Despite misunderstandings following a tense email exchange this week between members of Oak Harbor’s Downtown Merchants Association, there did come encouraging news Tuesday.
The city is moving forward in pursuing the Main Street program.
While unfortunate, the exchange between association president Heather Carder and past president Margaret Livermore exemplifies the need for the downtown merchants to have a unified direction and a more defined purpose.
The Main Street program offers some proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel.”
However, there remains a lot of work ahead, and a determination of whether Oak Harbor fits within the constraints of the program.
Under the direction of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, the Main Street program follows a four–point approach to economic revitalization: Organization, promotion, design and economic restructuring.
For every $1 the state invests, an additional $41 in private investment is generated, according to the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation’s website.
Among the determinations of whether Oak Harbor’s downtown is a good fit for the Main Street program is how much value is placed by the community on historic preservation.
“Retaining and reusing your commercial district’s existing building is an important cornerstone of the program,” says the Main Street Center’s website.
“Local stakeholders need to be receptive to ‘recycling’ existing businesses for new economic uses and to being respectful of the traditional architecture and overall character of the traditional business district.”
The city is acting as a facilitator to allow the process to move forward, Ethan Spoo, the city’s economic development coordinator.
“I anticipate here shortly all organizations will continue to work together to see what we can do to drive people not only to Oak Harbor but to downtown,” said Oak Harbor Mayor Scott Dudley.
“It’s a win-win situation for everybody.”
It’s our hope is that downtown Oak Harbor is indeed a fit for the Main Street Program. It offers the promise of revitalization for the heart of this city — something that has proven elusive until now.
