The City of Storm Lake is coordinating this Downtown Assessment scheduled for April 23-25. The Assessment is an intense, on-site study of the downtown business district, including a public presentation at the end of the visit. A written report will help the community with future planning efforts.
Everyone can play a role in the project. A short pre-visit, on-line survey is available for the Storm Lake public to share input. The online survey is open now, at:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PublicInput_StormLake_IA
The deadline for completing the survey is April 12.
Jim Engle, Director of the Iowa Downtown Resource Center, says, “The Assessment Visit is a great way for a community to take a step back and get honest feedback from downtown professionals and community residents. The five-person team will highlight the downtown’s strengths and challenges, and will offer some practical recommendations that the community can implement over time.”
All members of the visiting team have worked extensively in various sizes of communities in the Midwest with an emphasis on downtown development. Select communities in Iowa have taken advantage of this service and then went on to execute successful plans and projects. Issues such as downtown aesthetics, business mix and development, organizational refinement, promotion calendar, and building rehabilitation are common themes for the assessment visits.
While on-site, the team will tour the community and the downtown and interview many individuals and groups. Engle says, “The visit is always most successful when we have excellent community input. We encourage residents to get involved. Fill out a survey. Meet with the assessment team. We encourage you to think about your downtown and come ready to participate.”
The Assessment comes on the heels of a Downtown Master Plan recently completed by the City of Storm Lake.