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The City of Livingston has
been a nationally recognized
Main Street City every year since 2005.
Livingston Main Street continued to
serve the community by leading the charge of restoring downtown Livingston to
its historic past—and its hard work is paying off. Four new businesses relocated
to the Livingston Main Street District in 2009 and two existing businesses
expanded their operations to the District.
Building and business owners in the 10-block Livingston
Main Street District took advantage of the reimbursement grants offered by the
Livingston Main Street Program to the tune of $16,650. These reimbursements
spurred over $90,000 of reinvestment in the District in 2009. Over $1,000,000
has been reinvested in the downtown area since Livingston became a Main Street
City in 2005.
Livingston Main Street has provided over $60,000 in
reimbursement grants and permit fee waivers in the past four years. Local
fundraisers are the sole source of revenue for these reimbursement grants.
In 2009, the Texas Historical Commission completed
renderings of two buildings in the Livingston Main Street District so they can
be reclaimed in the near future. This free service is provided to building
owners in the Livingston Main Street District.
Livingston Main Street hosted the Red, White and Blue
Fourth of July Parade.
The Third Annual Downtown Garage Sale was held in November.
This event grows each year and has taken on a festival feel with food and arts
and crafts vendors now participating.
Livingston Main Street, joined by all City departments,
helped host Hometown Christmas in December.
Livingston Main Street Manager Bob Zeigler attended
trainings in Sonora, Beeville and Bastrop.
 
  
  The
Following is a list of services our community will receive as a
Texas Main
Street City:
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Program Manager Training
Specialists in the areas of organization, design, promotion and
economic restructuring will provide training and technical assistance
to our Main Street managers.
THC shall provide at least five training opportunities. As an
Official Main Street City, we will send our Main Street manager to at
least two of these training sessions each year:
Basic Training and Continuing Education/Development (January
and February);
Texas Historical Commission Annual Conference in the spring;
Main Street Summer Workshop; and
Texas Downtown Association / Main Street Annual Conference in
the fall.
Another training opportunity is the National Main Streets
Conference in the spring.
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Resource Team Visit
A team of consultants in such fields as architecture, urban
design, economic development, marketing, and tourism will be
determined and assembled to our community's needs. The three-day
evaluation provides the community with short term and long term
recommendations for the revitalization of downtown. A resource
team workbook will be provided to the community.
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On-Site Visits
The city of Livingston will receive on-site visits in the
areas of design, board training, strategic planning, merchandising and
economic development. These visits are requested and coordinated
by the Main Street manager.
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Main Street Program Network
The Monthly Update, the Main Street communiqué will be sent
each month to all Texas Main Street cities. In addition, the
Main Street manager is subscribed to the Main Street list serve, and
email network available only to official Main Street cities.
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Reporting
As an official Main Street City, the Main Street manager of the
city of Livingston will submit monthly reports by the 10th of the
following month. Quarterly reinvestment figures will be
submitted for the months of January, April, July and October. A
Ten Criteria survey submitted to the Texas Main Street Center will
also be required by August 12, 2005. Letters of Agreement
will not be renewed without receipt of the Ten Criteria survey.
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Design Assistance
The Texas Main Street building design staff will be available to
assist property owners and businesses in rehabilitating storefronts
and buildings, selecting signs and conducting adequate maintenance.
The building design staff can help the city with suggestions of
streetscape, public improvement design, design review and design
guidelines.
The Texas Main Street program is a partnership effort
combining the time and expertise, both public and private, available
at the local and state levels. The State's role and commitment
is to bring training and guidance to the local program in the form of
services as specified above. Main Street Advisory
Board Members Marilyn Sutton,
City Manager, City of Livingston
Debbie Cooper, downtown property owner. Antique store and gift shop
owner. Debbie has invested significant funds to restore and rehabilitate two
downtown properties.
Sydney Murphy, Executive Director, Livingston-Polk County Chamber of
Commerce; committed to coordination between the Chamber and Main Street on Main
Street projects.
