State Historic District Presentation
The Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review approved the Emporia Downtown Historic District at their February 18th meeting in the Kansas Museum of History.  Christy Davis of Davis Preservation ( www.davispreservation.com ) is seen here providing a presentation of the district to Historic Sites Board Members.  The district passed unanimously.

In This Issue #139 02/21/12
Calendar of Events
Start Your Own Business Class
Start Your Own Business Class
The Taste
A new member offers a valuable service
Flint Hills Mall Upcoming Events
Getting things DONE!
Did you know? Answers to YOUR questions.

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Granada Theatre 


Emporia Market Place button

 Emporia Main Street Calendar of Events 

 

 February 22

Business Enhancement Meeting

8:00 a.m. in the Emporia Main Street office.

 

Home Based Business Meeting

12:30 p.m. in the Emporia Main Street office.

 

March 17

St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown Emporia

  

April 1-4

National Main Street Conference- Baltimore, MD

 

April 13-15

Glass Blown Open Disc Golf Tournament by Dynamic Discs

  

April 19-20

Kansas Main Street Quarterly Training, Dodge City

  

April 21

The Taste

Civic Auditorium

  

May 19

Downtown Car Show by the Flatland Cruisers

   

June 2

The Dirty Kanza

  

June 9th

Symphony in the Flint Hills

  
Do you have an upcoming event for your business or organization?  Let Emporia Main Street  know and we may include it on our upcoming calendars! 

 

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Benefactors 


The City of Emporia

 

Lyon County

 

Bobby D's BBQ

 

Caribbean Sun Tanning

 

CoreFirst Bank & Trust

 

The Emporia Gazette

 

ESB Financial

 

Emporia's Radio

StationsKVOE, 104.9, Country 101.7

 

Longbine Auto Plaza

 

Roberts Blue Barnett Funeral Home

 

T2 Verizon Wireless

General Level Members 

AKA Marketing/The Sports Fan

 

Amanda's Bakery

 

Applebee's

 

Ash, LLC.

 

Atherton & Huth Attorney at Law

 

Barden & Thompson

 

Bath Expressions

 

Bennett Dental Group

 

Best Western Hospitality House

 

Brown's Shoe Fit Co.

 

C & J Woodworks

 

Cable One

 

Cable One Advertising

 

Capitol Federal

 

Cassell Insurance

 

Chester Press, Inc.

 

Clark Carpet & Tile

 

Coffelt Sign Co. 

 

Commercial Street Diner

 

Complete Works

 

Country Mart/Price Chopper

 

Dan's Hands

 

Dorsey & Wise Family Eye Care

 

Douglas Chiropractic Center

 

Dynamic Disks

 

Emporia Chamber of Commerce

 

Emporia State Federal Credit Union

 

ESU Memorial Union

 

E-Town Solutions

 

First Community Bank

 

Flint Hills Eye Care Associates

 

Flint Hills Lanes

 

Flint Hills Music

 

Flint Hills Tech College

 

Flint Hills Mall

 

Forget Me Not Productions

 

Four Seasons Apartments

 

Furniture Loft

 

Genesis Health Club

 

George Groh & Sons

 

Gerald Schumann Electric

 

Glendo

 

Granada Coffee Company

 

Granada Plaza & Lofts

 

Graves Drug Store

 

Hair Krafters

 

Helbert & Allemang Attorney's at Law

 

High Gear Cyclery

 

Hornet Residential

 

IM Design Group

 

Inno-Vest Corporation

 

Java Cat 5

 

Jimmy John's

 

Kansas Radio 96.1 The Wave

 

Kari's Diamonds by Design

 

KISS 103.1

 

Krueger & Williams Law Office

 

L & L Pets

 

Little Acorns

 

Little Caesers Pizza

 

Lyon County State Bank

 

Lyon County Title

 

Marion National Bank

 

Mark II Lumber

 

Mathis Physical Therapy

 

McDonald's on 6th Ave.

 

McKinzie Pest Control

 

Menu Foods Midwest Corp.

 

Midas Touch Golden Tans

 

Modern Air Conditioning

 

Muckenthaler, Inc.

