Marshall Downtown Association decides not to pursue Missouri Main Street program

At their meeting Monday evening, Sept. 14, Marshall Downtown Association members decided against following the steps outlined in the Missouri Main Street Connection program for downtown revitalization.

DMA members first heard from Connie Mefford, a community development specialist with University of Missouri Extension in Benton County, about her Main Street experiences.

"I've seen it work very well in some areas," Mefford said about the program. But, "We really struggled in our community to get that many people involved."

Association members agreed that, after joining Main Street as an "aspiring" community, DMA received access to valuable information.

"We can tap into some of these resources," Amy Crump said, "and use them the way that it fits our community best."

"At this point, we've experienced what we set out to get," AmeriCorps VISTA member Josh King said. "We have the method. Do we really need the organization from the top?"

But, people agreed that forming an official nonprofit organization and hiring an executive director were not things DMA was interested in right now.

"I suggest that we take full advantage of the resources that we've acquired at this point," Tracey Hartley said, "... rather than putting our efforts toward forming this entity."

Association members continued to discuss the group's future, its purpose and goals as well.

Marshall Chamber of Commerce member Dale Zank attended the meeting to express his ideas about creating a vision for the community.

"If you don't have a dream of where you want to go, then you've got this helter-skelter development around your community," he said.

Zank said that having a plan for future city development helps when attracting businesses and can create a better overall outcome.

King had suggested the group hold a visioning session, but it was put off until results from the downtown Marshall questionnaire are completely tabulated. The survey is available at http://www.marshallnews.com/forms/downto... through Friday, Sept. 25.

In other business, Crump said the Marshall Pumpkin Festival is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9 and 10. Both evenings, there will be a jack-o-lantern walk, with lighted pumpkins on display in store windows around the square.

The main event is on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. There will be a small farmers market, a pumpkin patch where pumpkins can be bought and decorated, musical entertainment and pumpkin-themed contests like pie-eating and seed-spitting.

Contact Sydney Stonner at marshallbusiness@socket.net