create (anonymous) says...

All the Main Street big bucks invested into the downtown improvement via brick crossings, trees and plantings, new lights and trash receptacles didn't mean a ding dang thing, did it. All that was supposed to be a head start for the city. Supposedly, according to the broken windows approach, if you let a building deteriorate long enough, the entire neighborhood will follow. In fighting "broken windows," Main Street sought to fight the blight and to do its part through a hefty grant to prevent deterioration and to give Emporia a new hairdo and STILL, nobody cares to do upkeep. I'm with snake, bring on the orange jumpsuits and a dude on shotgun.

August 22, 2007 at 4:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

scrutinizer (anonymous) says...

If I see a piece of trash blowing down my street or lying in the gutter in front of my house, I pick it up. I think it is reasonable to expect my neighbors to do the same. Why is it the responsibility of the City to pick up litter on commercial or private property? What salary are we going to pay the "dude with the shotgun"? Do we want police officers supervising litter pickup? I don't think so.
Business owners should take some pride in the appearance of their property. The litterbugs should face some consequences that discourage their disrespectful actions. Children should be taught (by the parents) not to s*** in their own nests.
And citizens should stop expecting government to do what individuals used to do for themselves. Why do you think our services are costing us more and more each year?
One final word, concerning the streetscape. Since Mary Helmer's army of volunteers left, the condition of the streetscape we spent so much money on has deteriorated dramatically. If the taxpayers make an investment, I think it is incumbent on the Commission that authorizes that expense to provide for maintenance of our investment. Hire it out or add staff to get the job done. As it stands, it is detracting to the overall appearance of the downtown, not enhancing it.

August 22, 2007 at 9:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

mythoughts (anonymous) says...

I have never understood why a business wouldn't want to care for its part of the sidewalk--whether it's pulling the weeds (that would take - what? 10 minutes a week?) or shoveling the snow and ice. I take care of my home from street to alley, and I think area businesses should do the same kinds of minimal maintenance (pick up the trash, pull the weeds, sweep up the broken glass outside of nightclubs..., report broken curbs, leaking gutters or parking meters).

If a business doesn't take pride in it's "curb appeal" why would I want to shop there? Whether it's your home or your business, its physical appearance speaks to your view on life, your sense of pride (and cleanliness). Respect yourself.

August 23, 2007 at 9:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

lycomu (anonymous) says...

We cant expect the government to do everything for us, because if we do, then our taxes will increase dramaticly. We should ALL work towards making the community we live a better place. Perhaps if we spent less time complaining and more time doing, then something would be accomplished

August 23, 2007 at 11:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

momus (anonymous) says...

After reading the article, I have a few thoughts pertaining to "Talking Trash". First, the vast majority of businesses downtown, and throughout the community for that matter, do take great pride in keeping their businesses clean. Of course you will always have a few that don't, and they make everyone else look bad. For those that don't care, their sales should suffer, but moreover we should have enforcable community standards in place that offers a carrot and stick approach to keeping buildings and surrounding property safe, presentable and representative of community standards of minimum asthetics. If you can't or won't do that you probably shouldn't own a business.

Secondly, this type of blight is occuring throughout Emporia, from the East side to the 6th Street/Highway 50 Span. You can even see evidence of properties unmaintained along Industrial. However, I have personally participated in cleanups along downtown (without court order, I may add). Although, I do not see volunteers springing up along other areas. I wonder why?

Finally, I will reinterate something I stated in an earlier post. You get the right to gripe if you take the responsibilty to do something positive to fix the problem. It takes slightly more energy to actually pick weeds than it did to get out of a vehicle, shoot pictures at multiple angles, write an article and print it. So, because this is a problem that the ownership of the Gazette obviously feels passionate about, I would expect said ownership to attend the next downtown cleanup.

August 23, 2007 at 11:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

create (anonymous) says...

Lots of should haves and could haves. The fact remains, as do the weeds and trash.

