Program Director reflects on last four years as she says good-bye

Over the past four years, I have been blessed to be a part of El Dorado Main Street.  I have been able to work with hundreds of volunteers, who choose to put their time and resources in helping the community.  I have worked with countless business and property owners who have invested their money and futures in downtown El Dorado.  We have reached goals that everyone thought was impossible by moving forward and taking risks.  These have led to great successes like the HOPE VI Main Street project, where despite federal budget cuts and a reduction of awards, El Dorado Main Street and City of El Dorado was awarded the one and only HOPE VI Main Street grant in the country.  We worked with City staff to recommend and adopt the International Existing Building Codes, which are now helping the owners of downtown properties rehabilitate their building with greater ease and allowing grey areas and more conversations about codes to assist with the completion of these difficult projects. 

I have been able to work with an amazing team of people who organize the biggest annual event in Butler County each summer.  The Frontier Western Celebration has proven to bring in visitors from surrounding communities and states.  Downtown businesses see a summer sales peak each year as a result of the festival and community residents have an event that they can be proud of.  The volunteers who are a part of this event are like none that I have ever encountered.  Working countless hours, months in advance to provide this event; their passion is unmatched. 

As I reflect on four great years as the El Dorado Main Street Director, I am reluctant to announce that I will be moving on to a new passion and job opportunity.  The El Dorado Main Street Board of Directors is moving forward to find a new program director and will continue the progress that has occurred over the past years.   As the organization looks forward to 2013, a goal planning session will be held on November 13 at 5:30 where committees, business owners, and volunteers will identify goals and plans for the new year.  If you have a passion for downtown El Dorado and our community, I encourage you to attend this strategic planning session at the train depot next Thursday. 

In the meantime, an interim director  will be in the office until a permanent director is hired.  El Dorado Main Street will continue to be a leading organization in this community and move forward in strengthening the downtown and the businesses within.  I am excited to again be a volunteer for this amazing organization, which is how I began my involvement many years ago.  I will always have a passion for this community and I know how very important downtown El Dorado, the business/property owners, and volunteers are to the future of El Dorado.    - Lindsay Mills

Trick-or-Treat Down the Street a HUGE Success!

Last week, thousands of ghosts and goblins lined the streets of downtown El Dorado.  It was the perfect combination of good weather, children, and candy to make it a successful event. 
The El Dorado YMCA reports that 1,500 children went through the haunted house that they built and hosted.  This does not count the many children who came in for candy and decided that the haunted house was not the place that they wanted to check out.  SunGroup Realty prepared 1,000 hotdogs and were out in record time.  By 5:45p.m. they had gone through all of them.  The District 142 building passed out candy and proudly reported that they did not run out of candy this year because they prepared for more than ever and had over 2,000 pieces of candy ready to give out! 

We want to thank the over 50 businesses and organizations who participated in the event this year.  With the cost of candy so high, we know that this is quite the commitment.  We appreciate your generosity to the children of our community.

El Dorado Main Street Recognized at Downtown Symposium

Last week twenty-five former Kansas Main Street communities came together in Emporia to learn and celebrate successes in their downtowns.  I say former Kansas Main Street communities because it was only a month ago that the Kansas Department of Commerce did away with the program.  Through a lot of hard work and dedication to our mission, the Main Street communities across the state raised our voices loud and clear that we were not going away!

            Thursday evening almost 200 people gathered to support the annual awards that have always been a part of the Kansas Main Street Symposium.  El Dorado Main Street is proud to say that we are the recipients of four of these awards.  Starting first with our Community Award, Broderick Bean is on the EMS Board of Directors and is the chairman of the Frontier Western Celebration.  He puts in hundreds of volunteer hours each year and is always happy to do more.  We are very happy that Broderick was able to be recognized as a great volunteer and asset to our community.

            The Excellence in Design Award was given to Vince Haines of PKHLS and Mark McCollom for the new construction on Central Street.  This burnt-out lot has been a topic of conversation and considered an eye-sore for many years.  We are very lucky to have Mark and Vince, who had the vision to put a beautiful building in that space, which is now the new Kansas Secured Title Building.

            The Excellence in Public/Private Partnership Award was given to the City of El Dorado, El Dorado Main Street, and the private building owners involved in the HOPE VI Mani Street project.  This achievement has given communities all over the state hope that they also can partner together to benefit their downtown in similar ways.

