On April 7th, 2021 we presented our first-quarter impact report for 2021 to Marietta City Council’s Finance Committee. Find our report outlined below.
The first quarter of 2021 has been very busy AND very successful. Downtown businesses are full, quicker than we thought, and events have drawn crowds larger than we’ve experienced in previous quarters. Our Committees are actively chipping away at this year’s goals and our Board of Directors continues to ensure our organization has the resources and tools needed to thrive.
Snapshot of 2021 Q1 Financial Position
Revenue (does not include bed tax): $42,860.14
Bed Tax Contribution (January only): $1,165.49
Expenditures: $32,507.51
Net Operating Revenue: $11,518.12
Committee Updates
Design
Our downtown flower campaign launched with the goal of raising $20,000 to cover the costs of our downtown hanging flower basket program from May to September. We are currently exploring the costs to contract out maintenance of downtown bump-outs to ensure year-long beautification of these landscaping assets downtown.
Economic Vitality
We are confirming monthly downtown surveys for business owners to submit that captures economic impact data from Main Street events; we are also working to generate a State of Downtown report with data of our district highlighted.
Hometown Holidays
Plans are being explored to further expand holiday decorations in East Muskingum Park and across the City as a draw for both locals and tourists during the holiday season. Summer “Christmas in July” events are being planned to raise money for holiday decorations and bring tourists to Marietta.
Organization
The focus of this committee has been to refine internal practices, including the development of an Employee Handbook. New national accreditation standards have been passed down from the National Main Street Center and we are working to ensure we can successfully meet these new standards.
Promotion
This committee is focused primarily on coordinating events for downtown Marietta; currently, we are planning for events already on our calendar but also brainstorming new event ideas for this summer to ensure downtown Marietta remains a focus for locals and tourists, especially since area events across the Mid-Ohio Valley have been canceled
Public Art
A new mural will be installed this spring and, with the support of Mayor Schlicher, a grant has been submitted to the Ohio Arts Council to enhance the bike tunnel under the Putnam Street Bridge. A handful of additional murals and art installations are in the works, some event-based and some in partnership with private property owners.
Executive
Leading the development of our Board of Directors, the Executive Committee works primarily with the Executive Director - a true handful - to keep Main Street functioning well. Additionally, our 2021 annual meeting is being planned as a downtown event in June with Main Street Awards and recognition of area leaders, downtown business owners, and more.
Highlights of 2021 Q1 Impact
The Bike Marietta materials are in & bike rack locations are being finalized by the City of Marietta. We are excited to celebrate the launch of this new program - promotion has already begun and we’ve received great feedback, especially from the bike rider community.
Our Love Local Boxes sold out in just 4 days, selling 200 boxes that generated $20,000 in retail revenue for downtown businesses. We generated about $3,000 in donations and thanks to Marietta College students and staff, all 200 boxes were packaged and shipped in just 4 hours.
We launched a new program, Stronger Together, focused on businesses helping businesses in downtown Marietta. On a monthly basis, downtown business owners speak on topics like marketing, merchandising, human resources, branding, and more. These sessions are recorded and added to our YouTube channel and promoted across mediums.
An updated Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) application was submitted to the City of Marietta in both February and March. We are now preparing internally with downtown businesses to be fully prepared to launch, should this legislation pass.
One year ago, the Historic Harmar Bridge Co. decided to turn the Harmar Bridge, and together we launched the Save Harmar Bridge campaign. Since then, we’ve accomplished quite a bit, including establishing the Save Harmar Bridge Fund at MCF, launching website & Facebook Page, submitting an Ohio Capital Budget request via Senator Hoagland and receiving $50k based on that submission, raising ~$15,000 through events and fundraisers, and reenergized the HHBC Board of Directors.
The comprehensive downtown development plan - Enrich Marietta - is starting to become more active. We have brought new stakeholders around the table and have set a monthly meeting schedule to progress further toward meeting the goals of this plan.
Our 2021 Build Up Marietta Spring Spruce Up Grant is currently open for applications and we look forward to awarding over $4,000 in funds to downtown business and building owners seeking to freshen up their buildings for spring and summer.
A variety of events have been hosted downtown by us, including the Marietta Ice Show, First Friday events each month, and a downtown shop hop. Each has been highly successful in both attendance and revenue generation for downtown businesses.
We are soon launching a brand new e-gift program called Downtown Dollars, allowing folks to purchase digital gift cards that can be redeemed exclusively at participating small businesses in downtown Marietta.
Our office is currently in the process of relocating to the Armory and we hope to be fully set up by mid-to-late April
A Downtown Directory will soon be live on our website, listing all restaurants, retailers, lodging, entertainment, and more in one easy-to-find location for both locals and tourists
If there are questions about the information provided in this 2021 Q1 Impact Report or about the events, programs, and initiatives of Marietta Main Street, please reach out to info@mariettamainstreet.org.
