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THE TOWN TEAM

7/17/2019

 
LESSONS FROM OUR "HIGH STREET TO MAIN STREET" UK TOUR
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Falmouth Town Team, Richard Wilcox, Richard Gates, and Mark Williams with Joel and Alice of Georgia Downtowns
THE TOUR
We traveled to the United Kingdom for three weeks in June to study the British High Street, the counterpart to the American Main Street. There we visited with town leaders, learned new strategies for building thriving downtowns, and observed firsthand thriving town centers (the British counterpart to “downtown”) in England and Wales, including winners of and runners-up for the Great British High Street Awards. Thanks to the generous spirit and collegiality of High Street leaders and business owners, we learned more on this trip than we ever imagined possible. We have organized our new knowledge into four lessons.

​Lesson Two is presented here.



FALMOUTH, THE SPIRIT OF THE SEA
Falmouth is a beautiful port town, located in Cornwall, the southern-most county of England. Its town center is known for its deep harbors, historic preservation, and an annual Sea Shanty Festival. It is also known for its remarkable ability to collaborate, an effort that led it to winning the 2016 Great British High Street Award for “Best Coastal Community.”

We had a chance to visit with Falmouth’s “Town Team” and some of its leaders about its team, its quest for partnerships, and why collaboration is vital for economic development. (Click here to read a news article about our visit.)


“OPPORTUNITIES" INSTEAD OF "CHALLENGES"
Richard Wilcox, BID manager;* Richard Gates, Town Manager; and Mark Williams, Town Clerk joined us on a rainy Tuesday afternoon to discuss Falmouth’s economic prosperity and the essential need for partnerships. It is hard to convey how excited and optimistic these folks are about working with community organizations, volunteers, and business owners.

Their enthusiasm was extremely motivating, and their energy awe-inspiring. They welcome a challenge and focus their energies, as they work together and their partners to flip that problem into an opportunity and then celebrate the win!


A FEW TAKEAWAYS FROM THE TOWN TEAM
Wow, we think there should be a Town Team Falmouth Conference, because these folks had a lot of wonderful strategies to share with us. If we could have stayed longer, we would have had to buy another notebook. Here are a few things we learned from the Town Team…


THE CONCEPT OF A TOWN TEAM SHOULD BE ARTICULATED AND PROMOTED
For example, the Falmouth website has a page dedicated to the Town Team and most of the website’s photos feature members of the team, lots of volunteers, elected officials, and town center business owners. The town is adamant about branding and marketing with consistency.


POOL YOUR RESOURCES - BE THEY TIME, TALENT, OR TREASURE
For example, the town partnered with the community to renovate and adapt their historic post office, a majestic structure right in the center of the business district. They located government offices on the ground floor and leased offices to local businesses on the second floor, while preserving the building and interpreting its past.
 

PARTNER WITH OTHER AGENCIES
For example, like other UK cities, Falmouth must monitor its town center streets via CCTV. When funds were low, the Town Team approached the local fire brigade and offered to provide the brigade with much needed office space, in exchange for monitoring services, since the brigade’s support staff must be on call 24 hours a day. Problem solved.


BRING HIGHLY TALENTED AND TRAINED VOLUNTEERS INTO THE PROCESS
As a friend once said to one of us, “Your volunteers don’t work for you, you work for your volunteers.” Let’s face it, they require supervision and be high maintenance. But the good ones are gold. The Town Team Falmouth (and other towns we visited) depend heavily on volunteers for events and special projects. The key is to plan ahead, choose who you need, and know how you use their abilities to accomplish your goals.


MAIN STREET ADVANTAGES FOR PARTNERSHIPS
All of the strategies described above are applicable to Main Street programs. In fact, when pursuing partnerships and collaboratives, Main Street offices have fewer obstacles to challenge the formation and more resources to support them than their British counterparts.

Typically, in the UK there is a strong county government between the town and the national government. Often the county exerts controls on the towns in a district, impacting budgets, fees, services, and priorities that can affect town centers.

And, although the Great British High Street Award is an exciting contest, there is no sustainability program behind it; it has no “teeth.” A situation we hope is soon corrected. In the US, the National Main Street Center is a solid, member-driven and professional organization, with a myriad of resources for its 1,600 downtowns and districts (the Georgia Main Street Program has over 100 Main Street program member cities).


FURTHER APPLICATIONS FOR MAIN STREET
A Main Street program and its board should reach out beyond the typical relationships with its city council and staff, chamber of commerce, and business and property owners, and challenge itself to consider a wide variety and combination of partnerships.

For example:
  • Partner with regional universities or colleges to
    • locate satellite campuses downtown;
    • Create special events that will appeal to students and families who will shop and dine;
    • Seek bonds revenue opportunities;
    • Recruit interns, especially those who are in their professional programs;
    • Seek input in each entity’s master planning process; and
    • Secure use of campus parking deck for weeknight and weekend visitors;
 
  • Collaborate with your Chamber to produce advertising and marketing projects and produce partner events;
​
  • Team up with the City to
    • Participate in producing its master plan;
    • Schedule routine downtown maintenance;
    • Find funding; and
    • Make board appointments;
​
  • Meet with the Georgia Main Street Program to
    • Work with the design team and arrange for downtown concept drawings;
    • Request training; and
    • Learn about access to loans.
​

A CASE STUDY IN PARTNERSHIP
Between 2006 and 2016, the Dahlonega (Georgia) Main Street and Downtown Development Authority sponsored construction bonds for the University of North Georgia.

This partnership reinvigorated the Downtown and University relationship. Together they built dorms, a new dining hall, a much-needed parking deck, and a mixed-use building for offices and retail, creating 30 new jobs.

