Downtown revitalization to be focus of community forum

Continued revitalization of Lehighton’s downtown will be the focus of a community forum on Tuesday.

The event will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Lehighton Outdoor Center, according to borough Manager Nicole Beckett.

Teresa Lynch, one of two Main Street specialists who led a Main Street Community Assessment Visit to the borough in August 2013 — funded by a grant award from the National Association of Realtors — and author of the follow-up assessment report, will facilitate the forum.

Beckett said the forum will be hosted with the steering committee, community members and local stakeholders, and will describe the present status of revitalization efforts in Lehighton, discuss successes that have occurred in the business district and immediate environs over the past five years, and identify challenges that still exist and introduce the concept of building a volunteer organization based on the Main Street Approach to commercial revitalization.

“A PowerPoint presentation will be given on the concept of building a community-based, volunteer-driven volunteer organization based on the Main Street Four Point Approach along with an overview of the Main Street Program,” Beckett said. “At the forum, we will be open to discussion and ideas from the public.”

As part of the program, Lynch will give a presentation on the Main Street Four Point Approach to downtown revitalization as developed by the National Main Street Center more than 35 years ago.

The Main Street approach has been the primary tool for guiding communities across the nation in their efforts to restore economic and social vitality to their downtown business districts.

Apart from the forum, Lynch’s two-day visit will include the provision of downtown revitalization, technical assistance and training sessions for borough leaders and community volunteers.

Lynch, along with Beckett and members of the steering committee, will conduct a tour of the downtown district, review the activities and projects since the original downtown assessment, and identify opportunities and strategies for dealing with the issues not yet resolved since the 2013 report.

The steering committee consists of local business owners, local government officials, members of the Lehighton Downtown Initiative and residents.

On Wednesday, Lynch will work with Beckett and steering committee members in the development of a rudimentary work plan based on the Four Points of the Main Street Program: Organization, Design, Promotion and Economic Vitality.

That evening, Four Point Training for the “Main Street” Steering Committee Members will take place. Members of the community who are interested in the training programs are welcome to attend.

The schedule is as follows:

• 4-5 p.m.: Economic Vitality Committee Training

• 5-6 p.m.: Design Committee Training

• 6-7 p.m.: Promotion Committee Training

• 7-8 p.m.: Organization Committee Training

Lynch will then meet with Beckett and steering committee members on Thursday for a short wrap-up.

“We anticipate receiving a Phase II Assessment Report in December,” Beckett said. “Through this program, the borough will be looking at the downtown and “where we were, where we are and where we are headed.”

This visit is being funded by a second National Association of Realtors grant awarded to the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors, with matching support from Lehighton Borough Council.

Lynch has served as the statewide coordinator of the Main Street Arkansas Program and the coordinator of the statewide Virginia Main Street Program; the executive director of a rural Main Street program in Orange, Virginia; and a senior program officer with the National Main Street Center for 14 years, where she provided downtown revitalization assistance and training to communities in more than 20 states across the country.

Beckett said she encourages the public to attend.

Refreshments will be served from 5:30-6 p.m. The presentation will start at 6.

For more information, or for those planning to attend, contact Beckett at nbeckett@lehightonborough.com or 610-377-4002.