Monte Vista Journal
Posted: Wednesday, Sep 1st, 2010
MONTE VISTA — Two top state officials took Monte Vista’s pulse Friday and said its heart is good and its main street progress is showing.Posted: Wednesday, Sep 1st, 2010
Colorado Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien addressed a group of citizens and town officials in
Central Auditorium Friday, Aug. 27.
Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien and Susan Kirkpatrick, executive director of the Colorado Dept. of Local Affairs (DOLA) as they visited the community, took a walking tour, talked with businesspersons and residents and held a brief public meeting in the historic gymnasium at Bill Metz Elementary.
They visited as part of the Sustainable Main Streets Initiative (SMSI), which is directing state agencies to share information about and coordinate their relationships with participating communities such as Monte Vista, which is one of four Colorado communities tapped for the program.
DOLA, while working with representatives of communities participating in Phase One of the Governor’s Sustainable Main Streets Initiative, will report to the governor, the lieutenant governor and members of the General Assembly.
Standing in front of a series of drawings showing community plans and ideas, both women spoke about the initiative, in which state agencies are coordinating their relationships with participating communities so that more collaborative approaches with local stakeholders can be undertaken to build sustainable communities across Colorado.
The Lieutenant Governor’s Office is providing assistance relating to early childhood services, a P-20 approach to education, citizen engagement in community service and the building of a healthier community.
Kirkpatrick shared her knowledge about downtown deterioration and said Monte Vista appeared to be fending off that problem, for the most part.
She shared the “broken window” theory of downtown disintegration, noting that when one window is broken downtown, it’s easier to break the next window and the next and the next, but when a community avoids the first broken window, it is on its way to recovery.
Successful places concentrate on local assets first, she said, noting that “Monte Vista has fantastic assets,” such as historic structures, a state/U.S. highway and people with creativity and commitment.
O’Brien speaks
O’Brien said the visit to Monte Vista was her second stop in a town with an SMSI. The other town had boarded up businesses all along its main street, save for a couple of stores and a bar.
“The governor and I believe that, if you are to keep what’s special about Colorado, you need to keep the small towns viable,” she said, speaking for Gov. Bill Ritter. “Every town has its own character.”
“Monte Vista is a living, breathing community,” she observed.
