Downtown Forum identifies issues and possible solutions for Waukon

by Bob Beach

Waukon Economic Development Corporation, Allamkakee Economic Development and the Waukon Chamber of Commerce hosted a Waukon Downtown Forum at the Farmers and Merchants Savings Bank Community Room Tuesday, January 31. Over 75 Waukon area business owners, property owners and residents participated in the forum to identify issues affecting downtown Waukon and to offer suggestions to help revitalize downtown Waukon.
Working in small groups, participants were asked to identify and prioritize issues and suggest solutions. The primary issue identified by most groups was the increasing number of empty storefronts on Main Street. Suggested solutions included tax incentives for new and expanding businesses, active recruitment of retailers, promoting tourism to the area and hiring a City Administrator to focus on attracting new business. It was also suggested that more effort be made to educate potential entrepreneurs about available grants, loans and other incentives for new businesses.
Participants also expressed concern about the appearance of empty downtown buildings, suggesting implementation and enforcement of a city “eyesore” ordinance and cracking down on “absentee landlords.”
Participants also agreed that an effort should be made to beautify the downtown streetscape by offering tax incentives to businesses for storefront renovations, striving for uniformity in the appearance of downtown buildings and improving sidewalks and lighting in the downtown area. It was also suggested that a high school project, similar to recent home building projects, could be implemented to renovate downtown buildings and generally improve the appearance of downtown.
The “Waukon Vision Study” conducted in 2006 was also briefly discussed, but it was generally agreed that cleaning up existing buildings and striving for some uniformity in the appearance of downtown buildings would be more immediately effective than attempting to move forward with the suggested improvements in the study.
Allamakee County Economic Development Executive Director Laura Olson said the “phenomenal turn-out” to the meeting showed that there are many people who are willing to invest the time to improve downtown Waukon. Waukon Chamber of Commerce Director Lissa Blake said that the comments and suggestions presented at the meeting would be compiled and another meeting would be held within 30 days to find ways to move forward with suggested improvements.