Buchanan one step closer to receiving 'Michigan Main Street' status, pending contract negotiations

 

BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. -- A Buchanan nonprofit is hoping to quite literally put the city on the map.

The nonprofit Live Buchanan has been working for the last year and a half to achieve 'Michigan Main Street status', joining the network of 22 Mitten state cities to earn that designation and receive support to revitalize their downtowns.

"Do you want to see extra time and resources and money dedicated from the state to our downtown? This is one way to do that," says Ashley Regal, Executive Director of Live Buchanan.

Since taking on her role as Executive Director of Live Buchanan a year and a half ago, Regal's primary goal has been to make Buchanan an official 'Michigan Main Street' city.

Achieving that status, Regal says, would open the door for the city to receive technical assistance from the state and special grants directly benefiting Buchanan's downtown businesses.

However, it also requires an annual financial commitment from the city of Buchanan that they haven't been able to agree on.

The contract proposal on the table between the city and Live Buchanan has been a topic of contention, leading to a special meeting Monday where a decision was ultimately postponed, but the proposal will soon come back to the table with some needed revisions.

"The state would like to see something really ironed out that protects both parties; that shows what the services are that Live Buchanan will be offering the city, and that shows the city supports this organization and their work downtown," Regal explains.

Some city leaders and citizens feel it's not very clear exactly how that money would be spent.

"I haven't seen any explanation where that money's going," said one resident at Monday's meeting.

"This contract is extremely loose," Commissioner Dan Vigansky said.

Though it's subject to change now, the initial contract asks the city for $56,000 a year for five years, which on top of supporting the organization, provides a bump in Regal's salary.

Regal says some of the funds would help the nonprofit focus more on providing the community with events, something Live Buchanan hasn't been able to do much of as a young organization.

"We need their support especially to get going because we're a fledgling non-profit," says Regal. "We made it work for our first year with grants and sponsorships and that took a lot of time. The more support we have, the faster we can execute, the more we can do for Buchanan."

The City Commission decided it wants Live Buchanan to rewrite the contract before it's approved; specifically laying out how much money will be spent to support Live Buchanan, Regal's pay increase, and how they use those funds to improve downtown.

Commissioners also want the group to regularly join commission meetings to provide updates on progress, something Regal says will be fruitful, especially with Main Street status.

"Everybody I've talked to that's engaged in the Main Street program sings its praises," Regal says. "It's exciting to have a part of bringing that to this community that has all these assets, has all these wonderful people, and was voted the nicest place in America, and deserves this designation."

Commissioners will re-evaluate that updated contract proposal and vote on it August 26th.