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-
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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.
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Join the Fun at Vernonia
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