August 23, 2007 at 1:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

momus (anonymous) says...

Create,

The next downtown cleanup is September 7th. The fact remains that there are people making positive changes and getting their hands a little dirty to help make this community look and feel better. Can we expect you presence on the 7th? Or, will the "fact(s)" remain unchanged?

August 23, 2007 at 1:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

emporia12 (anonymous) says...

Good job on having a clean up but it needs to be done now and not wait till September 7th. We don't want Emporia to look terrible for the Great American Market.

The flower planters downtown also look terrible. Who is responsible for keeping them in shape? Plants are dead, weeds are growing in them - it is a real mess.

Emporia's downtown didn't have these problems when Mary Helmer was in charge of Emporia Main Street.

I think having prisoners clean downtown would be great. Lets put them to work.

August 23, 2007 at 3:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

lycomu (anonymous) says...

after my comments, i went outside of my office downtown, and pulled weeds and picked up trash. Isnt this really the only no cost, no Bureaucracy, repeatble solution?

August 23, 2007 at 3:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

create (anonymous) says...

momus, You bet, I'll be downtown on Sept. 7 to take part in the cleanup. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, not at all. Will you know I was there? Where I come from originally, we had something called "The Outdoor Circle," a group of volunteers who worked year round to keep everything clean and looking good. Maybe we need one of those groups who wouldn't need reminding to clean up. As we can see, some businesses have not been paying attention. What about clubs and organizations adopting a block or two? Let me pause to remember a very good citizen, the late Billy Cook, who would pause to pick up trash each and every day, all day long as he made his way around town. See you Sept. 7, momus.

August 23, 2007 at 4:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

sugarbutt (anonymous) says...

Those of you that keep referring to "Mary Helmer's Army of Volunteers" need to step back and think of the person trying to walk in her shoes. I for one think the young lady that has taken over Mary's spot is doing everything she can to uphold the reputation Mary worked so hard to build. Do you know that she spent most of her day walking around spraying weeds because she took the article so personally? Maybe one should volunteer to help instead of complain. I was always taught that if I did not have a solution to the problem then I should keep my mouth shut. I think since the Gazette is just across the street from where the picture was taken maybe some of there staff would pitch in and help improve the area instead of complaining. I for one feel that our new director is doing the best she can. She is a great leader and is working through a trasition that most people would have walked away from by now. Emporia's Main Street is very important to her and the board. Volunteers can be hard to come by so maybe all of you should put your money where your mouth is and go outside and start picking up trash and pulling weeds so that you are part of the solution and not adding to the problem. Also maybe someone should check into the parks department list of responsibilities and see if they should be taking care of these issues. If that is that case maybe someone should go talk to the city commision instead of writing obnoxious editorials. In sumation, If you are going to complain, get off your rear and DO SOMETHING!!!

August 23, 2007 at 4:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

momus (anonymous) says...

Emporia12,

The clean up is on the 7th because the Great American Market is on the 8th. There is also an October clean up to "cut back" plants prior to winter. I'm not positive about the date, but if you contact Kayla Oney at the Main Street office, she could help you out.

Create, I'm glad I'll see you on the 7th. The more the better! As for your idea of block/garden adoption, I spoke to Ms. Oney about that very idea last week prior to a Main Street Design Committee meeting. From what she reported to me, they were searching for different organizations to adopt gardens in the not-too-distant future. I agree, some people are not pulling their weight, but we can either dwell on that unfortunate fact or move ahead. I choose to move ahead (and it seems you agree).

I didn't know Mr. Cook, but this community has stories of fantastic, selfless individuals like the gentleman that you describe that should inspire us all. We are just links in a chain, lets choose not to be the weak link... I hope the rest of you choose to make community beautification a priority, and help out on Sept. 7th!

August 23, 2007 at 5:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Kelonia (anonymous) says...

I am impressed with the number of positive, constructive suggestions about cleaning up our city. This is so great!