Richard C. (Dick) Grant, interested citizen. Dick’s background is
engineering, which is a plus for the program. He is semi-retired, and devotes
substantial time to Main Street. He serves on the Lakeside Village Board on
special projects.
Mark Scarborough, owner and operator of Skar Bros Hardware Store. Mark is
active in various organizations involved in the promotion of Livingston.
Jim Wright, attorney. Jim has been essential in the formation of the Main
Street Advisory Board and his participation is valued for his expertise in the
legal field and experience as a Main Street property owner.
Molly Anderson, President, Polk County Heritage Society. Molly, a
lifelong resident of Livingston, has always been interested in keeping our
history alive. Her knowledge of the planning, research, grant writing and
processes necessary for restoration are invaluable to the Board.
Eric Wood, Jones Property Management. Eric knows buildings and was lead
contractor on the rehabilitated Jones Property Building, formerly the 1907 First
National Bank.
Pat Cook, interested citizen. Pat brings her experiences as a volunteer
for several local entities, including SAAFE House, and is an avid gardener and
traveler.
Livingston Main Street Program
Now in its fifth year, the success of the
Livingston Main Street Program is evident to anyone passing through the downtown
area. Once considered a “blighted area”, the downtown district looks alive
again. Seven building owners have participated in the locally funded Main Street
Grant Program to assist in the renovation or repair of their buildings.
The Livingston Main Street Program is part of the National Main Street Program,
begun in 1977 by the National Historic Trust to Washington, D.c. This program
was designed to preserve the traditional downtown commercial districts that fell
into disrepair after the businesses migrated to the suburbs and bypasses in the
sixties and seventies. There are 1,600 Main Street Cities across the United
States, including 89 in Texas. The Texas program is administered through the
Texas Historical Commission in Austin.
A city has to request to be a Main Street City and meet stringent requirements
to become a Main Street City. Most cities go through several rounds of
applications before they are accepted into the program. Livingston was accepted
into the program on its first application, an unusual feat. The Texas Historic
Commission was impressed with the overwhelming support of the Livingston
community and the organizational abilities of the people involved in the
application process. This support by both the community and the City of
Livingston continues to this day.
Prior to the Main Street Program, there had been several individuals and local
groups that had attempted to reinvigorate downtown. These groups pooled their
talents and worked for several years to prepare for the Main Street application
process. This dedication in the early years of the Livingston Main Street
Program is why it has been and will continue to be successful.
The Livingston Main Street Program is actually a department of the City of
Livingston. The City provides an office and a Manager to facilitate the needs of
the Main Street volunteers. These volunteers are members of four committees –
Organization, Promotion, Design and Economic Restructuring. These committees
meet once a month and their activities are overseen by the Advisory Board which
also meets monthly.
As mentioned earlier, the Livingston Main Street Program provides incentives to
building and business owners within the 10 block Main Street District. In
addition to Facade, Paint, Sign and Infrastructure Grants, Livingston Main
Street offers free professional architectural services through the Texas
Historic Commission, low interest loans through local banks, a tax abatement for
property improvements, permit fee waivers and ongoing advertising and promotion
of the Main Street District.
It is important to note that the Main Street Grant program is funded solely by
local fundraisers and local donations - not state or federal monies. Ongoing
fundraisers include the “Recipes from the Heart of Livingston” cookbook, the
game of “Livingstonopoly”, and Livingston Main Street coffee mugs.
Main Street has reimbursed $49,692 in grant funds to building and business
owners in the Main Street District. These grant funds generated over $200,000 of
reinvestment in the downtown area. The total reinvestment in the Main Street
District since the Main Street Program began in 2005 is over $850,000.
Livingston Main Street hosts the “Red, White and Blue Parade” on the Fourth of
July, the “Annual Downtown Garage Sale”, and assists in the annual “Hometown
Christmas Festival”. New promotions and fundraisers are constantly in the works
– keep an eye out for future events in the Main Street District.
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