Evelyn C. McDonald
Arts & Culture Reporter
August 17, 2017 1:04 p.m.
Nearly 200 people attended the 2017 Florida Main Street Conference held at St. Peter’s Monday through Wednesday this week. These attendees came from the 49 other cities that are participants in the Florida Main Street program. Main Street is a national program that Florida has participated in since 1985. Fernandina Beach applied for the program and was accepted last year.
Florida Main Street is a technical assistance program administered by the Bureau of Historic Preservation, Division of Historical Resources in the Florida Department of State. The Bureau conducts statewide programs aimed at identifying, evaluating, and preserving Florida’s historic resources. Throughout Florida there is a growing interest in improving the appearance and economic stability of historic downtown business districts. Florida Main Street, with its emphasis on preservation, is an effective strategy in achieving these goals in Florida’s historic retail districts.
The conference offered a wide variety of sessions on various issues that cities have to address when setting up a Main Street program. Use of social media, architecture, public art, and making the economic case were some of the topics. It was a great opportunity for attendees to exchange ideas and discuss problems and solutions. There was also a small expo of vendors who work with cities to provide tools to facilitate development of community programs.
There were two themes that came through in the sessions that I attended regarding developing a sustainable main street. One is that it is a group effort. Coordination and cooperation are essential to a robust program and can work miracles. Speakers offered suggestions on how to get that to happen. Public-private partnerships were a common theme in the sessions. The other is that these programs are working to change behavior and that won’t happen overnight.
The conference was good in addition to providing information and suggestions. For me, it put the efforts Fernandina has already made in perspective. Compared to some of the other Florida cities, we are blessed with the ocean and rivers to assist in bringing people to our downtown. We have music festivals, book stores, theatres, art galleries, interesting shopping, and an increasing array of downtown events.
Our own Fernandina Beach Main Street Program is a partnership between the City of Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island-Fernandina Beach-Yulee Chamber of Commerce, and the Amelia Island Convention and Visitors Bureau. The program’s goal is to “stimulate and sustain economic development in Historic Downtown Fernandina Beach through sensible, sustained economic growth and enhancements based on local assets, especially historic resources and buildings.”
Jeffrey J. Kurtz is the Executive Director of Fernandina Beach Main Street Program. For information on what the program is doing. Check out their website – www.fernandinamainstreet.com
Evelyn McDonald moved to Fernandina Beach from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 2006. Evelyn is vice-chair on the Amelia Center for Lifelong Learning and is on the Dean’s Council for the Carpenter Library at the UNF. Ms. McDonald has MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland’s University College and a BA in Spanish from the University of Michigan.