            Finally, El Dorado Main Street reached a new benchmark this year, which we should all be very proud of.  There has now been over $40 million dollars reinvested into downtown El Dorado since becoming a Main Street community.  This is through streetscapes, new construction, historic preservation, and new and/or expanding businesses.  It has taken years to get to this accomplishment and I definitely want to thank the hundreds of volunteers, property and business owners, and past El Dorado Main Street Board of Directors.  It is through all of you that El Dorado Main Street was able to accept that award.  I have high hopes that with all of the improvements currently happening ad all of the great downtown progress, the $50 million celebration will be just around the corner.   

New friends and a new plan for El Dorado!

Last Thursday a group of 29 “young adults” gathered at the Coutt’s Museum for an evening of socializing and talking about what they would like to see happen in El Dorado.  The term ‘young adults’ is incorrect wording for this group, but we have not yet figured out how to classify ourselves.  We had a mixture of people in attendance who were business owners, teachers, downtown employees, and even college students.   It was a great way for everyone to meet new people and find out what others are involved in.

As the attendees arrived, they were instructed to look for five question boxes that were set up around the room.  Each one had a different question for them to answer.  The questions were:

1.      What are your top three favorite things about El Dorado?

2.      What are the top three things that you would like to see change in El Dorado?

3.      What events would you like to see in El Dorado?

4.      What organizations/clubs are you currently involved in or would like to be?

5.      How is the best way to market/communicate with you?

The top answers to the question regarding their favorite things about El Dorado were: downtown, friendly people, and the lake.  Young adults in our community love our downtown because of what it has to offer.  Those of us that are in our 20’s to early 40’s do not remember the downtown in “the good ol’ days”, so we do not compare to what it used to be.  We see what has happened in the past ten years and love what it has become, which was very obvious in the responses to this question. 

The answers to the question regarding what they would like to see change were very thought-provoking and different from one person to another.  The most duplicated answers were regarding more shopping/dining options, but when you looked further, these were some of the other answers that we should all take notice of. 

·        Bridge generational gap between seniors and younger populations

·        Safe and inexpensive activities for middle school and high school students

·        Local businesses involved in evening activities in coordination with each other

·        Organizations and city leaders working together more

·        Community pride from a larger percentage of the population, especially younger people

·        The divide between the socio-economic classes

·        Break the division between major players in the community. (i.e- city, college, hospital, refinery, school district)

As you can see, these were answers that this group really thought about before responding.  They raised some interesting issues that we will be exploring as we continue to meet.  The entire list will be made public later this week via email.  If you would like to be on the mailing list for this, please call 321-3088.

We do plan on holding another similar event in November and plan on hosting a band to provide live music.  There will be an effort to name ourselves so that we can promote the activities better.  A couple of the major responses to the questions will be discussed in greater detail in a group brainstorming session as well.  In addition to this, we will be making an effort to support the El Dorado High School up-coming drama, Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat.  Plans are being made to attend the production as a group to show support to our local high school students.

Gish Building Update (HOPE VI project)



Only known historic picture of the Gish Building




Last week was a very exciting time for me and some our volunteers who are interested in historic preservation.  The property located at 317 S. Main is in the final stages of approval of historic tax credit applications.  However, there was one part of the application that concerned the property owner.  It was our understanding that all of the historic windows in the property would need to be restored.  In this particular building, there are many windows on the back-end of the property which increased the project budget greatly.  Because of the condition of many of these windows, the property owner invited the representative from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to come look at the building and talk about alternatives. 



Current picture



            Kristin, in the SHPO office, promptly planned a visit to El Dorado.  With the property owner, architect, and building contractor all present, Kristin went around the building and listened to the concerns that the group had about the project.  Through a series of conversations, many of the alternative requests were approved by Kristin.  I was very pleased to see how easy she was to work with and listen to the group.  Not only did the meeting go well, it was also determined that construction will be starting very soon. 

Upper windows in rear of building

            As we are learning and “getting our feet wet” on these historic preservation and tax credit projects, it is so encouraging to know that we have friends at the SHPO office in Topeka who want to work with the property owners to allow these projects to be completed.  While they will not allow any of the historic integrity of the building to be harmed, they are aware of alternatives so that the property owner can also achieve their goals. 

Upper floor windows on North Side of building

            An update on the historic district designation: our nomination is sitting in Topeka waiting to be reviewed.  While we are in a procedural holding pattern, we are able to move forward with additional applications for tax credits on our historic buildings.  All of the attention that this historic district process has attracted has also brought several property owners forward who want to make improvements to their buildings.  El Dorado Main Street staff and volunteers are here to help those property owners be successful. 

