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Board of Trustees Report – July 2020

Aug 3, 2020 | Trustees Report

Click here to download the July Board of Trustees Report

SUBJECT: Wellington Main Streets Program presentation to the Town Trustees and Mayor from Wellington Main Streets Program Executive Director Kallie Cooper

Summary:

The Wellington Main Streets Program provides quarterly updates to the Town Trustees regarding on-going projects, organizational updates, events, and future plans. This update is for the months of May-July

Item 1: Current projects

  • Murals:
    • The “Greetings from Wellington” mural was completed by Josh Griffin and his staff at Dynamic Image on May 22nd. The new mural is located at 3906 Cleveland Ave on the South wall of The Filling Station. Our live ribbon cutting ceremony reached 3,149 people on social media and was shared 23 times. The photo of the mural, showcasing participants wearing their masks, was featured on the cover of The Main Thing, a resource publication for Main Street Colorado.
    • New railroad-themed landscaping was installed by Northern Colorado Landscaping in front of the “Historic Train Depot” mural on the corner 1st Street and Cleveland Avenue. The new landscaping utilized recycled railroad ties, donated by BNSF Railroad and added the finishing touches to last year’s project, painted by Daphne Potter with DL Designs.
  • Annual Color:
    • Downtown flowers were installed on Monday, May 18th.
    • The annual project is supported by 22 local business sponsorships totaling $2,200.
  • Publications:
    • “Wellington Comes Together to Raise $20,000 for Local Businesses,” published on May 13th in North Forty News
    • “Greetings from Wellington” Mural Brings Life, Color and Joy to The Community, published on May 29th in North Forty News
    • “Annual Flowers and Window Decorating Contest Brighten Downtown Wellington,” published on June 5th.
    • “Wellington Takes Steps to Improve Pedestrian Safety” published on July 24th.
    • Featured in The Main Thing and Local PPE How To: Colorado Main Street Economic Impact Toolkit for our “Show Us Your Mask” Challenge
  • 2020 DOLA Mini Grant: Crosswalk Project
    • Thank you to the Town of Wellington for the installation of the first phase of the crosswalk project. These new signs have slowed traffic and are helping kids cross over by the skatepark safely!
    • We will receive the $5,000 in mini-grant funds at the completion of the project to redirect to the Town of Wellington. A project update was submitted on June 30th.
  • COVID-19 Promotion and Resource Efforts
    • Virtual Town Hall:
      • Hosted on May 6th and 7th with representatives from Larimer County Public Health, SBDC, Town of Wellington and the Fire Protection District
      • We had 61 participants over the two sessions
      • Presented information on safety restrictions and reopening guidelines as well as facilitated a Q&A for business owners
  • Serve 6.8 Fundraiser:
    • Thanks to contributions from individuals and from four of our local churches, the Serve 6.8 fundraiser was able to provide $1,000 checks to 11 local businesses, as well as purchase $4,000 worth of gift cards from our restaurants!
    • All of the gift cards from the businesses and restaurants are being distributed all around our community, beginning with First Responders and essential workers.
  • “Show Us Your Mask” Challenge
    • Winners were drawn daily to receive a $5 gift card to a downtown business
    • We had 43 social media posts for the challenge and 20 winners!
    • We have seen 15 of the gift cards used so far (initial investment of $75) with a return of $221.60. That is an average of increase of $14.44 per $5.00 gift card.
  • #WellingtonStrong Window Decorating Contest
    • We had several business participants in the #WellingtonStrong Window Decorating Contest.
    • Meridian Trust Federal Credit Union was chosen as the winner of the $25 gift card for their beautiful butterfly window

Item 2: Events

  • The Wellington 0.5K Fun Run: Cancelled for 2020. This event will be back on April 10th, 2021.
  • Wellington Brewfest: Cancelled for 2020. The event will return on June 5th, 2021!
  • Well-O-Rama:
    • After careful consideration by the MS Board and Committee, the Well-O-Rama Music Festival has been cancelled for 2020. This event will return on August 7th, 2021!
    • Sponsorship dollars have been refunded. The $2,500 grant awarded by the Bohemian Foundation can be retained and used for an alternative event or added to the award for 2021.

Item 3: Other:

  • Window and Store Display Consultation:
    • The Main Streets Program utilized $865 in training funds to host window display expert and Rawlins, WY Main Street Manager, Pam Thayer on June 23rd.
    • Pam met with five of our downtown businesses to consult with the owners on how to enhance their curb appeal and improve their visual marketing.
  • Tastemade “Beyond the Block” Filming:
    • The film crew from Tastemade and Realtor.com returned to downtown Wellington on Thursday, July 16th.
    • In preparation for their visit, the Main Streets Program organized a Downtown Clean Up Day on Thursday July 8th. We had 18 volunteers over two hours to help clear weeds and debris, sweep sidewalks, and clean up landscaping.
    • THANK YOU to the Public Works Department for providing the materials we needed to make this happen and giving your time to make our downtown look great for filming!
  • DOLA Funding:
    • The Main Streets Program has signed a five-year contract with the Department of Local Affairs for Mini-grant funds ($5,000 annually) and Training and Scholarship Awards ($2,200 annually). These funds are secured through 2025 as long as we remain a Main Street Program in good standing. Training and Scholarship funds will be distributed on an annual basis. Mini-grants funds can be banked if they are not used and can be awarded in advance (up to three years, totaling $15,000) if we submit a proposal to DOLA outlining the project and guarantee our program status for the length of the mini-grant fund advance.
  • Main Street Strategic Plan
    • On Monday, June 29th the Main Street Board of Directors met with Matt Ashby from Ayers and Associates to make recommendations on changes to the 2020-2025 Wellington Main Streets Strategic Plan.
    • The 2020-2025 Strategic Plan will be finalized before July 31st.

Thank you for your ongoing support. We welcome your questions, concerns and comments! We would love to hear from the Trustees regarding what they would like to see from this program.