The Dixon Main
Street Mission:
Since
1996, the Dixon Main Street
has been an active, strong and exciting organization focused on the betterment
of downtown Dixon
and the city as a whole. We are an organization built and sustained by
countless volunteers who are passionate about the services and events that Main Street
provides. Our mission statement is simple: To foster a spirit of community
teamwork and to strengthen, revitalize, and broaden the economic base of the
community area, while improving the appearance of the downtown area, and
promoting and marketing Dixon
as a vibrant place to visit, work, shop, play, and live.
The Dixon Main
Street Vision:
Dixon Main
Street has a vision for the 21st
century to enhance downtown Dixon’s
rich history while continuing to develop our diverse dining, cultural, and
shopping opportunities. Anchored by our premier riverfront, downtown Dixon offers a family
friendly destination that is unique and inviting for visitors and residents
alike. Dixon is
a hip and modern downtown that keeps its roots in the historic fabric that has
made our city great since 1830. All of this makes Dixon a wonderful destination and a fantastic
place to call home
2013 Board of Directors
Scott Brown, Wendler
Engineering (President)
Kevin Marx, KSB Hospital (Immediate
Past President)
John Jones, Kitzmans Lumber (Vice President)
Donna-Louise Jasper, Blackhawk Insurance (Secretary)
Laura Bock, Sauk Valley Properties (Treasurer)
Mike Venier, Venier Jewelers
Becky Reilly, Sauk Valley Newspapers
John Jones, Kitzmans Lumber (Vice President)
Donna-Louise Jasper, Blackhawk Insurance (Secretary)
Laura Bock, Sauk Valley Properties (Treasurer)
Mike Venier, Venier Jewelers
Becky Reilly, Sauk Valley Newspapers
Ryan Marshall, The Stables
Bill Mick, Raynor
Executive Director
Josh Albrecht
Looking
Forward in 2013
As we move forward into 2013,
Dixon Main Street
will continue to create amazing festivals and events for the city of Dixon, along with our
numerous behind-the-scenes programs for our businesses and merchants.
A few of our goals for this year will be:
1) to continue the One Dixon
Concept as we embark on moving into the Fifth Third Bank building with other
non-profit groups in our community to create an alliance of organizations to
strengthen the city.
2) to strengthen our
partnership with the Petunia Festival and aid in the festivals transition into
the downtown festival setting while also helping them plan for the special 50th
Anniversary in 2014.
3) to create a new concert
event in August to enhance Reagan Trail Days and to continue to make Dixon a hotbed for live
music in the region.
4) to build up the Christmas
Walk for the 25th Anniversary of that event.
5) to create and support more
promotional opportunities for our merchants throughout the community.
2012
Highlights
MUMFORD &
SONS GOTR Festival — A 2-day festival that
had more than 20,000 people between the Page Park
festival grounds and downtown festivities. Estimated at bringing $4.5 million
of spending to the city.
Musical Fridays
Concert Series — Free summer
concerts on the Riverfront from
June—September. Added additional weeks.
Scarecrow
Festival — Nearly 5,000 people strolled through the downtown to
enjoy games and family activities including pumpkin painting, doggy zoo,
Monster Truck rides, Pumpkin Patch, games, activities and more.
24th Annual Christmas
Walk — A great tradition for the whole family in the downtown
with more than 5,000 people in attendance and the popular Great Snowball Drop
along with the Tree Lighting Ceremony and much more.
Reagan Trail
Days — Featured an ice cream social, community picnic, downtown
festival, historic trolley rides, wine tasting, and the Dixon Municipal Band
Concert.
And we also do ….
Founder’s Day
Celebration, Fourth Grade History and Architecture Program, Lunch and Learn,
Shop Talk Merchants Meetings, Monster Pancakes, Downtown Clean-up, Ultimate
Tailgate, Community-Wide Garage Sales. Provided free office space for the Dixon
Riverfront Commission. Provided opportunities for community
organizations to raise funds at special events. Worked
to get the downtown on the National Register of Historic Places. Partnered with the Petunia Festival, Yaddy Memorial
Event, Second Saturdays, Sauk Valley Shop Small, Historic Dixon Theatre, Dixon
Historic Center, Reagan Boyhood Home, RR5K, Inc., Dixon Park District, YMCA,
Dixon Municipal Band, Dixon Chamber of Commerce, LCCOA, Noon Lions, and many
more
Dixon Main
Street Dollars and Cents
Dixon Main Street is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Our efforts are
designed to enhance the city of Dixon
through downtown revitalization, historic preservation and promotional events.
We make every effort to put the money that we receive in donations and support
back into the city that we serve. We operate on a budget of just over $100,000
each year.
Where our funds go ...
- Downtown improvements such as our banner project and
Christmas decorations.
- Local Musicians and artists-- a wide variety of local
musicians perform at our festivals and Musical Fridays, including Acoustic
Circus, Robbie LeBlanc, Jeff Kagay, The Cool Kids and more.