 

Nature's Paradise

 

Navrat's Office Products

 

Pizza Ranch

 

Plum Bazaar

 

Poehler Mercantile

 

Pool & Wright

 

Prairie Sage Apartments

 

Prairie Land Partners

 

Pro Cuts

 

Redi Upholstry

 

Redline Trucking

 

Ru Yi

 

Sauder Custom Fabrication

 

Scheller's Lawn & Landscape

 

Simmons Pet Food

 

SS Graham Insurance Agency

 

Stanley Jewelry

 

Studio 11

 

Subway

 

Sunflower Gymnastics

 

Symmonds & Symmonds Attorney at Law

 

The Help Desk

 

The Henrikson Team

 

The Medicine Shoppe

 

The Sweet Granada

 

The Villiger

 

The White Rose Inn

 

Thompson Auto Repair

 

Toso Appraisal Service

 

Total Technology, LLC

 

Town Crier Bookstore

 

Town Royal

 

Verona Grill and Pizzeria

 

Wash House

 

Water's True Value

 

Westar Energy

 

Wheat State Pizza

 

Williams Automotive

  

Non-Profit Level Members 

 Big Brothers Big Sisters

 

Community Theatre of Emporia

 

Corner House

 

Emporia Arts Council

 

Emporia Farmer's Market

 

Emporia Granada Theatre Alliance

 

Emporia High School Future Business Leaders of America

 

Emporia Public Library

 

ESU Foundation

 

Small Business Development Center

 

First Presbyterian Church

 

Flint Hills Optimists Club

 

Jayhawk Area Council (Scouts)

 

Lyon County Historical Society

 

National Teachers Hall of Fame

 

Plumb Place

 

The United Way 

Home Based Level Members 

Boyzen Bunny Fiber Arts- Tracey Graham

 

Energy Innovators

 

Family Jewels-

Leticia Rust

 

Gold Canyon Candle- Stephanie Morgan

 

Green Door Recycling- Amy Becker

 

Independant Longaberger Consultant- Judith Dieker

 

Interdependent Web- Ben Stallings

 

Joe the Furniture Doctor- Joe Kurzen

 

Kynda Kreative- Amanda Mendoza

 

Mary Kay- Brenda Braynard

 

Pampered Chef- Chelsea Gerleman

 

Patti Cakes- Patti Lipson

 

Paula's Creations

Paula Roper

 

Premier Designs Jewelry- Nikki Simmons

 

RossTography

Mike Ross

 

Scentsy- Deann Rose

 

Scentsy- Kelly Long

 

Stampin-Up

Darcy Johnson

 

Tastefully Simple- Vanessa Apodaca 

 

 

Individual Supporters 

Anne Strobel

 

Brad Harzman

 

Dale and Carolyn Davis

 

Erin Woods

 

Fred and Patricia Gilligan

 

Julie Johnson

 

Kayla Oney

 

Mark & Amy McAnarney

 

Mary & Tim Helmer

 

Matt & Val Zimmerman

 

Pam & Fred Stephenson

 

Peggy Mast

 

Rob Gilligan

 

Sue Blechl

 

Tyler and Melanie Curtis

 

Victoria Partridge 

Emporia Main Street E- Newsletter

Greetings!
 
Welcome to HISTORIC downtown Emporia!  This was a momentous week in Emporia's history, and all of your hard work on this issue reminded us of a often used quote from a famous Kansan:
 

Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn't be done.
 

- Amelia Earhart

 

Emporia Main Street worked with a lot of individuals and agencies in the formation of a Historic District.  A lot of people said that it couldn't be done, but we are a production based organization, and although it took a long time with a lot of hard work, this initial phase of the project is done.

 

St. Patrick's Day Activities

For information on the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday, March 17th at 1:00 p.m. in downtown Emporia, CLICK HERE!

Click HERE for the release form


Glass Blown Open and Moonlight Madness

 

Click HEREfor more information on the Glass Blown Open Disc Golf Tournament

 

On Saturday, April 14th, we will have our next late night shopping event from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. in conjunction with the Glass Blown Open Players Party.  So far, the following businesses have agreed to stay open late:

 

The Emporia Arts Council

AKA The Sports Fan

The Rainy Rose

Total Technologies

Jimmy Johns

The Sweet Granada

The Granada Coffee Company

Stampin Up

Dyanmic Discs

Kynda Kreative

Furniture Loft

Plum Bazaar

Family Jewels

L & L Pets

Pampered Chef

KISS 103.1 FM

Joe the Furniture Doctor

Scentsy

Java Cat

Dan's Hands

Paula's Creations

Brown's Shoe Fit

 

Do you want to open late and take advantage of the opportunities that several hundred disc golfers and community member shoppers provide?  Contact Emporia Main Street!

