Tappahannock Main Street Announces Priority Goals for 2009-2010

In a planning meeting with key stakeholders on Thursday September 24th, the Executive Committee of the Tappahannock Main Street program gained consensus on important goals for 2009-2010. From 237 projects identified in last spring's Revitalization Report, a list of twenty possible goals was selected to discuss at this meeting. The stakeholder group chose four important tasks for next year, aligned with the four categories of the Main Street program:

Organization
Obtain IRS 501c3 Status was discussed. A generous $400 contribution was made toward application fees at the meeting, and since work has been ongoing and the goal is almost met, this was designated as complete. Develop Long Range Strategy was the consensus decision. This task will be to provide a road map for the Tappahannock Main Street infrastructure, to reach out to local property owners, government officials and other stakeholders, recruit more volunteers, and to provide for the business aspects of the organization.

Design
The selected goal is to obtain an Historic Review of local properties, and to expand the Historic Overlay District, both of which will enable the TMSP to apply for important federal and state grants for historic preservation, property rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse.

Economic Restructuring
The consensus priority was to create a Farmer's Market. It was decided that this one high-profile task would enhance the quality of life for the people of Tappahannock in a very short time frame. TMSP will provide guidance and management, in cooperation with the town, the county and civic association partners.

Promotion
The selected goal was Downtown Events, such as concerts, street festivals, and retail merchants sales events. A planning session will be underway soon to schedule the events, based on residents' preferences from our survey conducted last spring.