The downtown program then reinvested the construction bond profits into a preservation grant program for its commercial building restorations, creating 50 new jobs and leveraging $2.1 million in private investment for 30 historic buildings.

Now, that is a partnership.


WHEN IT COMES TO COLLABORATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS, FIRST THINK "TOGETHER," THEN THINK "OUTSIDE"
Naturally, the most important message about partnerships is to make them – reach out and connect with organizations that have similar missions, complementing resources, and local interests. But, you should also approach your potential partnerships by considering your plan – the economic development projects ahead.

​Often, we don’t think outside the box when it comes to collaborating with other agencies or individuals. Build your Town Team, build it with your goals in mind, and build it by thinking In ways you never considered before.

Think about your Town Team turning challenges into opportunities!




 
* Business Improvement District (more about these in another lesson)

​
​- Alice Sampson

STORYTELLING

7/8/2019

 
LESSONS FROM OUR "HIGH STREET TO MAIN STREET" UK TOUR
Picture
https://bit.ly/2G2hmbi
THE TOUR
We traveled to the United Kingdom for three weeks in June to study the British High Street, the counterpart to the American Main Street. There we visited with town leaders, learned new strategies for building thriving downtowns, and observed firsthand thriving town centers (the British counterpart to “downtown”) in England and Wales, including winners of and runners-up for the Great British High Street Awards. Thanks to the generous spirit and collegiality of High Street leaders and business owners, we learned more on this trip than we ever imagined possible. We have organized our new knowledge into four lessons.

​Lesson One is presented here.




STORYTELLING
Once upon a time, an American firm visited with British town center leaders, business owners, super volunteers, and tourism directors from all across the land. Much to their delight, it was from these kind folks that they learned about the magic of storytelling.

Storytelling, whether it be through written or spoken word or through visuals, is critical for High Street and Main Street economic development for many reasons.

Storytelling will…
  • Interrupt negative opinions,
  • Energize local residents,
  • Welcome newcomers who are seeking similar experiences,
  • Invite public engagement and build community,
  • Tell the history of a downtown and the value of local historic preservation, and
  • Build a positive brand for success.

We spoke with Crickhowell town leaders, Lesley Alexander-Carter, Mayor and Dean Christy, Manager of the Corn Exchange, about the power of storytelling, community engagement, and Crickhowell being declared the grand winner of the 2018 Great British High Street Award.

They both pointed to storytelling as a motivator for the town’s new-found success as a tourist destination and revived shopping district.

Crickhowell, Wales is the gateway to the Brecon Beacon National Park; it is a small quaint village, with a population of around 2,000 people and a 500-year-old town center. Its residents pride themselves on their community engagement. And, like the army ant, they lift more than their “weight” in volunteering, organizing, and taking action.

This ethic was evident by their reaction to learning that a national chain supermarket intended to tear down a historic building on High Street, threatening to change the character of the town center and the existence of local shops that had served the community for generations.

While the announcement was met with local protest, volunteers began organizing to assess the problem. They created videos to document and tell the story of the Corn Exchange and its value to the community.

The videos, including a high-quality documentary, told the stories of the town and prompted community members into saving and renovating the building through crowdfunding.

Telling the story of the impending destruction on High Street spurred hundreds of residents to contribute to the purchase and restoration of The Corn Exchange. Now the building houses a set of small shops and rental flats and, most importantly, it belongs to the community and is currently protected from destruction.

This powerful community story was at the heart of the application for the 2018 Great British High Street Award. The award and the story of the Corn Exchange are bringing visitors from all over the UK and the world.

As Dean Christy noted, “This ambitious community-led project has provided new homes in our town center, as well as preserved the character of Crickhowell, protected jobs in family-run shops, and created new employment opportunities in our High Street.”

You can read more about the Corn Exchange story here.


STORYTELLING AS A TOOL FOR MAIN STREET
Storytelling powerful enough to raise your downtown profile can be done one of two ways:
  • Main Street can tell THE story, as Crickhowell did with the Corn Exchange rescue.
  • Or it can share MANY stories, as Main Street Dahlonega, Georgia did with the "Dahlonega Stories" campaign.

Dahlonega launched a campaign to promote its historic buildings in downtown: Twenty-two buildings display story plaques near their entrances. Visitors taking the self-guided Dahlonega Stories tour are encouraged to read the plaques and then visit the businesses inside the buildings to learn more.

Just as telling THE story of a particular time and place in downtown rallies residents and attracts visitors, telling MANY stories brings cohesion and brands the downtown with a positive identity.



WHAT IS YOUR MAIN STREET STORY?
Does your downtown have an amazing BIG story to share?
For example, Main Street Toccoa, Georgia, rescued (and operates) the historic Ritz Theater, saving this 1939 icon from its disrepair and now using it as a regional center for diverse cultural and community entertainment.

If you do tell the big story, be sure to illustrate it with lots of photographs, videos, and testimonials. Provide resources for curious visitors to do further research or stages for photo opportunities.

Or perhaps your Main Street has many stories to tell?
To start, you might consider using the Power of 10 approach...

Start with 10 stories that are connected to promote as a campaign. Tell the stories of your cornerstone businesses, young entrepreneurs, or shops that promote environmental best practices or that are pet friendly. Find 10 alleys and pocket parks that are clean and inviting to visitors.

Start a “We are -----” (Main Street Newnan, Main Street Greensboro, etc.) YouTube Channel and invite submissions.

Remember to tell the story that sets your downtown apart. Invite your community members to tell stories through spoken or written word or visuals.

Celebrate your uniqueness and avoid sameness.

If every Main Street tells the same story then Main Street has no story.
​
So, tell your Main Street story and live happily ever after.
- Alice Sampson

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