Main Street Arkansas Update - February 18, 2008

DATES TO REMEMBER:
FEBRUARY 29 – FARMERS MARKET CONFERENCE, JONESBORO
MARCH 9-11 – GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE ON TOURISM, ROGERS
MARCH 15 – LETTER OF AGREEMENT, WORKPLAN, ETC DUE TO MSA
MARCH 30-APRIL 2 – NATIONAL MAIN STREETS CONFERENCE, PHILADELPHIA, PA

Destination Downtown October 6-8, Bay St. Louis, MS

Main Street Arkansas Calendar February 18 – 22, 2008
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MONDAY Presidents Day – office closed
TUESDAY Caroline, Texarkana (Year-End Review with Todd Barman of Ntl Main Street Center); Susan, off
WEDNESDAY Cary, Osceola; Caroline, El Dorado (Year-End Review with Todd Barman of Ntl Main Street Center); Susan, off
THURSDAY Greg, Searcy (Year-End Review with Todd Barman of Ntl Main Street Center); Mark & Susan, Russellville
FRIDAY Nancy, off
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The MSA grant cycle will open March 14 and close April 24. This will be for slipcover and Downtown Revitalization Grants. Please contact Mark Miller if you have specific questions.

IN THIS ISSUE:
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VARIOUS MSA RELATED PRESS
LR LAND BANK
REGISTER YOUR HERITAGE MONTH EVENT
AHPP GRANT PERIOD OPEN
FARMERS MARKET GRANT
ARKANSAS COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FROM SMALL BUSINESSES
ARKANSAS SBDC TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
ENTERGY GRANT OPPORTUNITY
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Bob Gerner’s departing Main Street Batesville to follow his wife to her new job in North Carolina. Thanks to Bob for his dedicated service.
http://www.guardonline.com/?q=node/43853

Good Main Street El Dorado Press:
http://www.eldoradonews.com/news/localnews/2008/02/13/main-street-29.php

Good Main Street Texarkana Press:
http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/editorial/2008/02/15/top-event-40.php

Check out photos from the SoMa Mardi Gras parade at http://www.southsidemain.org/mardigrasupdate.htm

Land Bank is LR’s Lever to Acquire New Properties
http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2008/feb/14/land-bank-lrs-lever-acquire-properties-20080214/?print
- subscriber only, sorry
I encourage all of our programs to pay close attention to how LR is implementing the new land bank legislation. It could be a very significant revitalization tool that’s appropriate for many of our towns.

REGISTER YOUR HERITAGE MONTH EVENT ONLINE!
http://arkansasheritage.com/heritage_month/addevents2008.asp

If your group, organization or school is planning a special Heritage Month event, make sure that you get it listed in the 2008 Heritage Month Registry of Events. The Registry will be used in all our promotions of Heritage Month during May, including on this website and in a statewide newspaper insert.
By including your event in the Registry, you will receive:
• Copies of the beautiful and collectable Arkansas Heritage Month poster
• Copies of the Registry of Events listing Arkansas Heritage Month events statewide
• Free statewide media attention through news releases and the official Governor's Proclamation of Arkansas Heritage Month
• Inclusion in the Heritage Month calendar of events on our website and newspaper insert

Deadline for submission of your event information is March 7, 2008.

