After a 14-year absence, a new organization has sprung up to provide a unified voice for the downtown business community and contribute to the community’s economic growth.
The Downtown Moose Jaw Association Inc. (DMJA) recently incorporated as an organization, with the objective to aid, stimulate, develop and beautify the downtown development area, according to a news release. The association’s intention is to encourage economic growth and create spin off for the entire municipality.
“I really am excited. I wouldn’t be part of it if I didn’t think it was really vital to our future,” association second vice-president Yvette Moore (Yvette Moore Gallery and Café) told the Moose Jaw Express.
Moore is joined on the executive by president John Iatridis (The Mad Greek), vice-president Anita Minter (Temple Gardens Hotel and Spa), secretary/treasurer Crystal Milburn (Prairie Bee Meadery); directors Steve Tunison (Casino Moose Jaw), Alex Carleton (The Crushed Can and Cask 82 Ale & Table) and Kim Martin (Trino’s Men’s Wear and Bib & Tucker); and representatives from the City of Moose Jaw, Tourism Moose Jaw, and the Moose Jaw and District Chamber of Commerce.
“I’m very happy about this,” Mayor Fraser Tolmie told the Express, noting he is encouraged that the DMJA wants to be an economic driver for the area.
The municipality has made efforts since last year to improve the appearance of the downtown, including cleaning the streets, maintaining flower pots and installing flags, he continued. Normally, he receives negative comments about the downtown’s look, but he has not receive any such feedback this year.
“It’s about having some pride in our downtown,” Tolmie added.
The board is submitting bylaws and identifying fee structure options, said Moore. She pointed out the idea to re-form a downtown business association began a few years ago when the municipality created the Local Area Plan (LAP), which included the Downtown Development Area.
“We will set ourselves some goals (when the executive meets in August) and see what we can do,” Moore said. “It’s a beautiful downtown but we can always do more.”
Some goals the downtown association would like to pursue include accessing grants to bring in events; looking at heritage conservation; promoting the area as a place to live; helping the Farmer's Market attract more people; building on the 25 years of the Christmas in October shopping extravaganza; bringing more traffic downtown; and helping residents and visitors realize what services the area offers.
The association looks forward to speaking with business owners, managers and building owners, so it can work with them in an efficient and successful way, according to the news release.
Moose Jaw’s downtown is vibrant and growing, Moore said. She has visited many downtowns and believes ours is one of the strongest.
“The thing we have that’s really special here is we have a very condensed, historic downtown, which makes it a little bit unusual and viable for some of the things we would like to do,” she added.
“Sidewalk Days was a huge success and (there were) a lot of people in the downtown area,” said Tolmie. “We’re going to continue to try to attract people to our downtown core.”
The mayor wants to build on the fact that, a few years ago, Expedia.ca named Moose Jaw’s downtown the third coolest place in North America. He pointed out with the publicity around Mac the Moose, tourism increased 30 per cent in May and 20 per cent in June. This can only bring more people to the area.
Members of the association can also be the eyes of the downtown for the municipality, Moore remarked. A few members suggested to city hall that a few areas could be improved. That spurred the municipality to address those areas recently.
“We’ve got some really hard-working business people downtown … ,” she added. “As a team, we can really bring it to the next level.”