The Taste Logo
 

The Taste is April 21 at the Civic Auditorium in Downtown Emporia.  Last year, we sold out of Tickets...  We want to make sure that YOU have the first chance to purchase Taste Tickets, so you can either contact the Emporia Main Street office, or click HERE for the on-line purchase option

 

Wash House Laundry Ad

flint hills mall logo 

Flint Hills Mall Upcoming Events

 

 

 

"3rd Annual Kansas Hunting & Fishing Expo"....March 3rd & 4th .   Activities for all ages.

Historic District Process Time Line for the Emporia Downtown Historic District Campaign

 Historic district Poster

 

When Emporia Main Street worked with several community members to propose a Historic District, I'm not sure any of us understood what we were in for.  Hours of research, education, marketing, legislative awareness, asset development over a three year period culminated in the formation of a Historic District in downtown Emporia on Saturday.  As other communities contact us for "tips" on creating their own districts, and as we continue to communicate the wealth of information obtained through the process, it is important to identify how far we've come in the formation process.  Below is a timeline of the Historic District process undertaken in Emporia:

 

January through March- 2009: Door to door advocacy effort of downtown property and business owners

 

March 2009: Initial rejection of the Historic District by the City of Emporia

 

January 2010: Emporia Main Street is named the "LegislativeHistoric District Final Map Liaison" of the Kansas Main Street programs, in charge of researching and communicating legislative issues that may affect Main Street communities, our member businesses, our mission and community visions.

 

May 2010: Multiple community committees form to begin the education process on Historic Preservation, and collect information for use in educational materials.

 

August 2010: Educational Brochures, Posters and a social media campaign to educate the public about Historic Districts is launched.

 

October 2010: Emporia Main Street is recognized for its efforts in education and advocacy on behalf of historic districts, historic tax credits and historic preservation by the Kansas Department of Commerce through Kansas Main Street.

 

November 2010: Petition of Support for a Historic District by local citizens

 

December 2010: Article in the national magazine "Downtown Historic District Web PresentationPromotional Reporter" detailing Historic Preservation education efforts by Emporia Main Street.

 

January 2011: Launch of the on-line Multimedia Historic District Education Piece

 

January 4, 2011: Letters to property owners and businesses within the environs of a proposed Historic District in Downtown Emporia inviting them to a free historic district and preservation meeting.

 

January 10, 2011: Online Chat with the Emporiagazette.com concerning preservation and historic districts.

 

January 12, 2011: Paper publication of the on-line Emporia Gazette.com "chat".

 

January 13, 2011: Preservation Workshop and First Public MeetingPreservation Slide 3 on the Historic District Concept in Emporia.

 

January 15, 2011: The Emporia Gazette conducted a community "poll" on the thoughts of citizens concerning the proposed Historic District.

 

January 20, 2011: Article on Preservation and Sustainability in the Emporia Gazette

 

January, 2011: Multiple radio interviews by 1400 AM KVOE concerning Historic Preservation and the Historic District.

 

January 26, 2011: The City of Emporia sends letters of to property owners within the environs of a proposed downtown historic district, inviting them to a public meeting.

 

Historic District MeetingFebruary 6, 2011: The Topeka Capital Journal prints an article detailing preservation efforts in downtown Emporia entitled "Preservation Starts to Pay".

 

March 8, 2011: The City of Emporia hosts a second public meeting concerning the potential formation of a downtown historic district.

 

March 17, 2011: The City of Emporia votes unanimously to offer a letter of support for a downtown historic district. The vote is reported by various local media outlets.

 

April 6, 2011: Emporia Main Street contracts with Davis Preservation for help in the implementation of a downtown Historic District.

 

May 12, 2011: A third public meeting concerning the potentialKatrina Ringler and Kristen Johnston of the SHIPO formation of a downtown historic district is held at the Granada Theatre.

 

June 2, 2011: Emporia Main Street is recognized for its efforts in Historic Preservation Education and Advocacy by the Kansas Preservation Alliance.

 

June 7, 2011: The initial survey report for the Downtown Historic District is compiled.

 

August 5, 2011: A "straw poll" vote was sent to all property owners within the proposed downtown historic district to collate feedback on public support.

  

Preservation Slide 2December, 2011: The Emporia Main Street Design Committee researched and obtained historic photos of several buildings in the proposed downtown historic district. Utilizing the history of the buildings from our draft nomination prepared by Davis Preservation, and working with local graphic design firm IM Design, volunteers distributed framed historic photos to several building owners with the building histories adhered to the back side of the frame. This "door to door" activity coincided with historic district education.

 

January 2012: Negative Ballot Procedure among property owners within the proposed downtown historic district.

