He said six businesses opened downtown last year.
To prepare for 2020, DMI held a community input meeting Tuesday night at the Middletown Historical Society that attracted 10 people who offered a wide variety of potential projects. Payne said he was “a little disappointed” by the turnout, but the ideas from the group were “good ones.”
Some included:
• Paint the windows of vacant downtown storefronts with seasonal artwork. Payne said this project is underway and the former Reed Klopp building will be the first windows to be painted. The goal is to give the appearance more buildings are being used and to spur more businesses to open.
Payne called this “a quick, easy” project.
• Paint more murals downtown. There are several murals already, and Payne believes they can create tourism interest.
• Organize a downtown high school marching band competition. Donnie Osborne, owner of the Jug, said Central Avenue, because of its width, would be ideal for marching bands, and the event would draw hundreds of parents, grandparents and spectators downtown. The competition possibly could end at Barnitz Stadium on South Main Street.
Payne called the band competition idea “really nifty,” and it could attract visitors from outside Ohio.
“Tremendous potential,” he said.
• Host a job fair. Some of the business owners said they aren’t open on Sundays because they don’t have enough staff. They said a job fair might generate interest from potential employees.
• Hold a new business seminar. This would give potential business owners an opportunity to learn through an educational program. Payne called that “the key piece.” He said owners need to “think through” how to be successful.
• Create pop-up shops. The DMI would like to allow small businesses to open during the holidays. Payne said the biggest challenge is open space because the DMI owns no buildings.
He said these ideas would be pitched to his 15-member board for future consideration.
The goal, he said, is to make “downtown Middletown vibrant.”
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