Online Chat with Emporia Main Street President Bobby Thompson
October 25, 2011
Online Chat with Emporia Main Street President Bobby Thompson
moderator: Today our guest is Bobby Thompson, President of Emporia Main Street. Bobby is here to chat about the organization, its upcoming events and future plans. We only have 30 minutes to chat so we will get started with the chat.
moderator: We have heard a lot about the 7 awards that Emporia received at the recent downtown symposium in Independence. Can you tell us about the symposium and why Emporia Main Street was so successful?
Bobby Thompson, President Emporia Main Street: The symposium itself is the annual meeting for Kansas Main Street. In addition to seminars covering a variety of topics it's also a chance for mainstreet Directors and mainstreet members from around Kansas to gather and learn from each other, and Emporia Main Street did receive 7 awards during the awards dinner. I believe Emporia Main Street's success is a direct result of a having a strong Director and supporting staff, an energetic and hands-on Board, extremely innovative committee members and most importantly an involved and high energy membership base. The volunteer efforts of our members to not only make Emporia a better place for their business but also a better place to live is truly amazing. After all that's said and done, no matter how good an event is on paper, if people don't come it's a bad event. I believe all of our efforts are recognized in the end because the people of Emporia and the surrounding area's continue to support the community and the many events held throughout the year by all organizations.
moderator: This Thursday is your annual Downtown Improvement Auction, when and where is the event and what will the funds go towards this year?
Bobby Thompson, President Emporia Main Street: The downtown improvement auction is being held this Thursday at the Granada Theatre here in Emporia. A silent auction begins at 5:30pm with the live auction following at 7pm. The theme of the auction is the 1980's so if nothing else come down and catch a glimpse of people dressed in classic 80's garb, but please leave the camera's at home Facebook is a dangerous thing! Every year the fund goes toward a board designated public improvement. Past examples include downtown bike racks, lamp posts in the Farmers Market lot, lamp post banners, the Downtown Historic District project and the downtown garden improvements. The auction this year will again focus attention on repair and maintenance of the downtown lamp posts.
moderator: Emporia Main Street has been talking about a downtown historic district for sometime, where are we at in the designation process?
Bobby Thompson, President Emporia Main Street: I chuckle a little bit at this question only because the question is usually asked in more of a "Come on with it already" tone or a "Weren't we talking about this seemingly ages ago" reference. The quick answer is "It's moving right along". In December we are slated for the next step which is a Negative Ballet Procedure. This step gives all who own property within the environs of the proposed district to formally express their concerns on record. In February the state will then vote on the proposed district boundaries.
moderator: With Veteran's day just around the corner what is Emporia Main Street planning this year?
Bobby Thompson, President Emporia Main Street: Once again Emproia Main Street will help sponsor our annual Freedom Fest. This year is will be held on Saturday November 5th from 8:30 am until 11:30 am in Sodens Grove. The activities will include a 5k mile run/walk and a gravel road bike race of either 15 or 35 miles. These activities help raise funds for our local All Veterans memorial through entry fee's and sponsorships.
moderator: What kind of activities are scheduled for downtown this holiday season?
Bobby Thompson, President Emporia Main Street: We love the holiday season and it shows in the ramp up of activities. As always The Emporia Chamber of Commerce will be holding their downtown Christmas parade on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, this year that is November 29th. In the leadup to the parade Main Street likes to hold a window decorating contest of downtown businesses. Prizes are given to the top three window displays. We will once again be holding the Downtown Horse Drawn Carriage rides December 1, 8, 15 and 22. Time slots can be reserved the night of the event. I promise you the warmer evening fill up fast! Breakfast with Santa is December 3rd. This event is a joint effort by the Emporia Public Library, the emporia Arts Council, the Emporia Recreation Commission and Emporia Main Street. From 9am until 11am parents and kids can stop by for stories, arts & crafts, face painting, breakfast and visit Santa Claus. Midnight Madness will be held on December 8th. This event was a tremendous success last year and is back again. Participating businesses stay open from 8pm until midnight for holiday shopping. As a business owner myself I have to say it's so cool to see the streets alive that late at night. Truly a fun event. Kris Kringle's Kids Shoppe is Dec. 15 - 17 at 725 Commercial. Items from participating members will be for sale at a price of $10 and below. This gives kids an excellent place to shop for mom and dad. I'm just tired trying to remember all that...
moderator: What other events and activities does Main Street have coming up?
Moderator: Really? More? Okay, not primarily Emporia Main Street driven but I personally love these events and want to do what I can to make sure they are well known. This week there are Haunted Tours is taking place at 9pm on October 28th. Meet at the Granada Theatre Marquee at 9pm. Tickets can be obtained via donation. The Haunted Tour consists of a walking tour of downtown and is a fun way to learn the history of some local buildings as well as maybe picking up a spooky story or two. This event is a joint effort of the Lyon County Historical society, the Granada Theatre, Red Rocks and ESU. Downtown Trick or Treating from 1 - 3 pm on October 29th. Too many to list but I think over 25 local businesses will be ready to dish out the candy to young trick or treaters. You've all heard of Black Friday? The day after Thanksgiving when everyone hits the crazy sales at the big stores? Well don't forget about Small Business Saturday on November 26th and support your local small business merchants as well.
moderator: If someone wants to help support Main Street what can they do?