 

Power Point Presentations: "The Magnified Impact of Historic Preservation", "What being in a Historic District Means" and "What's the Deal with Historic Preservation" (for kids)

 

We have held four historic tours over the course of this project,Old Lyon County Court House each mentioning the historic district process in detail.

 

Our straw poll data, which included a postage free return postcard, saw over 70% of all respondents in favor of a historic district.

In addition to our own community, we've researched the impact of historic preservation activities on rural communities in Kansas by utilizing quarterly report information from Kansas Main Street communities. This information has been used to encourage preservation, utilization of incentive programs and maintenance of the State Historic Tax Credits.

 

We have presented the economic case for preservation to other Main Street communities, distributed information (upon request) to preservation enthusiasts, and even acted as a presenter at the State Historic Preservation Conference last year.

 

We collected and posted hundreds of historic Emporia photoson Uniform Facadessocial media accounts to encourage public interaction with our architectural history and preservation. These photos collectively resulted in thousands of interactions from people all over the nation, and this technique is now being emulated by several other Main Street communities.

 

We utilized a public awareness campaign for historic preservation and historic districts that included the following media:

 

News print: The Emporia Gazette & The Shopper

Radio: 1400 AM KVOE, 104.9 FM "The Mix", Country 101.7 FM, KISS 103.1 FM, and 96.1 FM "The Wave"

Television: Cable One

Social Media: Constant Contact Electronic Newsletters, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin

Print Publications: Historic District Brochures by IM Design, Coordinating Posters, Multiple Direct Mailings, "The Case for a Historic District" Publications (5 variations).

 

Organizational Meetings: Multiple meetings with the City andKPA Award service organizations like: The Optimist Club, The Lyons Club, Kiwanis Club, Rotary, Emporia State University groups, and various other civic organizations.

 

Door to door information releases: Emporia Main Street Staff, our Board of Directors, our Design Committee, Emporia Main Street general volunteers, our Preservation Consultant and Main Street interns blanketed the entire proposed historic district area on multiple occasions, distributing information and answering questions.

 

The citizens of Emporia have spoken on the Historic District question. The fact that only one negative letter and no negative phone calls were received by the state in a district that contains over 200 properties is an indication of the tremendous public effort made to educate area citizens on the realities of a historic district. It would be difficult to name all of the individuals who have contributed to this process without omission, but among the partner organizations we would like to recognize the Lyon County Historical Society, and Emporia Social Service Club. In addition, this process would be impossible without the quality work provided by past architects and contractors that built our contributing buildings and the wonderful businesses that have occupied and maintained these facilities over time. 

 

The people of Emporia expect you to "know your stuff" as we Kansas Main Street Logopromote different assets or activities to move the community forward.  The Historic District process was long and difficult because it had to be.  People needed an opportunity to digest information, pose hard questions, do independent research and challenge the process.  We wanted to produce a campaign that went above and beyond anything seen like it in Kansas.  We wanted to research and create tools beyond anything that had ever been done before.  We wanted to create new marketing materials that explained the process in more detail than had ever been created in Kansas.  We wanted to work to provide such good information over an extended period that people would not only become comfortable with the Historic District concept, the downtown would demand a Historic District.  We live in a community that demands solid production, but that is one of the reasons WE LOVE EMPORIA!  Thank you for your support on this issue, and we thank you for your continued support of the redevelopment of the community core.

Did you know?  Answers to YOUR questions... 

 

Last week, we hosted a RAIL meeting, we met with the City Manager about a few projects, we did some Valentine's marketing
318 Commercial Street
Dick Rees uncovered this old sign during his work on 318 Commercial Street.
for members that sent us information, we held a board meeting, we met with BG Consultants about passenger rail possibilities, we met with a local developer, we attended two Start Your Own Business classes, we met with a local property owner, we met with a representative of the Emporia Police Department to improve communication, we hosted a meeting for a potential new business, we finalized some information for our recruitment packet and we had a presentation for the Kansas Historic Site Board of Review that resulted in a Emporia Downtown Historic District.  It was a BIG week for Emporia!  With all the hustle and bustle of last week, we still had some good in depth conversations with some members, and those conversations lead to some good questions from all of you
!

 

1.  "Are you excited about the historic district?" A BUNCH of people.   I am excited about the possibilities for the community.  I'm excited that we only got one "negative" response with the balloting procedure to the state (they were concerned that people would use the district to start investing in their buildings, and they didn't want to invest in theirs...)  I am excited that so many people are excited about the designation (over 85 "likes" on the announcement on Facebook).  I'm excited that I had a developer in my office before 8:00 a.m. talking about projects that would use historic tax credits...  This is a big win for Emporia, IF we can utilize this tool effectively. 

