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Bos acknowledges, for example, that the
activities of some of the enthusiastic young people serving on Main Street
committees have caused concern among affected entities -- residents, retailers,
business owners. "We
recognize, too, that there is confusion about whether it is DDA or Main
Street speaking," Bos says.
"The DDA is the Main Street
Program, with wonderful volunteers contributing to the individual
committees. We are formalizing the structure with rules and regulations
similar to the DDA's, to insure smooth operations, definition of roles,
and good communications."
Bos suggests
that because in most cities where Main Street operates throughout Michigan
there is no DDA, such coordination issues don't arise in those cities.
Bos makes it clear that, no matter who, if
anybody, is at fault for the current confusion and any ill-feeling, she is
determined to address real and perceived differences. For one thing, Bos
is considering pulling together a "meeting of the minds," a work
session with representatives from several interest groups. At the very
least, Bos feels that such a meeting will enable the parties to identify
policies and practices -- everybody's, not just DDA's -- which need
attention. The following bulleted items reflect the content and tone of
the Bos/VersagiVoice conversation.
~ Rapport between the DDA and the
current City Commission is "the best it has ever been,"
especially after the DDA budget was reformatted to make the numbers more
readily understandable and meaningful.
~ The DDA's Development Plan is its Master
Plan, but the DDA is addressing the City Commission's questions
regarding past accomplishments, future goals, priorities, and parking.
~ The day-to-day responsibilities of the
Downtown Manager have changed since the position was established several
years ago, and especially since Main Street
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became a factor. Those changes have
resulted in (a) a new job description and (b) the manager's compensation
becoming solely the DDA's, not the City's responsibility.
~ The DDA continues to increase its financial contributions for additional services provided by the city in
the downtown area.
~ Retailers are encouraged to provide input
about matters which affect them, but they cannot expect the DDA to be
their sole support about specific issues.
~ Answering objections to DDA's decision to
allocate money away from Holiday Magic to explore the feasibility of a Royal Oak
Film Festival, Bos contends one major focus of this research is to assure that
such a festival will be "retail-friendly." A decision to have a film
festival has not been made. All events are evaluated on their ability to benefit
as many elements of the community as possible.
~ DDA's acquisition of private property, to
encourage more appropriate development on the acquired sites, is not as
intense as in the early DDA years, but it continues. Short of a decaying
property which poses a public hazard, seldom is it necessary to condemn
property. If the DDA acquires property (such as 696), owners are paid fair
market value for their property and sometimes related expenses like moving
and legal.
~ A several-year-old marketing study will
be extended to take into consideration the recent changes in downtown
property uses and increasing population density.
Bos maintains that the success of DDA
efforts can be both measured and identified intangibly. "One can
certainly measure the visible fact that property owners peripheral to
downtown, both residential and commercial, are upgrading their properties.
In terms of image, Royal Oak continues to receive generally good press and
to win national and state awards for our downtown development."
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