by Joe Potter
It’s been 12 years since Main Street Dade City was discontinued. It was established in 1987 and ceased operations in 2014. A meeting was held on May 21 at Dade City Hall during which a possible reorganization of Main Street Dade City was discussed. Katherine Beck held a PowerPoint presentation during the meeting, which was heavily attended and lasted for about an hour. She explained that some of the things that need to be done to restore Main Street are, but not in any particular order: Create a Board, Establish Bylaws, Establish Articles of Incorporation, Create a Work Plan, Create a Budget, Hire an Executive Director, and Submit a Reorganization Agreement.
This is because Dade City has a previously designated Main Street District. A 12-15-member Board of Directors would be needed to operate Main Street Dade City and to establish projects, and a paid executive director would be needed to oversee those projects, Beck said. Board members would need to commit between 15 and 20 hours a month during the organization’s first year, Beck said. An interest meeting was held on June 4 at 5:30 p.m. in the Commission Chambers at City Hall, 38020 Meridian Ave., to begin establishing a Board, according to Deana Reilly Williams, a Community Redevelopment Agency (C.R.A.) Specialist with Dade City.
Huge projects shouldn’t be undertaken right out of the box, according to Beck. She added that small incremental plans could be beneficial instead. The board of directors would have to see what the budget would look like and have a strategy on how to use it, Beck said. Also, the city would have to step up and be a partner to Main Street Dade City. If Main Street Dade City reorganizes again as part of the city, City Staff could oversee it until Main Street Dade City is able to raise money to pay an Executive Director.
Main Street Dade City would impact the downtown area, part of which is also included in the City’s C.R.A. However, Main Street Dade City should eventually try to become independent. Reorganizing Main Street Dade City and then operating it would both be works in progress, Beck said. “Downtown is important. When a town is created, it has a town center. The downtown infrastructure is very important. It’s the heart of the community. This is where people come together. Main Street is for everyone,” Beck said.
Dade City Main Street ceased operations in 2014 because it didn’t have big contributors as it had in the past. There are currently 57 Main Street organizations in Florida, and most of them are under $50,000 in financial assets, Beck said. All of those Main Street organizations operate through the Department of State’s Division of Historical Resources, Bureau of Preservation, of which Beck is a representative.♥