- Partnerships with Restaurants and Bars -- We often need food and drink for our
events and many restaurants and bars benefit from these opportunities.
- Special Event Venues -- our events and programs are held
throughout the community at various locations, including the Post House
Ballroom, Historic Dixon Theatre, Loveland Community House, Timber Creek and
many more.
- Partnerships with organizations -- with so many events, we
often need help and will make donations to organizations that lend a hand.
- Event costs -- Every event has money spent through
advertising and other promotional material, supplies and resources and other
event needs.
- Administrative -- We have a full-time executive director,
a downtown building to maintain and pay taxes on, utility costs, and general
operating expenses.
Where our funds come from ...
Fundraising events -- Events like our golf outing, annual
gala, theatre events, Ulitmate Tailgate and much more.
Annual Fundraising Campaign -- The annual fundraising
campaign accounts for about 10 percent of our budget each year.
Fundraisers -- Streetlight Banner Program, DMS garage sale,
Christmas Walk Raffle and other small fundraisers.
- Donations and Grants -- We apply for grants from various
organizations and businesses. We also receive donations from individuals and businesses
in the community. And we received donations from Petunia Festival, RR5K, Dixon
Wine and Beer Festival and the Yaddy Memorial Tournament for helping with those
events.
- The City of Dixon -- The
City of Dixon
generously grants DMS funds each year; for FY2012-2013, the city will have
granted DMS $14,000. This is about 14 percent of the total Dixon Main Street
Budget.
What you may not know about our funds ...
- The city
of Dixon
grants DMS money each year; however, we do not see any funding from the state
or federal government.
- Many of our promotional
events are designed as free events for the community and do not create revenue
for DMS; events such as Scarecrow Festival, Christmas Walk, Musical Fridays and
the 4th Grade Tours are funded by sponsors and DMS. When full sponsorships are
not attained, DMS uses its general funds to make sure these community events
continue.
- While we are a non-profit organization, we are
still subject to taxes like other businesses. Each year, we pay payroll taxes and
property taxes as part of being a business.
The Value of Main
Street
In 2008, an assistant professor at the University of Texas
at Arlington School of Architecture published the book, Economic Value of
Urban Design, which analyzed the impact of community Main Street programs. Some of his
findings include:
- Higher percentages of job increases in active Main Street cities.
- The most significant changes in increased property values, retail sales volume and ground-floor rental rates occurred in small city programs.
- More entrepreneurship in active Main Street cities than in former and non-Main Street cities.
- Higher (and in some cases, 'considerably higher') taxable retail sales occurred in Main Street cities
- Both financial and non-financial benefits accrued from participating in the Main Street effort
- “The Main Street Four-Point Approach [is] the most successful of all 16 downtown development strategies studied."
The
Four Point Committee Approach
The following
committees meet on a monthly basis to complete annual work plans, which are
created to guide activities and provide a yardstick for success of the
organization.
Organization
– This committee is charged with building consensus and cooperation among the
many groups and individuals who have a role in the revitalization process. They
work to market Main Street
and its goals to the community and recruit new volunteers and members.
Promotion
– Marketing downtown’s assets to customers, potential investors, new
businesses, local citizens and visitors is the main role of this
committee. This group also works to
market the downtown as a “fun” and exciting place to visit and shop through
annual events and retail promotions.
Design
– This group works toward enhancing the physical appearance of downtown by
capitalizing on its assets and heritage. Rehabilitating historic buildings,
encouraging sensitive new construction, developing design management systems,
and long term planning fall under Design.
Economic
Restructuring – This committee works toward strengthening downtown’s
economic base while finding ways to expand it to meet new opportunities for
development. The group looks at ways to
improve retail mix, build a stronger tax base, and create a stable role for the
downtown as a major component of the community’s economic health.
The Main Street
Philosophy
Comprehensive
– An ongoing series of initiatives is vital to build community support and
create lasting progress.
Incremental
– Small projects make a big difference; they demonstrate that “things are
happening” and hone the skills and confidence necessary to tackle more complex
problems.
Self-Help
– Only local leadership can initiate long-term success by fostering and
demonstrating community involvement and commitment to the revitalization
effort.
Public/private
partnership – Main Street
requires the support and expertise of both the public (local government) and
private (businesses and residents) sectors.
For an effective partnership, each must recognize the strengths and
weaknesses of the other.
Identifying
and capitalizing on existing assets – Local assets provide the solid
foundation for a successful Main
Street initiative.
Quality
– From storefront design to promotional campaigns to special events, quality
must be the main goal.
Change
– Changing community attitudes and habits is essential to bring about
revitalization. A carefully planned Main Street program
will help shift public perceptions and practices to support and sustain the
revitalization process.
Action-oriented
– Frequent, visible changes in the look and activities of the commercial
district will reinforce the perception of positive change. Small, but dramatic improvement will remind
the community that the revitalization effort is underway.
