Main Street Arkansas Update - December 31, 2007

With this last update of the year, I want to say “thank you” to all of the volunteers who work to revitalize Arkansas’s downtowns. Too often we forget that we’re paid to do this & you are doing this work out of love & devotion to your community. Again, thanks and Go Hogs, Beat Missouri!


This will be the last update some of you receive as we change the mailing list (slowly) with the turn of the new year. This update goes to current & previous year board chairs, local Main Street staff & a number of select “others” Marian always lovingly called “riff raff” – you know who you are! If you’d like to continue your subscription & don’t fall into one of those categories, let me know & I’ll keep you on.


Mark You Calendars – Main Street Arkansas Awards January 9, 2008 7pm in conjunction with the Arkansas Municipal League Conference. Quarterly Training (roundtable & state report) is January 10 8 a.m. Main Street programs are required to be represented in order to be in compliance with the Letter of Agreement.


December 31 – January 4, 2008

Monday – Nancy, out; Greg, out; Susan – Cotton Bowl (we’re all jealous)
Tuesday – office closed
Wednesday – Mark – Heber Springs
Thursday – Mark & Susan – Russellville
Friday -


IN THIS ISSUE:
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National Trust President Richard Moe’s Speech on Preservation and Sustainability
Richard Mason of El Dorado press
Eureka Springs TIFs & Arts District
What Is Rural?
Heber Springs: I Love This Place
Rural Schools Continue to Lose Pupils (particularly in S. AR & the Delta)
AgriTourism
Time Magazine & New Urbanism
Earmarks for Preservation
The Flaws of LEED Certification
4 Grant Opportunities

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Highly recommended reading:
Dick Moe’s speech upon receiving the Vincent Scully Prize entitled: Sustainable Stewardship: Historic Preservation’s Essential Role in Fighting Climate Change
http://www.nationaltrust.org/news/2007/20071213_scully.html

or listen to the speech here:

http://www.nationaltrust.org/news/2007/Richard_Moe_Sustainable_Stewardship.mp3 (download it & put it on your iPod)

Richard Mason, longtime Main Street El Dorado supporter, major downtown property owner, & now author, is highlighted in this week’s cover story in the Arkansas Times.

http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=c4dd90cf-df59-4578-8a7a-9446f13aebb6


Novel excerpt: A boomtown brawl from Richard Mason’s story of a South Arkansas Christmas

http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=4a125a21-1c13-4446-865c-60c3a1bb7d12

Eureka Springs: Revitalization Plan Calls for Arts & Culture District Financed by a TIF District

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/211275/print/


What is Rural?
http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2007/12/15/News/344586.html

- side note: Professor Andrew Isserman of the University of Illinois has published quite a bit about this topic. Interested parties can view his website at http://www.urban.uiuc.edu/faculty/isserman/index.html

or you can see what the USDA has to say on this subject here:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/ric/ricpubs/what_is_rural.htm#DR

I Love This Place (Heber Springs)

http://www.thesuntimes.com/articles/2007/12/21/news/news01.txt


Schools Worry About Losing Pupils

http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2007/dec/23/schools-worry-over-losing-pupils-20071223/

- subscriber only, sorry

Notable quote:

At least one-third of Arkansas’ counties, primarily in the Delta and the southern part of the state, are projected to lose school-age population by 2030, according to a report from the Arkansas Bureau of Legislative Research.

Agri-Tourism

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/getaways/12/17/holidays.heartland.ap/index.html


New Urbanism in Time Magazine

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1696857,00.html?xid=site-cnn-partner


Earmarks

Among the innumerable Congressional earmarks approved this week are a number of historic preservation projects in Arkansas. My question to you is: have you been working with your congressman or Senators on projects worthy of an earmark in your downtown?


http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2007/dec/20/arkansas-projects-earmarked-spending-bill-20071220/

- subscriber only, sorry

$147,000 for the historic preservation of the Lane House Theater in Eureka Springs.
$98,440 for historic preservation in Clover Bend.
$147,000 for renovation of the historic Morrilton Post Office building.