Bobby Thompson, President Emporia Main Street: Come to events! I love seeing new faces and meeting new people. I strongly encourage anyone and everyone to get out and get involved. My wife and I have two small children, an energetic and busy local extended family, time consuming hobbies as well as both running our own business. Trust me, I understand being busy. If you want to get involved in Emporia Main Street, awesome, can't wait to meet you. I'm the goofy looking one. Easy to pick out in a crowd. So how can you get involved? Well first off you can call Casey or myself or anyone associated with Main Street and we can go from there. Come to the Public Improvement Auction this Thursday. If lack of free time is keeping you from getting involved but you have an extra dime, that helps also! Emporia Main Street is always accepting new memberships. We have various business levels as well as inexpensive individual memberships. You don't have to be a member to volunteer at events either. Call the Emporia Main Street office and let them know you heard about an event, like the concept and would like to get more involved. Have an idea for a business but no idea where to begin the planning? Contact us and we can help. Know of someone who might be a good fit to expand their existing business to Emporia? Give us their name and number or have them contact us and we'll take it from there. There are many ways a person can get involved with our organization.
hometownkid: What is being done to try and lure new business's into the downtonw area?
Bobby Thompson, President Emporia Main Street: We have been very successful in helping create downtown businesses (6 alone in the last quarter) through a variety of different means. We work with Flint Hills Technical College and the Small Business Development Association in the Start Your Own Business class which has successfully started several entrepreneurial businesses in Lyon County. We recruit existing home based businesses to store fronts, develop entrepreneurs to fit market gaps, encourage business expansions among existing businesses and we recruit regional businesses to fit market gaps. We promote business location or relocation through code team visits, zero interest loans, planning assistance, consulting and resource identification. We conduct market research with our partners to place businesses in the best scenario to succeed. The Emporia Main Street Business Enhancement Committee is currently developing a new business recruitment guide and we are in the process of developing new incentives and incubation programs to help businesses start, grow and expand in the downtown area. Furthermore, we are taking advantage of emerging technologies to identify potential business types, entrepreneurs and developers for the downtown area. Currently, our vacancy rate is well below the national average, be we know we still need to work hard to improve occupancy in the downtown.
hometownkid: Are there any incentives for property owners to remodel the upstiars of downtown buildings into an apartments or lofts? Like what was done above what is now the office for mayfield and son's.
Bobby Thompson, President Emporia Main Street: Upper story living is critical to the success of a downtown. People living downtown tends to extend store hours, create night life and promote new businesses while sustaining our existing businesses. People that live in downtowns have a tendency to do most of their shopping downtown (and in town) which improves our pull factor. People that live downtown also create safer environments and they promote the maintenance and care of buildings. Most importantly for our business and property owners, upper story apartments diversify income streams and allow property owners the ability to invest more in the maintenance and upkeep of their buildings. This upkeep and upper story utilization helps the local area collect more revenue, which aids the local economy. To facilitate upper story development, the Main Street program has zero interest loans, we have developed relationships with various agencies to promote tax credit usage and we are working hard towards the development of a historic district in downtown. These assets, when coupled with code team visits and conceptual design assistance can make it easier to develop upper story living. We need code officials that can work with us through International Existing Building Codes (IEBC) and building owners willing to invest in upper story living, but at the end of the day we must ensure that these development projects are profitable. In some communities in Kansas, construction firms are forming partnerships with building owners to create upper story apartments and sharing rent revenues. This is a great way for construction firms to keep employees working during the winter months and generate long term revenues. The general rule of thumb is that around 3-5% of a community is willing to live in upper story or "loft" style apartments, and that percentage may be slightly higher in Emporia due to the proximity of ESU to the downtown. We are well under that percentage number, so there is significant room for growth.
moderator: How did you get involved with Emporia Main Street?
Bobby Thompson, President Emporia Main Street: Funny that this should be the easiest question to answer because it's my own story. Every time I get asked though the answer is slightly different as I become more and more involved in matters of Emporia. In short, I became involved in Emporia Main Street while starting my own business 3 years ago. Emporia Main Street has multiple loan programs designed to help businesses build a strong foundation. The Director of Mainstreet also help locate my business and provided design assistance. I've learned over the past 3 years how much Emporia Main Street has to offer to it's members, to the City of Emporia and to the surrounding the area. I look forward to many more years being a part of Emporia Main Street and helping Emporia in general become all it can be.
moderator: Any other thoughts you want to share?
Bobby Thompson, President Emporia Main Street: My last thoughts would be to remind everyone to shop local this holiday season. With a variety of different stores all over Emporia I am confident that you can find almost everything you are looking for. Take some time to explore some new stores and see what they have to offer, I bet you will be surprised by the resources that exist right in your hometown.
moderator: It looks like that is all the time that we have today. On behalf of The Emporia Gazette and its readers I would like to thank Bobby for taking time out of his schedule to come and chat with us. If you're not doing anything on Thursday be sure to stop by the Emporia Main Street auction at the Granada Theatre.