June 30, 2009 07:37 pm
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By Debbie Robinson
news@joplinglobe.com
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Elaine Frack envisions a downtown filled with bookstores, coffee shops and comfortable places to meet friends to talk.
Frack was among about 40 residents who attended a meeting Monday night at the Mining Days Building in King Jack Park. She was there to discuss a vision for Webb City as part of the state’s Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri initiative, known as DREAM.
Frack, who owns Fitness Forum at 32 S. Main St., said she favors the development of the downtown area.
Lucinda Copeland, also of Webb City, said she is interested in seeing the city’s historic buildings restored.
“I’d also like to see a bakery,” Copeland said.
About 40 residents have been meeting to draw up guidelines and outline a vision. Patrick Hanlon, senior project manager with the DREAM initiative, said Monday that he hadn’t received those findings yet.
“We’re really just laying the foundation for what is to come,” he said. “Our goal is to increase the productive use of downtown property.”
The DREAM initiative was launched in 2006 to help small and mid-sized Missouri communities navigate various state programs that are available to help with downtown revitalization.
Webb City and Lamar were among the 10 cities in the state tabbed for the program in 2008. Neosho and Aurora were chosen in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
Rachel Davis, a DREAM project specialist with the Missouri Housing Development Commission, on Monday outlined programs that are available to communities, such as tax credits for low-income housing.
Davis said a housing study is needed to look at ways to attract people to the downtown to live. Davis said a five-week housing study for Webb City will be conducted in May or June of 2010.
Another program that is available, she said, is a home-repair program designed to bring homes up to code and to improve the overall appearance of the area.
An example, she said, was a project her agency oversaw in Excelsior Springs, where an old hotel was converted into 34 units for seniors.
“It turned out really nice,” she said.
Another example, Hanlon said, was in Kirksville, where many buildings had canopies that were not maintained. The canopies, he said, were not good for business.
Hanlon also recommended that Webb City practice branding by tying in its farmers’ market with the downtown.
He said the DREAM project group would continue to review comments from the focus group.
“Our next step is to work to organize a downtown organization,” he said.
Parking spaces
In response to a question about the lack of downtown parking in Webb City, Patrick Hanlon, senior project manager with the DREAM initiative, said that issue also would be studied.
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