September 7 is a Clean Up day? This is the first I have heard of it. I will be there if I can.

August 23, 2007 at 8:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

ksfarmer (anonymous) says...

create, Are you sure Bill Cook isn't still alive? I thought I saw him at the Flint Hills Care Center home earlier this spring?
I've called the city to complain/report about the junk brown car with flat tires sitting in the lot at 10th & Commercial a month ago & nothing has been done. Maybe it can be hauled off by the 8th.

August 23, 2007 at 11:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

LocalGuy (anonymous) says...

Here is my problem. I am a small business owner in Emporia and guess what I spend evenings and weekends cleaning up my property to make sure it looks nice. I think it should be the responsiblitiy of the owners of businesses and not the cities problem.

August 24, 2007 at 12:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

quarterback (anonymous) says...

Sugarbutt

It is good to hear that the Main Street director was spraying weeds yesterday but it should have done a long time ago. The state of our downtown really calls into question if the main street director should keep her job.

Our community invested money in the streetscape program to make our community look nice. But things have really gone down hill with all trash, weeds, vacant buildings and pigeon poop everywhere.

I don't think someone right out of college has enough life skills , the right community connections or business skills to keep the main street program going in the right direction.

The main street board needs to make a change before things get worse.

August 24, 2007 at 7:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

momus (anonymous) says...

Local Guy,

I work in a small business downtown and I, like many other business people throughout the community, DO clean up on a regular basis. However, we do have some businesses throughout Emporia (not just downtown) that don't keep up their property. So, yes, businesses should work on their asthetics, but what do we do as a community when they fail to meet that obligation? Right now their is no "weed picking" ordinance that I am aware of, so volunteers are required to pick up the slack. In an ideal world, every business would have your sense of responsibility, but absent the ideal, volunteers are required to step up for the good of the community.

Quarterback,
The Main Street director position is not a gardening position. The director over the past few months has contacted city officials on numerous occasions to ask for assistance in spraying weeds, she participated in clean up activities with two other volunteers on June 10th and set clean up dates with an all volunteer workforce for both September and October long before the Gazette ran an editorial. Yesterday, she had to leave the office, vacating her other numerous responsibilities to spray weeds (once again, not in her job description) for the good of the community. As far as the pigeon poop is concerned, thank those that limit our ability to control the bird population through means that others consider inhumane. Several new businesses are opening downtown. Actually, the Outfitters building is about the only building in the downtown inventory that people are having a hard time moving. And, even then, the Main Street office is fielding several calls a month requesting information (due to creative marketing efforts by the same director that you call into question). Life skills and community connections are developed over time. Mary Helmer wasn't the most well connected person in the community when she started, but she created allies by working hard OVER TIME. As for the streetscape investment, the community has spent more tax dollars on infrastructure on the West side of Emporia in the past five years than they spent on street scape (which was partially funded through donations), and if you look at the return on investment, the Main Street program has a $33 return for every $1 of public dollars invested. So, how do you justify the insinuation that streetscape was a bad investment?

August 24, 2007 at 9:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

PPP (anonymous) says...

To the bloggers that attack a person, business or government office/official, especially those they know little about or understand, instead of THE ISSUE... thanks for reminding me why I read blogs for entertainment and not for information. I am glad you have such strong opinions. They help bring out facts from other readers who like to sit on the sidelines and watch your personal rant and raves. Too bad we cant' ask for bloggers to be fired or "make a change" when innacurate and pointless attacks are made.

Special thanks to the businesses and owners who are doing great things to the downtown. It is easy to forget where we were 15 years ago. See everyone who really cares at the quarterly cleanup on the 7th of September (but I bet $$$ our bloggers who attack people won't show up....)

August 24, 2007 at 10:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

emponative (anonymous) says...

