That makes the agency eligible for a portion of $25,000-$30,000 in state technical assistance intended to help revitalize Polson's downtown business district.
Taylor said she was “pleased and proud” of the award, which has been the nonprofit agency's main focus since Taylor was hired in January.
Polson's downtown is at the low point of a transition period and can use the help that the “Main Street” designation will bring, longtime business owner and former city councilman Lou Marchello said Friday.
“This will give us a designation where we can go after some grants or low-interest loans to fix up some of the facades and buildings that need work,” he said.
Marchello owns and operates the Crows Nest Gallery and Frame Shop. Although no longer active as a PCDA officer, he helped found the organization in the early 1980s, when it sought and obtained grants for gritty infrastructure projects like sewer and sidewalk construction.
He said the agency grew dormant in the 1990s, when grant funding to pay for a professional director dried up.
“Anything we can do to get the designation to help with the downtown is a good thing,” he said.
The award was a competitive one based on the readiness of the local community to implement the program, and the resources it could commit, said Andrew Geiger of Montana Main Street in the state Department of Commerce in Helena.
Thirteen communities expressed initial interest. Five survived the first cut and completed a 30-page application, and three - Red Lodge, Polson and Anaconda - ultimately were selected after community representatives made presentations in Helena.
Other communities will be eligible in future years, Geiger said. The program is by no means exclusive, he said, but is limited by funding to the amount of technical assistance it can provide at this time.
“This is a long-range plan, and every community in Montana that is interested eventually will be getting this,” Geiger said.
The first step in a typical “Main Street” revitalization is planning, said Mel Waters, administrator of Montana Main Street.
“The first, critical step is to lay out a plan that we can follow over the next couple of years. A good blueprint is needed as much as mortar to keep the bricks in place,” Waters said.
Waters, a resource for other communities interested in downtown revitalization, can be reached at (406) 841-2756.
The Main Street program was developed over the past 27 years by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C. It emphasizes local control and respect for the history of a community.
Stevensville, Libby and Butte began Main Street programs of their own in past years, and are at the point of seeking official certification from the National Trust. The state Legislature got involved last year, allocating $25,000 in technical assistance to help other Montana communities start similar programs.
“They say Montana is one big small town with one heck of a long main street,” Gov. Brian Schweitzer said in a statement released by the Main Street program. “Of course, time has taken some of the sheen off of historic structures, and that is why this state/local partnership is so important.”
“I've been here 34 years, and I've seen peaks and valleys (in downtown prosperity). We're in a valley now, but it's turning up and going the other way,” downtown businessman Marchello said.
Reporter John Stromnes can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or at jstromnes@missoulian.com
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