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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 2005)
The INDEPENDENT, April 21, 2005 Page 5 Business Notes ODDA resource team will conduct analysis of downtown Vernonia The City of Vernonia, the Oregon Economic and Com- munity Development Depart- ment (OECDD), and the Ore- gon Downtown Development Association (ODDA) have formed a partnership to bring a Downtown Resource Team to Vernonia. The Resource Team, provid- ed by ODDA, will conduct an on-site analysis from April 26- 28, 2005. A team of downtown specialists will examine the challenges and opportunities facing Vernonia, identify next steps and provide recommen- dations to move downtown re- vitalization efforts forward. The team will begin with a public meeting at 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, April 26 at the Scout Cabin in Hawkins Park, to ex- plain the Resource Team process and seek input from community members on down- town needs. Following the meeting, for the remainder of Tuesday and all day Wednes- day, the team will interview community members and col- lect pertinent information. The final day, Thursday, will be used to prepare recommen- dations and drawings for a pub- lic presentation Thursday night. The presentation will begin at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall and the community is invited to attend. At a later date, a written report containing recommendations from the team will also be deliv- ered as part of the Resource Team package. The Resource Team will be lead by Vicki Dugger, ODDA Executive Director. Other team members will include an archi- tect, business mix specialist and a visitor readiness special- ist. The team will examine downtown Vernonia in terms of effective marketing for down- town businesses, façade im- provements, and visitor readi- ness. The Team will also con- sider and make recommenda- tions for a new Interpretative Center. Downtown revitalization is important, Dugger explained, because “Downtowns are unique places which reflect lo- cal heritage and history. A strong, vibrant downtown gives the community a center and re- flects local heritage and histo- ry…its pride and identity. Be- yond the social importance of downtown is the economic im- portance of a strong business district. Downtowns are tradi- tionally a very good place to grow local businesses which strengthen the economy.” The Oregon Downtown De- velopment Association is a statewide non-profit organiza- tion dedicated to assisting Ore- gon communities with down- town revitalization. Their servic- es are provided within the Na- tional Main Street model and are based on the concept that local volunteers can direct the goals and objectives they es- Transfer an existing balance from your high rate credit card to a low rate Wauna Federal VISA Card and SAVE! Wauna Federal Credit Union Limited Time Special VISA Balance Transfer Rate Rate as low as 6.45 Ford Family Foundation trainees From page 1 boosting the community’s economy, as well as becoming a catalyst for attracting addi- tional public art throughout the community. The process used to select a project included brainstorming for ideas, voting to narrow the choices, presentations by group members of the merits of those choices, and then a final selection based on group con- sensus. A project application will be created by the group de- scribing their project and their plan for completing it. This ap- plication will then be submitted to the Ford Family Institute for approval. The Vernonia group will raise funds for the project, which the Ford Family Institute will match, up to $10,000. The leadership training and trip to the “Conference of Com- munities” is being provided by the Ford Family Institute, which promotes rural community de- velopment, in part by training community members in leader- ship skills. All the community groups meet one weekend each month, plus the confer- ence at Kah-Nee-Ta Resort, to work on skills such as conflict resolution, conducting effective meetings, communication, fund- raising, resource development, and growing volunteers. The Ford Family Institute makes a four year commitment to each of the communities to continue helping with leadership devel- opment. According to participant Scott Laird, “The group from Vernonia is looking forward to their trip and sharing what they have learned with members of the other communities, as well as putting it to work here at home in Vernonia.” tablish for their own communi- ties. For more information about the Resource Team visit, con- tact Vicki Dugger at ODDA, 503-587-0574, or Robyn Bas- sett at the City of Vernonia, 503-429-5291. Got an an existing balance on a high credit card Got existing balance on rate a high-rate that’s charging too much in interest Move credit card that’s charging too costs? much in interest costs? 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