Others want more noise, more people, and more activity. Some people say that the replacement of the flower pots and the removal of the kiosks have made downtown more attractive.

Others say that the original flower pots were just fine and the absence of the kiosks means less information for the public. Some are excited about the formation of a new organization to represent the interests of downtown. Others feel left out of the process. For several years these and other arguments have been at the forefront of downtown discussions.

Is it possible to please everyone? Perhaps not, but the more pressing question may be: Is the decision process fair?

Old baggage

Vicki Dugger is Executive Director of the Oregon Downtown Development Association, located in downtown Salem. ODDA is a nonprofit organization that provides communities with plans for marketing and development, and ways to implement changes needed to strengthen downtowns.

Dugger provides consultation to cities that wish to revitalize their downtowns, but has never been asked to play a major role by the City of Salem.

"Downtowns are the heart and soul of each community. A city or town's livability is often talked about in terms of its downtown," Dugger said.

ODDA has worked with cities throughout the Northwest and Dugger cites Astoria and McMinnville as communities that have successfully revitalized their downtowns.

"I haven't seen a similar situation anywhere else like we have here in Salem," Dugger said. "We're the state capital for God's sake. This town has so much potential and instead of looking over your shoulder, it's time to put down the baggage."
Dugger said that a sense of community and a place to gather with your neighbors contribute to a community's success. She emphasizes the importance of a long-term vision and the ability to learn from mistakes in supporting a community.

"You need to see the bigger picture of where you want to end up versus the typical mindset of instant gratification," Dugger said.
"Does everyone try to find an excuse not to raise the bar? Are there people who just want to ride someone else's coattails? These are not the kind of business leaders you want to have downtown. Make your community for your children and grandchildren."

There have been several attempts to form a group to represent the interests of downtown but none has succeeded so far.
Mayor Janet Taylor sees several reasons for this.

"There are small businesses who don't have the time and energy to get more involved. There is a lack of financial resources. And there have been personal conflicts in the past."
Retiring City Councilor Rick Stucky said the diversity of downtown voices is its strength but also its biggest challenge.

"Places like the Coffee House Café have different needs for how downtown reacts and operates from the Salem Center, and yet they both have legitimate voices," Stucky said. "The biggest challenge City Council has is really figuring out how to work with the many voices of downtown."

Kit Close, owner of Ranch Records believes some voices are heard over others.

"I've been frustrated by people downtown. It would be best to have representation from businesses, not just property owners and bankers who are self-serving about their own interests," Close said.

But Councilor Stucky said that Salem has a long history of going through a public political process but that someone always claims they didn't have a voice.

"You're not going to please everyone, but that's not an excuse to avoid making a true effort," Stucky said. "You need to find where the commonality is among all these voices. We need to find how we can move forward without hurting one another."

Councilor Laura Tesler also believes more diverse opinions need to be heard.

"In order for downtown to appeal to a wide spectrum of people, there has to be a wide spectrum of input. What retired people like isn't necessarily what I like, and what a 21-year-old likes isn't what I like. But we should try and accommodate everyone so there's a taste of everything for universal appeal," Tesler said.

Kip Henery of Cooke's Stationery sees good things happening downtown but also wants more dialogue about important decisions.

"There is a lot of change with the new galleries and restaurants, but anytime you can get some dialogue going is good," Henery said. "We as business owners tend to get stuck in our own priorities. On one side you feel like you can't get anything done, on the other hand, we need to hear everyone's concerns."

A new downtown organization

A Downtown Improvement District steering committee was established and from that committee the Mayor and Council appointed three representatives to create a process for selecting members of the board for a new downtown organization.

Attorney Doug Vande Griend, who has served as chairman of the Downtown Partnership, one of several special interest groups trying to fill the void of a viable downtown organization, was one of the three individuals chosen to create the selection process.

"We've come a long way in the past five years and we've got a long way to go yet,"

Vande Griend said. "We're behind the curve."