15 years ago downtown Emporia? Hmmm, well lets see, there were more retail stores, more shoppers, more traffic, more tax dollars raised. Skip ahead to today, a new courthouse that bears the brunt of citizen complaints for extravance, very few shopping opportunities, and empty space. With regard to the previous main street director, if she had never been on the job, what would be the difference downtown today? Little if any. There is no need for both a main street group and the chamber of commerce because if that logic were true, then we should have the west highway 50 group, the industrial road group, the ESU group, and the east 12th group. If the chamber of commerce was as concerned about the Complete Emporia economy as they are about politics, then all of the citzens of Emporia would enjoy the quality of life provided by that concern. We have chocies.....accept life here as it is, leave, or actually do something about it. Our elected officals are as much to blame for the state of Emporia as any one. you want change, vote for it...you want improvement cause it

August 24, 2007 at 1:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

create (anonymous) says...

ks farmer: I really believed that Billy Cook was no longer with us, but if you saw him earlier this spring, and he is easy to identify, then I believe you. It's good to know he's still around. I like remembering him as one of those good citizens who would zoom all over town picking up trash. Sometimes he had handsfull. In his honor, I will be downtown on Sept. 7. I like what emponative said...you want improvement cuss it. No, no, CAUSE it.

August 24, 2007 at 1:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

momus (anonymous) says...

Emponative,

Might want to check your facts there. 15 years ago their was actually a MUCH higher vacancy rate downtown than today. Downtown business owners became so concerned that they rallied around a department manager of the Newman's department store that approached the local Chamber with his concerns. After meeting with the Chamber, they determined a seperate organization was needed to address the needs of a very unique area. The downtown business association was born, and later became Emporia Main Street. The formation of Main Street, not only in Emporia but throughout the U.S., should be enough to prove that people need both the Chamber and Main Street. As a member of both organizations I can tell you that they have very different concepts about the nature of business and the future of Emporia. Also, recognize that because Emporia has a Main Street organization, we can access certain state and federal funds that would otherwise be inaccessable. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in zero interest loans have been utilized downtown, matched by three times as much in private funds to improve Emporia and encourage business development. The fact that other businesses in other areas of Emporia have not formed organizations speaks more to their inability to organize than it does to a lack of need for a Main Street. Our Main Street organization has been so creative in dealing with some difficult economic times within the Emporia area that they were awarded the Great American Main Street Award by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Emporia was the first city in the state of Kansas to recieve the award, and one of the smallest cities in the nation to ever recieve the GAMSA.

And, as much as I like Mary Helmer, she had a lot of help. An active volunteer base has created a lot of successful business opportunities in Emporia. I just met last week with a gentleman that started a laser engraving business after participating in a Main Street entreprenuer class. Although Mary had some involvement in the class, volunteers like Steve Harmon and Kim Redeker also were vital in the success of the class, along with several local business people that took turns teaching sections on their areas of expertise. We can never know for sure what the downtown would look like without Mary Helmer, but we know streetscape would have taken place (it was approved before Mary took over the position) and we know that small businesses would still open their doors for sales, as they have for the past 150 years. As for the lack of shopping opportunities, I do the vast majority of my shopping downtown. Come help out on September 7th at the clean up and I bet you'll find some great places to shop that you might have overlooked!

August 24, 2007 at 1:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

emponative (anonymous) says...

A lively, constructive conversation offering differing views and potential solutions is much valued and much needed. There are a great number of people in Emporia who could offer much in this regard. Perhaps, we citizens concerned with the helath and well being of Emporia should organize ourselves into a self help group

August 24, 2007 at 2:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

momus (anonymous) says...

Emponative,

And anyone else who is interested, Main Street has individual members from throughout the community that are trying to tackle some of these difficult issues, but the more people that are involved with these committees the better. Things like community standards, business recruitment, community initiated development and quality of life are constantly worked on in a variety of committees. If you want to be part of the solution, I encourage you to get involved. The Main Street office number is 340-6430, give them a call and volunteer on a committee or project!

August 24, 2007 at 3:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )