What's your vision?
By MORGAN MARLER
PMSA vice president
How do we create our own future? Why do we need a "vision?" These are the questions we'll be asking the citizens of Peabody at the Downtown Vision Planning meeting at 7 p.m. Monday in the city council room.
The "visioning" process identifies what we want to be when we grow up. It's our preferred, collective future and how we'd like to achieve it. The National Main Street Association recently revamped their vision statement. It was a lengthy process, involving hundreds of people who wanted to help shape the future of the Main Street program. Read on
"By the year 2025, the Main Street movement will be widely recognized, accepted, and utilized as an essential, innovative, credible, and results-oriented approach to the revitalization of America's historic and traditional commercial districts. The expanding and impassioned Main Street movement will be an economic and cultural force that engages and is powered by people of all ages and walks of American life who come together to build sustainable traditional downtowns and neighborhood business districts. By continuing to blend new economic development with preservation and reuse of traditional commercial buildings, Main Street's proven and ever-evolving revitalization methodology will enable cities, towns, and neighborhoods to create livable communities, celebrate their diverse heritage, provide expanded support for small businesses, and foster sustainable Main Street districts that are true centers of community life
Did you get goose bumps? I did. Every time I read through their vision statement, I feel a little more hopeful for Peabody. We have as much spunk and pizzazz as any other small town out there. We have the creative and courageous people it takes to make this happen! I know we have the power to shape our future and be successful!
On Monday, we'll be deciding what we want Peabody to be when it grows up. Do we want diversity in our downtown? Do we want people to pull off U.S.-50 and visit us for an afternoon? How do we get them here? What can we do to help strengthen our existing businesses? What new businesses would we want to have here to help boost the economy? These are some of the questions I have. What are yours?
By coming together and defining a downtown "vision statement" for the Main Street program, we'll be creating a guide that we can use for obtaining those goals. It will help us keep moving forward. With innovation, leadership and fresh ideas we can thrive as a small town. Please join us in defining our vision at 7 p.m. Monday at the city building, 300 N. Walnut. We'd like your input in shaping our future.