Everyone has a voice, but not everyone is heard!

Recently, I was able to hire an assistant who is definitely keeping me on my toes.  Ashley Roedel is a young woman who grew up in El Dorado, went to our schools, and has a passion for future of El Dorado.  She is a perfect addition to the El Dorado Main Street family.  While she is in her early twenties, much younger than many of our volunteers, her ideas and desire to make a difference in our community is inspiring. 

            Last week, another young volunteer, Chase Locke was in the EMS office.  Through a series of random conversations, Chase and Ashley convinced me that there are many young adults in El Dorado who have great ideas for the community.  They easily listed off the names of individuals interested in opening a small business, starting events, or have a passion for a certain need in our community.  They explained to me that in order to retain and attract young families and young single adults, there needs to be an effort to get them involved in the community.  As Chase says, there seems to be gap between the events that cater only to families with children or appeal to the older generations.  He explained that in order for young people to choose to remain in El Dorado, this gap needs to be filled and that young adults need to feel like a part of the community.

            After this conversation, the three of us hit the streets.  We traveled in and out of downtown businesses for the next couple of hours talking to young business owners and downtown employees.  It amazed me, as Ashley and Chase engaged in conversations with these young adults, the ideas flowed.  It is very obvious that there is a large population in our community of people within the ages of 20-35 (or so) that we don’t often give them the chance to express their ideas.

As we wrapped up the afternoon, a plan was formed to bring a group of these young adults together and have a big brainstorming session on October 11, 5:30p.m. at the Coutt’s Museum.  The discussions may lead us to thinking of businesses that we want to see in the downtown, events that would appeal to them, or community needs and improvements.  It will be a casual gathering with drinks and refreshments, where we hope that young adults, who are passionate about El Dorado, and also have the desire to make a difference attend. 

If you are a young adult, no specific age range, and are interested in attending this fun activity please join us!  If you have any additional questions, call 321-3088.

City supports historic district nomination

Last Tuesday, as I sat nervously in front of the City Commission, I was thinking about all of the work and experiences that had led us to this moment.  For the last several years, many property owners, volunteers, and El Dorado Main Street staff have been making small steps towards applying for historic district designation.  Each step forward was considered a big success and kept us looking towards the next step.  Two years ago we were able to start talking about building codes and how historic buildings codes should not be seen as black-and-white, but that there are some grey areas.  This conversation led us to successfully recommend the City adopt the International Existing Building Codes, which allow for those grey areas in our historic buildings.  We knew that we were on the right track when the HOPE VI Main Street grant was applied for and awarded to two historic and very deserving properties, which has already spurred additional renovations to neighboring properties. When a generous donor invested the seed money to complete a survey regarding the eligibility of historic district status and then many others stepped up to help because they knew that El Dorado Main Street did not have the budget to be able to take on such a task, I knew we were again moving towards our goal.  Then when that research came back with the professional explaining to us that she had not worked with another community who possessed as high of a percentage of qualified properties as we do, we rejoiced and knew that we were getting closer to this moment.  Through countless public meetings, conversations, and presentations; we have tried our best to educate the community on what historic preservation is and how to continue the progress that has already been started.  It has been our belief for several years now that we would not be fully equipped with all of the tools needed, unless we were named a designated historic district, which is what led me to the City Commission room last Tuesday evening. 

On the same day and at the same time that I was sitting there anxiously, a group gathered in Columbia, Missouri where the City Manager gave the results of a study that researched the economic impact of historic preservation in their community over the last ten years.  What makes this study so important to us in El Dorado and communities all over the country, is that this is the first study conducted by a local government on this subject, and the results were outstanding.  In Columbia, Missouri, renovated downtown historic buildings saw a 117% increase in property value and the property tax revenue on those properties increased 104%. Comparing to the 19% property value and 12% property tax increases in new construction in the community.  Also documented was that the number of jobs created per $1 million spent in historic preservation projects was higher than highway projects and new construction.  Finally, every $1 in public funds leveraged an additional $4.40 in private funds.  As communities now begin to document the progress made by historic preservation, studies like the one in Columbia, Missouri will become more common.  There is no question that historic preservation increases economic development. 

After hundreds of hours of work and preparation, the City Commission in our community supported the application for historic designation with a 5-0 vote.  As we keep taking these steps forward, with one goal in mind, the dedicated volunteers achieved another success in preserving downtown El Dorado.   While we are not done yet, I want to thank everyone who has been involved in this process, especially our Mayor and City Commissioners who see the vision for a better downtown.