Montezuma Community Development Director, Terence Blain

Iowa's Downtown Resource Center will be visiting Montezuma on Wednesday and Thursday, October 17th and 18th. Throughout the planning stages, and as I have made final preparations for their visit, individuals throughout the community have had questions about what exactly the purpose is, how it will impact the community and who should be involved. While many efforts have been made to be transparent about the hope for downtown revitalization and historic preservation in Montezuma, it is possible that not everyone has followed the details and understands the possible outcome on a project of this nature in our community. I wanted to take a moment to give a history on what brings us to this moment as we examine our sense of place.

 

A few years ago, volunteers from throughout the Montezuma community began spearheading an effort to nominate Montezuma's downtown as a National Historic District with the National Park Service. The process was tedious, with hundreds of volunteer hours dedicated to researching the historical significance of our downtown buildings. After many months of waiting on a decision, and thousands of dollars in both public and private investment, Montezuma received a National Historic District designation this year. 

 

Prior to this announcement, Montezuma Community Development identified several needs in the community that would require additional energy and focus to reach levels for implementation. Access to housing, community daycare and downtown revitalization were all identified as top priorities. All three of these areas have been in various stages of progress since April. Late in the spring, Montezuma Community Development extended an invitation to the public to participate in some initial visioning for the future of our downtown. The invitation was published in The Record, our community websites, and hand-delivered to downtown business and building owners. Over the course of six weeks, three separate meetings were held to gain public input on how we might move forward with a plan for downtown revitalization. The feedback was administered and received through a SWOT analysis, or Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats for downtown. In all, nearly two dozen downtown business and building owners, and representatives from local industry, education, community organizations and area residents participated in the process. 

 

The SWOT analysis identified a strong feeling that members of our community cared about the future of our downtown, and wanted to find solutions to address the health and vitality of our historically significant, downtown business district. As a result, Montezuma Community Development approached the Montezuma City Council to propose a partnership and pursue Community Development Block Grant funding for a facade improvement project within our historic district. Based a community our size, Montezuma could be eligible for as much as $500,000 for a downtown revitalization or sustainablity project. In the weeks that followed, representatives from the city, community development, and the downtown community met with the Iowa Economic Development Authority to find out more information and explore the possiblity of applying for CDBG funding. Montezuma must meet several criteria to apply for this grant, including a request for technical assistance and recommendations for a downtown master plan. In September, another informational meeting was held. The City of Belle Plaine also hosted a walking tour for a half dozen of our downtown business owners, city and community development staff, and to share insight on a recently completed a downtown master plan and revitalization project in their own community.

 

The Iowa Downtown Resource center works with the Iowa Economic Development Authority in providing technical assistance for downtowns and communities. With 25 years of experience, the Iowa Downtown Resource Center has worked with hundreds of communities throughout the state, including Belle Plaine. Montezuma Community Development has been instrumental in moving the process forward here, but could not do so without public support from the City of Montezuma. The city has agreed to underwrite the $2500 cost for the two-day Downtown Resource Center event next week. Over the course of the visit, several 30-minute group interviews will be taking place at the Montezuma Public Libary. Press releases, emails, phone calls, personal visits from volunteers, website announcements and more have been utilized to recruit people to the table for participation in the group interview process. As of today, we have nearly 100 people signed up to participate. Included in this group are downtown business and property owners, historical preservationists, retirees, city staff and council members, community organization leaders, church groups, local industry employees, county representatives, city, rural and lake residents, a teacher and student leader group from the school, local media, and more. 

 

Gathering input on what YOU want for the future of our downtown is about YOU and about Montezuma. The purpose of the Iowa Downtown Resource Center is not to deliver a master plan for downtown that is required, mandated for implementation, or any other misinformation that has been filtering in. Personally, I am hopeful that we will be able to work together to come up with a plan for the future and a downtown that we can all be proud of.

 

There are a few remaining spots left to participate in the 30-minute group interviews, but they need to be scheduled no later than Monday, October 15th. If you cannot participate in a group interview, you can still participate in the public forum being held at the Montezuma Memorial Hall on Thursday, October 18th at 7:00 p.m. The Iowa Downtown Resource Center will spend that afternoon compiling the input received from the group interviews and then present their preliminary recommendations to the community during the public forum. Again, this will not be the plan, but recommendations based on what the community has shared. 

 

I hope this information has provided clarity to the process and to the potential project at hand. If you were not able to attend any informational meetings or you are still unclear, I am happy to again provide a packet of information for you, and meet 1-on-1 as my schedule permits. Additionally, recommendations from the Downtown Resource Center will be available on the community website, www.montezumaiowa.org.

Do not hesitate to contact the Montezuma Community Development office if needed. The office is not staffed full-time, but messages and emails are returned promptly. 

 

Your Partner In Community Development,

 

Terence Blain, Director

Montezuma Community Development

Email:  MontezumaIowaOrg@yahoo.com

Phone:  641-623-7600