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Meyersdale receives status in Main Street program
The Somerset County community known for its milk and maple industries will now have a future focus of commerce as attention turns to a revitalized central business district and tourism.
Members of the board of directors of the Meyersdale Renaissance Inc., the organization designated to oversee the program, are Donald J. Walukas, president; Rick Sechler, vice president; Sharon Ackerman, secretary; Lee Murdy, treasurer; Audrey Sechler, assistant treasurer; Jon Clapper, Anna Ruth Thomas, Scott Weighley and George Menser.
Their vision includes using Meyersdale as a burgeoning tourism site on the Allegheny Highlands Trail, called by Renaissance members as the "Southern Gateway to the Laurel Highlands Region," as a means of attracting business.
The trail, developed along the old Western Maryland railroad bed going from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., is currently being completed through Somerset County to the Maryland line. In conjunction with the trail’s completion, the railroad station in Meyersdale has been refurbished through the efforts of the Meyersdale Area Historical Society.
"Coal, railroading, and agriculture shaped the community that has been the home of the Pennsylvania Maple Festival for more than 50 years," said Walukas, who has been instrumental in starting this program. "Today, the Allegheny Highlands Trail, which draws visitors from across the country and throughout the world, view the scenic vistas along the former Western Maryland Railway."
In addition to Meyersdale, the Pennsylvania communities of Montrose and Mt. Joy were also accepted into the Main Street Program. They join Bedford, Hamburg, Oxford and Steelton, which were accepted earlier this fiscal year.
The state has approved a grant in the amount of $5,000 to support Meyersdale Renaissance Inc.'s first year preliminary Main Street Program. These funds are provided through DCED’s 2002-03 New Communities Program.
The formula for funding is a mix of $115,000 from the state and $90,000 from the community. The first year begins with $5,000 from the state, with increments of $35,000 the second year, $30,000 the third, $25,000 the fourth and $20,000 the fifth year.
"It centers on the Great Allegheny Passage. We are right in the middle of the evolution and it all centers on transportation in one form or another," said Walukas.
The Meyersdale Renaissance program was not born overnight. Much thought has gone into the whole process, which started out through meetings of the Meyersdale Chamber of Commerce a few years ago and then last year incorporated into an organization with bylaws.
Bill Fontana, director of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, came on board about a year ago and was hired by Meyersdale Borough to implement a visioning plan. More than 90 people throughout the process provided input for the vision. Fontana has worked with downtowns for the past 20 years and in the past two years, he has became director of the Downtown Center, an independent, nonprofit organization in existence since 1983 with the mission to support and enhance the downtown area around the entire community.
For about two years, community members through the local Chamber of Commerce have been meeting on a regular basis in hopes of pulling some financial support together for the Main Street efforts.
According to Fontana, there are hundreds of downtown areas in the Commonwealth and at any one time, 30 to 35 of those communities are in what the state calls the Main Street Program.
Fontana explained that a community like Meyersdale just doesn’t apply for funding immediately because there is an educational process that goes on first.
Somerset, Carlisle, Gettysburg and Jim Thorpe are good examples of the program at work. Those towns have kept the program going after the funding is gone, according to Fontana.
"This is an ongoing program and the funding is good for five years. After that, the community merchants keep the program alive with funding with a basic budget of $50,000 a year, which usually pays for the salary of the Main Street Manager," said Fontana.
Also, any other fund-raisers keep the program alive. In Somerset, the Fire and Ice Festival determines a big chunk of the Somerset Main Street Program for Somerset Inc.
"There is a big opportunity for Meyersdale with the Great Allegheny Passage. The potential is great," said Fontana. "We (at the center) are seeing in little towns all along the trails statewide that the bikers are relatively affluent and take time to explore the area. If they find something they like, they will be back and they will tell their friends."
Fontana agreed the financial aspect is a challenge for most communities, especially in smaller communities like Meyersdale, but commitment also makes a difference in the success of the program. He also says that zoning, infrastructure and special events, like festivals, all play an important part of the whole process.
"Our hope is to develop the culture in the community that the community members want to see," said Walukas. "This is a tool for more growth and development and this community is primed for that growth. We believe the Main Street program will help revitalize the whole area."
The first steps with the program this year are to establish an office and set up computer and telephone service. Next fiscal year, a Main Street Manager will be hired.
Also, the Renaissance’s committees of organization, promotion, design and economic revitalization will be further fine-tuned and some "new life will be breathed into those committees," Walukas added.
