Two public information sessions are scheduled to share the Jeannette Initiative’s plans for revitalization as the organization prepares to apply for Main Street Matters designation in mid-October.

Program manager Kristie Linden held the first session Sept. 10 and discussed the ideas that initiative committee members have identified to push revitalization efforts forward.

The next two sessions are planned for Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 6:30 p.m. at 411 Clay Ave. and Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. at Jeannette Public Library, 500 Magee Ave.

“We want these projects to be working toward multiple goals so we’re getting the most bang for our buck,” she said.

Main Street Matters is a program through the state Department of Community and Economic Development that provides funding to support revitalization efforts. The Jeannette Initiative has been gathering community input for much of the year in preparation for the application process.

“By year five, the initiative has to be financially self-sustaining,” Linden said. “So there’s a lot of things that we have to do to make that happen, there’s going to be fundraising and there’s going to be applying for a million grants … to sustain us as an organization.”

Four revitalization strategies identified by organization committee members are: making Jeannette a supportive location for international and national businesses; becoming a destination for ethnic culture, the arts and culinary delights; establishing an age- and family-friendly central business district; and being a center for local services and goods at affordable prices.

Projects that would help accomplish each strategy were outlined during the Sept. 10 session. Some of those projects include developing a business resource center, conducting a blighted property inventory, creating a central business district master plan and identifying solutions to bring a grocery store into town. If the application is approved, Jeannette’s participation will be closely watched by DCED, Linden said.

“There is real accountability attached to this,” she said.

City council on Thursday approved a resolution in support of the Main Street Matters application.

To watch the Sept. 10 public session, visit the Jeannette Initiative’s Facebook page. (A direct link to the video is here.)

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