January 23, 2012
CASPER, Wyo. – Wyoming Main Street approved an application from Buffalo, Wyo., to advance a level in the program’s tier system and accepted the city of Gillette, Wyo., into its program.
Buffalo, currently an Affiliate community in the program, applied this year to advance to the program’s Certified track. The town’s downtown revitalization program is designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is operated by the Buffalo Downtown Association.
Gillette, the fifteenth community to join the Wyoming Main Street program, was accepted as an Affiliate community. The Affiliate track is designed for communities exploring downtown revitalization, but may not have resources in place to support a more developed community-based Main Street program. Volunteers in Gillette have been working with local partners and Wyoming Main Street since early last year to create a new organization that will guide local revitalization efforts.
“We congratulate Buffalo in its work to achieve the Certified track and are very pleased to welcome Gillette into the Wyoming Main Street program. We look forward to working with these communities as they strategize ideas for downtown revitalization,” said Scott Wisniewski, program manager at Wyoming Main Street.
The Wyoming Main Street program helps communities capitalize on their unique downtown areas by using historic preservation to generate economic and entrepreneurial growth.
The program comprises a two-track system designed to meet the varying needs of communities across the state and minimize local costs. Communities may participate at an Affiliate or Certified level depending on specified criteria for each track.
Communities are chosen using criteria that evaluates a program’s organizational capacity, historic preservation ethic, and support from the community, among other criteria. Once an application is accepted, the state coordinating program acts as a partner providing training, information, research, referral services, and technical assistance.
Community selections are made by a panel of seven governor-appointed members of the Main Street Advisory Board and representatives from Main Street partner organizations including the State Historic Preservation Office, Wyoming Department of Transportation, and the Wyoming Business Council.
Douglas, Dubois, Evanston, Glenrock, Green River, Kemmerer, Laramie, Pinedale, Platte County, Rawlins, Rock Springs, Sheridan and Torrington are also currently participating in the Main Street program at various tiers.
Communities interested in participating in the program should contact Scott Wisniewski at 307.777.2934 or scott.w@wyo.gov.
The Wyoming Main Street program was established by the Wyoming Legislature in 2004 to help communities with downtown revitalization. Wyoming is one of 37 states using the Main Street approach.
The mission of the Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. The Business Council, a state government agency, concentrates its efforts on providing assistance for existing Wyoming companies and start-ups, helping communities meet their development and diversification needs, and recruiting new firms and industries targeted to complement the state’s assets. For more information, please visit www.wyomingbusiness.org.