A slate of 13 candidates for the new board was drawn up and stakeholders were asked to vote "yes" or "no" to all 13 at once. Approximately 700 ballots went out but only 22 percent of them were returned. Of those, 79 percent voted for the candidates and 21 percent voted against.

Vande Griend said the results sounded small but those were the numbers they were expecting.

Roger Yost, owner of the Reed Opera House and other downtown properties, worked with Vande Griend to create the slate of candidates and said the results are typical of this kind of process.

"We tried to provide a balanced slate that reflected a cross-section of downtown," Yost said. "The next step is to hammer out the vision of shared objectives."

Not everyone is happy with the process so far, including Henery of Cooke's Stationery.

"I didn't like the way it was set up to vote all or none. We need different voices," Henery said.

Many agree with Henery and some have complained that they didn't receive ballots at all.

Others such as Dino Venti, owner of Venti's Café, see this election as an important first step.

"If they [downtown stakeholders] buy into this package there will be funding for a downtown organization," Venti said. "In all the years that I've been downtown, regardless of the controversy, this body moving forward is the most representative so far."

Kiosks and public process

Some feel that the formation of a community organization and the progress of downtown also have been hamstrung by the City's efforts to intervene in the operation and maintenance of downtown.

Laura Tesler believes some people are shut out from the political process.

"When decisions are made in a vacuum, that's trouble," Tesler said. "That's what I feel is happening now -- only a select, handpicked few get to participate, and those are people who agree with one person's vision. That vision may or may not be what the community wants."

Things came to a head this spring with the launch of the City's downtown beautification plan. The proposed changes included removal and replacement of the old flower pots and trash receptacles, as well as the removal of the information kiosks.
Mayor Taylor said that it has been difficult to attract businesses downtown because of the appearance of downtown streets.

Many business owners opposed the City's plans and wanted to keep the original flower pots, including Ladell McIlnay, owner of Anderson -McIlnay Florists.

"Every person I talked to in city government told me a different story," McIlnay said. "I kept getting different stories and I felt like they were trying to hide something."

Despite the efforts of McIlnay and others, the beautification of downtown went forward. Over 250 flower pots were removed and they were replaced by less than 30 new pots.

The kiosks were removed with the understanding that they would be replaced, but Mayor Taylor has said they haven't found suitable replacements.

Both Mayor Taylor and Assistant City Manager Linda Norris said that kiosk designs were being considered, and described the qualities they were looking for in a new kiosk: It must be black to match the new flower pots and trash receptacles, and they must be shielded from the weather while remaining accessible to the public.

Mayor Taylor said they consulted with a company called DuMor to custom design a kiosk but they weren't pleased with the results.

After multiple requests from Salem Monthly for copies of kiosk designs that had been considered, no specific plans or designs have been made available.

Defining development

A "toolbox" was created several years ago by the Urban Renewal Agency to help property and business owners make improvements with 3 percent loans and matching grants.
The toolbox has made much of the renovation and restoration of historic downtown buildings possible, and many credit it for spurring recent construction downtown.

The Urban Renewal Agency has chosen not to reallocate funds for the toolbox in next year's budget and in July there will be no money left. According to Vicki Dugger, when and if funding continues in the future, it will take two to three years to get the tool box back to the million dollars it needs to be viable.

While Mayor Taylor supports the toolbox and credits it with success downtown, she said there is no money available to continue funding it next year.

Many downtown stakeholders are happy with downtown renovation and construction, but there is still much to do and now no funds to create incentives to continue this progress.

Local musician and Salem native David Ballantyne is disheartened by the vacant spaces and empty buildings downtown.

"I walk to work every Saturday morning and it's a ghost town. People don't have commitment. So many of these places are empty because they've changed owners, or they went out of business. I could point to buildings up and down the street and tell you how many owners each space has had. Sometimes they change hands in less than a year."

Dugger feels that these issues will continue as long as the multiplicity of voices and interests drown each other out and no common vision is shared by all. She also thinks the City should provide financial and political incentive to get a downtown organization started, and then it needs to let go of control.

"Salem needs to get everyone on the same page if you want this downtown to succeed. How can we work together? Drop the baggage."