It’s Way Too Easy Being Green – criticism of the LEED certification system

http://www.slate.com/id/2180862/

Notable Quote:

Several cities, including Seattle, Chicago, and New York, now require all of their public buildings to be LEED certified. So does the General Services Administration, the agency that manages the federal government's real-estate needs. Even more striking, cities like Washington, D.C., and Santa Monica, Calif., now require that all major projects—public and private—meet LEED certification standards.


Sounds like a good idea for Arkansas & our cities, though when you read the criticism of LEED certification, you can see where there are serious flaws in their criteria.


Multi-Arts Production Fund Offers Support for New Work in the Performing Arts

Deadline: February 1, 2008



The Multi-Arts (MAP) Production Fund ( http://www.mapfund.org/ ), a program of Creative Capital ( http://www.creative-capital.org/ ), supported by the Rockefeller Foundation ( http://rockfound.org/ ), seeks to assist artists who "are exploring the dynamics of live performance within our changing society, thus reflecting our culture's innovation and growing diversity.


In keeping with the mandate of its founding organization, the Rockefeller Foundation, MAP seeks to support work that brings insight to the issue of cultural difference, be that in class, gender, generation, ethnicity, or tradition. MAP guidelines place a special emphasis on innovation, cross-cultural collaboration, and art that springs from cultural critique.

Applications for MAP support must come from U.S.-based organizations that have current nonprofit 501(c) (3) status. Nonprofit artist-services organization may apply as fiscal sponsors on behalf of unincorporated artists or ensembles. Both the organization and the artists involved in a project must have a two-year history of professional activity. The fund supports only artistic projects that contain or will contain a live-performance component. Support may be applied to any phase of a project, up to and including its premiere run. The touring of completed projects is not eligible for MAP funding. MAP is especially interested in providing support for work early in its development.


Up to forty awards ranging from $10,000 to $45,000 each will be made. The average award amount is $22,000.


Completed applications may be sent electronically between January 1 and February 1, 2008. Visit the MAP Web site for complete program information and application procedures.



Home Depot Foundation Offers Support for Affordable Housing Programs


Deadline: March 1, 2008 (Letter of Inquiry)



The Home Depot Foundation (http://www.homedepotfoundation.org/ ) is dedicated to creating healthy, livable communities through the integration of affordable housing built responsibly, as well as the preservation and restoration of community trees. The foundation makes grants to 501(c) (3) tax-exempt public charities in the United States and to charitable organizations in Canada.


The foundation awards most of its grants by directly soliciting proposals from high-performing nonprofit organizations with the demonstrated ability to create strong partnerships, impact multiple communities, and leverage grant resources. In order to identify potential future nonprofit partners and/or respond to unique community revitalization opportunities, a limited amount of funding is set aside to be awarded through a competitive process.


Preference is given to proposals that include community engagement resulting in the production, preservation, or financing of housing units for low- to moderate-income families that address as many of the following considerations as possible: resource efficiency in design, construction, and operations; minimization of the depletion of natural resources, including timber and water; landscape features such as trees and shrubs that minimize demand for water and synthetic chemicals and reduce the "heat island" effect; reduction of maintenance costs through the use of innovative and durable materials; the use of environmentally friendly building materials; site planning with minimal environ- mental impact; use of energy-efficient and renewable technologies; improvement of indoor air quality, including moisture control and proper ventilation; and smart site planning and land use.


Complete program information, an FAQ, and an eligibility test are available at the foundation's Web site.


NEH On the Road Exhibition Grants


http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/NEH_OnTheRoad_GuidelinesForSelectedVenues.html


These grants support ancillary public humanities programs to accompany NEH on the Road traveling exhibitions. Typical formats involve lectures, reading and discussion programs, film discussion programs, Chautauqua presentations by scholars, family programs, exhibition tours, or other appropriate formats for reaching the general public. The criterion for review is the degree to which the programs involve humanities experts as presenters in ways that build on the themes of the exhibition. NEH staff evaluate applications and forward recommendations to the National Council on the Humanities. The National Council meets at various times during the year to advise the NEH chairman on grants. The chairman takes into account the advice provided by the review process and, by law, makes all funding decisions.


21st Century Museums Professionals Grant

http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=true&oppId=16311

The purpose of the 21st Century Museum Professionals (21MP) program is to increase the capacity of museums to connect people to information and ideas by improving the knowledge and skills of museum staff in the full range of museum operations