Task Force and a long-time member of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
I'm very concerned about downtown and the direction it's going. We seem to have lost a lot of the spirit we had a few years ago.
I'd like to see some sort of summit of downtown businesses and building owners. We need a defined process for recruiting businesses downtown, and a structured approach for helping existing and new businesses thrive there. Maybe this could evolve into an ongoing downtown merchants association in which downtown businesses could work together and help each other solve problems.
There's no argument about what we all want. We just need a common vision of how we get there. Like most places, the economic turmoil throughout the country is having a negative effect on our downtown. Now is a great time to position ourselves so that we can thrive when the economy picks up.