AHPP ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION GRANTS
The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, will accept applications for its Historic Preservation Restoration Grant, Certified Local Government Grant, Preserve America Grant, County Courthouse Restoration Subgrant and Documentary Media Grant programs through April 15, AHPP Director Frances McSwain announced today.
Two Historic Preservation Restoration Grant options are available for rehabilitation of historic structures in Arkansas:
 Option 1 grants of up to $10,000 are available to the owners of properties that are listed on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places or are non-contributing structures in National Register historic districts if the grant project will make the property eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and the owner follows through with the National Register listing process
 Option 2 grants of $10,000 or more are available to the owners of properties that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and owned by a not-for-profit organization or a local government.
Certified Local Government (CLG) Grants are available to any Arkansas city or county government that has a historic district commission or that is seeking to join the CLG program. CLG grants can be used for the development of local preservation programs, including training and staff for historic district commissions, architectural surveys of potential historic districts, National Register nominations, planning and other projects. There currently are fourteen Arkansas cities actively involved in the CLG program: Little Rock, North Little Rock, Fort Smith, Van Buren, Hot Springs, Eureka Springs, Helena-West Helena, Rogers, El Dorado, Osceola, Conway, Texarkana, Pine Bluff and Morrilton.
A single, one-time Preserve America grant also is available to current a CLG city or non-profit organization that will receive funding to hire a Preserve America community agent who will help raise awareness of historic preservation and heritage tourism in Arkansas and will develop the federal Preserve America initiative in the state.
County Courthouse Restoration Subgrants are available for preservation work at county courthouse buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The program uses funds provided by the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council, which distributes money raised through the state Real Estate Transfer Tax.
Documentary Media Grants are available to individuals and public, private and non-profit organizations for film, broadcast or web-based documentary projects that:
 Explore and interpret unique aspects of Arkansas’s cultural and architectural history
 Bring Arkansas’s cultural and architectural histories to both traditional and new audiences using a combination of film, broadcast and web media.
Guidelines and applications for the Historic Preservation Restoration Grant, County Courthouse Restoration Subgrant and Documentary Media Grant programs can be downloaded from the AHPP web site at http://www.arkansaspreservation.org/preservation-services/grant-programs/; guidelines for these and the Certified Local Government and Preserve America Grants can be acquired by writing AHPP Grants, 1500 Tower Building, 323 Center St., Little Rock, AR 72201. Requests also can be sent to the agency via fax at (501) 324-9184 or via e-mail at joia@arkansasheritage.org. All applications must be delivered to the AHPP office by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15, 2008; faxed or e-mailed applications will not be accepted.

Farmers Market Promotion Program
http://www.ams.usda.gov/fmpp/

The Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) was created through a recent amendment of the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act of 1976. The grants, authorized by the FMPP, are targeted to help improve and expand domestic farmers markets, roadside stands, community-supported agriculture programs and other direct producer-to-consumer market opportunities. Approximately $1 million is allocated for Fiscal Year 2008 for the FMPP, with the requirement that the maximum amount awarded for any one proposal cannot exceed $75,000.
Entities eligible to apply include agricultural cooperatives, local governments, nonprofit corporations, public health corporations, economic development corporations, regional farmers’ market authorities and Tribal government.

Arkansas Community Service Awards Need Nominations From Small Businesses

The Arkansas Community Service Awards needs nominations of small corporate nominations (Businesses with 50 or less employees) for our annual ceremony.
The awards are co-sponsored by DHS Division of Volunteerism, KARK Channel 4, The Governor’s Office and St. Vincent’s Health Systems. They honor adults, youth and corporations who demonstrate and promote volunteer spirit benefiting Arkansans. The Division of Volunteerism will select a finalist each month so get your nominations in early! Deadline for nominations is March 31, 2008.

To download the nomination forms and instructions, please visit our website: http://www.arkansas.gov/dhs/adov/New%20Version/CSA%20Info%20pg2.htm
If you have any questions about the nomination process or you do not have access to the web, please contact our offices at 501-682-6716.

Arkansas SBDC Training
Various dates and online anytime
http://asbdc.ualr.edu/training
The Arkansas Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) offers a wide array of training programs across Arkansas. The ASBDC also offers a core of 20 online seminars that can be taken anytime. Training topics include intellectual property, QuickBooks accounting, and marketing and similar small business management issues.

Entergy Offers Grants for Environmental Projects

Deadline: March 10, 2008

Entergy Corporation (http://www.entergy.com ), an integrated energy company, has announced it is accepting applications online for the company's ninth annual Environmental Stewardship Grant program.

The Environmental Stewardship Grant program provides support to community-based projects that address energy efficiency and provide sustainable solutions to preserve the environment. (nothing is more sustainable than our downtowns & historic buildings – CT)

In considering requests for grants, priority is placed on programs in locations where Entergy has customers and/or employees: areas of Arkansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Texas, and Vermont. (See the Entergy Web site for specific geographic information.)

Applicants must be an established organization with a mission or charter consistent with improving the environment, and must also have 501(c) (3) tax-exempt status. Project should improve or address a significant environmental need in the region.

This year, Entergy has increased the total amount of grant money available by 40 percent to $350,000, up from $250,000 in 2007. While grants typically range between $5,000 and $25,000 each, more may be awarded for worthy projects.

Organizations may find further information and submit applications online by visiting the Entergy Web site.