County should stand behind new director
Over the last few years, Main Street McMinnville has changed gears. No longer stuck in the slow lane, renovations downtown have finally started to gain speed.
We’re confident the progress that started to show under the leadership of former Main Street Director Dan Gray will continue to take shape under the guidance of the newly appointed director Amy Jo Stanford.
As Stanford said in a story which was published in Wednesday’s Standard, she has always taken great pleasure in historic preservation. That pleasure now turns from an enjoyable hobby to a full-time commitment to downtown McMinnville. We’re confident Stanford will serve the city and county well.
She was one of the driving forces behind forming Heritage Alliance several years back. It was that group which was responsible for hiring a full-time Main Street director and pointing McMinnville in the right direction.
And it has only been under the watchful eye of a director and aggressive Main Street and Heritage Alliance volunteers that downtown work has finally begun moving. For years we had been trapped in a rut which saw eyesores such as The Hole plague the downtown landscape for decades. As improbable as it may seem, McMinnville and Warren County had to tolerate an ugly pit at the heart of the community because there wasn’t enough of a commitment to fix the problem.
Now, we’re pleased to report that’s not the case.
The Hole has been transformed into a much more pleasant grassy slope. And that act has served as a springboard for what has become a widespread downtown facelift. Granted, this “facelift” has mainly been from leveling old buildings – a fact which doesn’t sit well with some – but the improvement is easily apparent.
Here’s a few of the changes:
• The Morford House, long on the selling block without any takers, has been torn down.
• The white house behind the library, also offered to anyone who would buy it for the affordable price of $1, is no longer standing.
• The building which used to rest between the Park Theater and Cumberland Bank is also gone. The space will be used to allow cars to more easily access the bank’s drive-thru window.
• The Chamber of Commerce building is in the process of getting a plush new addition. This will make the chamber a community asset, instead of a cramped, outdated facility.
• The Park Theater now belongs to the city of McMinnville. This isn’t a visible change, but one which could have tremendous impact on downtown nightlife if the theater group is successful in holding downtown performances.
That’s just a sampling of Main Street renovations. When considering all the new awnings which now grace downtown storefronts, the farmers’ market pavilion that’s on the way, and the low-interest loan program offered for downtown improvements, we can see Main Street is well on its way to tossing aside the respirator and gaining new life.
We feel secure in knowing Stanford can continue to point downtown restoration in the right direction and lead Main Street to achieve bold, new goals.