Christmas parade likely won’t be downtown
Downtown events like the annual Christmas parade will most likely be moved or altered in some way as Main Street construction nears and is expected to last more than a year.
City officials responding to a formal request from a local organization last week advised them to reconsider their request to block of a portion of East Main Street for an event this fall.
“We said we better go back and review this because it’s probably not going to be feasible,” Vice Mayor Patti Nunley said of the city board’s reaction to that request, adding city leaders are trying to suggest alternate venues like Riverfront Park or the Farmers Market for events typically held downtown.
The general contractor has 14 months to complete construction on the East Main Street project and city officials are planning a ground-breaking date of Aug. 16, although the formal contract has not yet been finalized. That means if the Aug. 16 date is used as a starting point, work downtown technically would not have to be completed until October, 2005.
Some portions of Main Street could be closed for weeks, or even months, at a time and city and Main Street officials have in the past said they plan to meet with downtown property owners to discuss those closures.
While last week’s request was the one of the first formal requests made of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, city officials and others have for months quietly been considering where the downtown Christmas parade will take place.
Mayor Royce Davenport has asked a special committee, including three city aldermen and members of Leadership Warren, be set up to discuss parade route changes. While he said the committee has met, the only decision that has been finalized to date is that the parade won’t take place on Main Street.
Additionally, Leadership McMinnville president Nick Kuhn has apprised city officials that the annual Autumn Street Fair is planned to take place in the parking lot at Three Star Mall on Oct. 9 this year.
While it is possible next year’s Fourth of July events won’t take place downtown either, depending upon how well construction is going, Nunley reminded people of the nature of the changes – temporary.
“All of these things, we hope, will be a one-year temporary displacement,” she said.