REEDSPORT — Reedsport’s participation in the Main Street Program is gathering steam and is helped with the hiring of Emesha Jackson as the city’s program coordinator.
Jackson is a temporary employee who came to the city as a RARE (Resource Assistance for Rural Environments) participant.
But, she said, it’s not just her.
“It’s a community-driven program,” she said. “The Main Street Program doesn’t function without the support and participation of community members, whether it be an event, an idea or a weekend project.”
Jackson said normally, the Main Street Program is designed to revitalize downtowns.
“We’re kind of going off track from the normal Main Street Program, where they concentrate on downtown only,” she said. “We’re doing a hybrid approach and we’re going to be trying to tie together the downtown, midtown and uptown. Reedsport isn’t a very large town, and we’re really spread out … we really want to be more inclusive than exclusive.”
The program is in the process of planning more meetings and collecting possible logos.
A board of directors training session was also held.
A recent meeting also saw the development of committee work plans. Another meeting is coming Dec. 3.
“We’re going to hold the committee training and work plan development,” she explained, “for all the community stakeholders.”
Sheri Stuart, Oregon Main Street Coordinator, will facilitate that meeting.
Personal invitations were handed out for the Dec. 3 meeting. Jackson said she went door-to-door to hand out those invitations.
“There was a lot of positive feedback,” she said, “once people had taken the time to kind of hear about the program, what we’re doing, ideas and I’ve seen a lot of participation and I’m hoping that Dec. 3, too, will have a really good turnout.”
She said people are already volunteering for committees and projects.
The logo contest netted a lot of entries.
“We had some ideas for a logo, or image, for the Main Street Program,” she said, “which should be representative of Reedsport as an asset and what Reedsport represents.”
Jackson said part of her job will be to help the city take the next steps.
“Help to continue to find additional financing,” she said, “look at grant opportunities to fund my position from here on out.”
Jackson is a 11-month employee who has just nine months to go. Someone will be needed to run the program once she’s gone.
“The Main Street Program isn’t something that just operates for a few months,” she said. “It’s a continuous program. Within a few years we apply for certain designations that are considered for a functioning, strong Main Street. In that time there would be funding through the program to have a permanent position.”
Jackson said the community may start seeing some banners and flags touting the program.
“They would be similar to ones you see lining the streets in Main Street communities,” she explained, “such as McMinnville, Bend and Oregon City is actually implementing them. I think we have a few of these small banners in Winchester Bay.”
They’re seeking grants for the banner project. They’re hoping to raise $10,000 for that project.
Originally Published in The Umpqua Post
2741 Frontage Road
Reedsport, Oregon 97467
Phone: 541-271-7474