Small Town Development Initiative (2/1/07)

The new happening in Kaleva continuing into 2007 is called Small Town Development Initiative. It began last fall as 26 MSU students came to Manistee County to visit and see the sights. They are seniors enrolled in a landscape architectural design class and their assignment was to plan improvements for the towns in Manistee County. This has been done in other parts of the state, most recently Traverse City, but not in a county-wide manner as was done here. Groups were asked to meet and outline the "positives" and "negatives" in their areas. Then the students toured the towns and met with groups from each town to review photos of improvements they envisioned which would fit the specific town. This was all very interesting, especially when the students presented graphic boards of the changes and via satellite connection talked about the changes and improvements they planned.

The Kaleva plan is based on the draw of the Bottle House and the projects completed by the Brethren High School Service Learning classes, 1996-2000. They thought that the Kaskinen building could be preserved and renovated to be a Cultural Center, an extension of the museum in the Bottle House. This is especially significant because the beautiful tile on the exterior of the building is intact and because this corner is such an important link to the downtown area. Since the store is closed, it is important to draw people's attention to the businesses still in operation: a resale shop in the Terwilliger building, the Art Gallery in the former Drug Store, mBank, Superior Energy and the post office.

Some of the items belonging to the Kaleva Historical Society could be housed in the new Cultural Center, it could be used as a meeting place for organizations, and other functions such as reunions or family research could happen in this building. It is currently up for tax sale and the ideal would be for the village to own the building, fund the renovation, and be responsible for maintenance. The historical society or a group organized for this specific duty could be responsible for the operation of the Cultural Center.

Another exciting improvement is a streetscape plan for Nine Mile Rd., as it runs from the village limits, west to east, in what might be called Kaleva's strip mall. Specifically this section is from the Barber Shop to A & L's. This plan could be based on a streetscape the students planned for other towns that have highways running through them. It would include sidewalks, street lights, improved parking areas and cohesive signage. These two projects alone would improve the impression of our town tremendously. There are other ideas such as increasing the creative arts and crafts shops and adding artists' studios in the town. Of course it would be a great advantage to get the downtown grocery store in operation again.

The Manistee County Community Foundation is sponsoring the Small Town Development Initiative. They are planning to partner with the Manistee Economic Development office to seek funding opportunities to help turn some of the design concepts into reality. There is a meeting at Brethren High School Cafetorium on January 23 from 6:30 to 9:00 pm. This meeting is to ensure that the final product is useful and reflects the appropriate images and designs for our town.

If anyone has suggestions on the proposed plan please email caasiala@jackpine.com We welcome input, funding ideas, suggestions etc.