 

In last week's e-mail, I spoke of productivity based decision making.  Well, it's time that we take the three years of research, education and marketing, and convert it into tangible results.  That means working with developers, educating the community on usage and promoting projects with our building owners.  We have a new tool in the toolbox to promote the redevelopment of our community and create some new businesses, new jobs and more pride in Emporia.  Not every developer will use the historic resources, but the kinds of developers interested in core redevelopment will.  Not every building owner will utilize historic incentives, but building owners that do will elevate the entire area.  Not every type of tourist is interested in historic structures, but heritage tourism "day trips" of places like historic districts in one of the fastest growing forms of tourism (and we live an hour a way from most major population centers in Kansas).   

 

2.  "What's going on next door?"  From a couple of people that noticed the "Temp and Co. building next to the Main Street office getting filled. Kevin Nelson, the owner of 20 E. 5th, was able to secure a firm that specializes in the repair of appliances and resale of refurbished appliances.  We've helped show the building several different times to several different potential tenants, but in the end, nothing is quite as effective as a motivated building owner out marketing their property.  Good job Kevin!  AAA Appliance Repair has a long history of quality work in Emporia, and we are glad that they decided the best spot for their new home (they were on the west side of Emporia) is downtown. This long term vacancy is now full, and it's time to move on to other projects...

   

3.  "Where are we at in the passenger rail process?" From a city leader. Last week, we met with BG Consultants in the continuing process of restoring passenger rail service to Emporia.  BG is a community minded engineering firm that is also a member of Emporia Main Street.  We worked with them to identify potential sites and cost estimates to allow the passenger rail process to move forward.  We also met with two different property owners concerning the passenger rail project.  To put it mildly, we are A LONG way off from a functional passenger rail station, but we are creating a solid foundation for the restoration of passenger rail process in Emporia.  If you want to get involved in the passenger rail process, we encourage you to join the RAIL group (Restore Amtrak In Lyon-County).  This group is lead by Pastor Andrew McHenry and meets the second Monday of every month at 4:00 p.m. in the Emporia Main Street office.  Contact Pastor McHenry or Emporia Main Street for more information. 

 

4.  "How is the Start Your Own Business Class going?" From a local business/property ownerThe Start Your Own Business Class is off to a great start!  Twelve entrepreneurs are taking the class, and we have some really solid business concepts.  Some entrepreneurs have existing smaller businesses that need to grow, some have business concepts that are close to implementation and some entrepreneurs are finding out what types of businesses they want to open.  It's exciting to look into the faces of the next generation of business owners in Emporia, and we look forward to working with the Small Business Development Center at Emporia State University and Flint Hills Technical College to create new jobs and businesses in the local area. 

 

5. "Now that we have a historic district, what's next?" From two members of the media.  First, we need to continue educating the public.  There are a lot of people out there that still think a historic district is about hindering development, when the opposite is true.  Historic Districts are about creating tools to help businesses and building owners with the development process in ways that create a net benefit for the community AND the business.  New incentives can help with repairs and building maintenance.  Like anything else in life, if you choose to use other people's money you'll choose to abide by their rules.  However, all final decisions are still made locally. 

 

Part of the education process will focus on the redevelopment of existing buildings.  We've been in contact with owners of large buildings within the historic district that need financing help as they adaptively reuse them, and a couple of large projects probably could not happen without the historic district in place.  Part of the process will be to create "presumptive use" information for building owners to encourage things like fixing a roof, replacing HVAC systems, upper story redevelopment, facade development, removing slip covers from buildings and other potentially common uses for historic resources.

 

In addition to redevelopment, the branding of Emporia and the Historic District will require significant work.  As we convert the area through preservation based redevelopment, we have the opportunity to create more assets for the community and pull more people into Emporia.  This process will take time, but we have a real chance to make a long term difference in Emporia.  Lets take advantage of this opportunity!  

The volunteers, members and staff of Emporia Main Street are working extremely hard to improve our business climate and build a successful community.  In short, we are working hard FOR YOU!  We appreciate your support, and we will continue to aggressively pursue opportunities to benefit our membership in the future.  Because, as we all know: small steps lead to BIG impacts!

 

Have a question?  Submit it to the Emporia Main Street office and we'll do our best to help you!
1st Kansas FinancialCasey Woods
Emporia Main Street
12 E. 5th Avenue
Emporia, KS  66801
(P) 620-340-6430 
(F) 620-340-6434
Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.- Joel A.Barker