Alamosa News Article: Lt. Gov. O'Brien & Director Kirkpatrick visit Monte Vista

MONTE VISTA - Monte Vista’s downtown energy impressed both Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien and Susan Kirkpatrick, executive director of the Colorado Dept. of Local Affairs (DOLA) as they paid a quick visit to the community Friday.

Working with representatives of the Phase One participating communities, DOLA reports to the governor, the lieutenant governor and members of the General Assembly.

Meeting with community members at Metz Elementary School during the afternoon, both women had good words for the community.

They were in the San Luis Valley as part of the Sustainable Main Streets Initiative, 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.

Standing in front of a series of drawings showing community plans and ideas, both women spoke in support of 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.

Kirkpatrick shared her theories 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.

She said the Sustainable Main Streets Initiative matches the capability of state and agency partners with designated communities, creating a partnership between local energy and the state.

Successful places concentrate on local assets first, she said, noting that “Monte Vista has fantastic assets,” such as historic structures, a state highway and people with creativity and commitment.

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.

She said the visit to Monte Vista was her second stop in a town with a sustainable main street.

“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.”

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