HyettPalma Takes A Look At Downtown Warsaw 21 Years Later
HyettPalma Takes A Look At Downtown Warsaw 21 Years Later
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David L. Slone-
HyettPalma Takes A Look At Downtown Warsaw 21 Years LaterThe last time a HyettPalma “action agenda” was done for downtown Warsaw, Ernie Wiggins was mayor and Joe Thallemer was a relatively new city councilman.
At the public Community Vision Session Monday with HyettPalma for input on the direction of downtown Warsaw, Thallemer is in his last year as mayor and Wiggins was there just as a resident.
After introducing Dolores Palma and Doyle Hyett, Thallemer told the packed room, “If you remember, 2001-2002 when we did this, great work. Still sits on top of all my consultant studies because it’s obviously driven what’s happened downtown. That’s the reason I asked them to come back.”
Palma explained that she and Hyett are the principals of HyettPalma and are a national consulting firm. They specialize only in the economic enhancement of downtowns/traditional business districts and have served clients in all 50 states.
She said Thallemer drove them around downtown and outside of downtown Monday.
“You have accomplished an awful lot. Maybe you don’t realize it because you see it every day, but you have accomplished an awful lot of what was included in the strategy in 2002,” Palma said. “But the good thing to us is that you’re not satisfied. You’re not satisfied with, you know, ‘good enough is not good enough.’ You definitely have a good downtown now, but you want to take your downtown from good to great. And that’s what this 2.0 is about.”
She said HyettPalma doesn’t do plans or studies, they do action agendas. They develop strategies that are very action oriented, and they don’t want their work to sit on a shelf and collect dust.
Palma and Hyett are in the city all week collecting information, with Monday’s session the first meeting of their stay. Palma said their recommendations and resulting strategy are going to be based on Monday’s meeting. The focus of the meeting also was on what people said they wanted to see accomplished, not how to accomplish it.
The first question she asked the crowd was, if everyone worked together over the next seven years to make downtown Warsaw the very best it could be, what would they like to see result from the effort?
People did not have to give their names when they spoke, though many faces were familiar.
Palma received answers of more foot traffic day and night, more vibrancy, mixed use, more bike lanes going through the downtown, more retail and residential, more cultural activities like live music and theater and the arts. One woman said she wanted to see empty buildings, while Gary Parker said he wanted to see more consistent and inclusive code enforcement by the city.
A guy suggested greenspace in the downtown for gathering and socialization within the downtown core. He said Center Lake was on the edge and was a destination location.
Parking was a big item. Concerns were that there isn’t a parking garage and parking around city hall during the weekdays is limited.
Councilwoman Cindy Dobbins said, “Employees and resident parking in parking spots that really should be available for those of us that have businesses downtown.”
Also brought up was the possibility of angle parking, more bicycle parking and meter parking.
Someone requested live theater closer to downtown Warsaw, while a woman suggested wider sidewalks for greater pedestrian traffic.
Lori Roe said by 2030, she would like to see the courthouse square more representative of the people who live here than being white male militaristic. On the square are a tank, a cannon, the war memorial and a tribute to Thaddeus Kosciuszko.
“So we’re very militaristic courthouse square. We have no Native American tribute. We have no tribute to anyone or representation of anyone that’s come from anywhere else. And by 2030, I’d like to see that changed,” Roe said.
Along with more bike paths to get downtown, it was suggested that there might a better and safer way to cross Ind. 15.
The second question asked the crowd what were they most proud of about the downtown.
Parker said he feels like the downtown is the best the city’s ever had. Mike Cusick said he sees a lot of engagement in the community in the downtown, whether that’s Third Fridays or festivals. Councilwoman Diane Quance said they have “world-class restaurants” and she also was proud of Central Park.
Another woman said she was proud of how safe downtown Warsaw feels. Other things people were proud of included the strong entrepreneur spirit, the courthouse corner at Buffalo and Center streets, strong philanthropy and the proximity to the high school and The Village at Winona. Parker said the city did a great job of getting rid of the old city hall and bringing the new city hall to life. Quance said she was proud of the city employees who keep the downtown clean. Scott Wiley added he also was proud of how the parks and street departments keep everything clean.
One man said he was proud of the city’s commitment to having announcements and services translated to Spanish for the Hispanic population. There’s even a Spanish hotline. Another man said he was proud of how the community has embraced the Indian community and the cricket clubs that have started.
The last thing someone was proud of was the art downtown, from the statues to the kids’ banners to the activated alley.
Asked what made the downtown unique, Palma got answers like the access to the lake in a downtown setting, the restaurants, it’s a small city with big city amenities, the performance venue at Central Park a person can walk to.
“Another thing that makes us unique and it may not be a positive thing is the north/south and east/west rail lines,” one man said.
Also mentioned were the Zimmer Biomet world headquarters downtown, the library that’s adapted with the times and the historical society.
As to what could be improved, Jason Brown said the downtown needs a common vision. Another person said more people need to get involved, especially younger people. The alleys and their conditions need to be improved. Brown mentioned that maybe the alley dumpsters could be consolidated. The sidewalks in neighborhoods leading to the downtown need improved.
“I agree that downtown, the sidewalks are really nice. But, you don’t have to walk just a block away and you’ve got grass that’s not been sprayed out. Trees growing up in the cracks of the sidewalk. And so, if we just provided better care for the sidewalks we did have as we are entering the town, I think that would be” very good, Doug Hanes said.
When one man mentioned he’d like to see more diverse businesses downtown, he and others said they’d like to see more retail businesses, a casual quick-service food place, a grocery store, a shoe store, ice cream and a soda fountain.
Another woman said she’d like to see projects that have been started get finished, like the former Owen’s location and empty storefronts.
Palma then asked about what the priorities should be. She was given a list that included access over Ind. 15 and the railroad tracks, changing traffic signals downtown, completing the connection of greenways through the community, improving alleyways and having a marketing plan for the downtown.
As to what kind of experiences people would want to be able to have downtown, the list included live music “inside, outside all year long,” live performances like live theater, something for middle school- and high school-aged people to do and a heritage center and/or museum.
The session was a partnership between the city, Main Street Warsaw and the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce.
Comments on the downtown can be emailed to HyettPalma at info@hyettpalma.com.
