The City Commission unanimously voted Jan. 13 to reactivate Tarpon Springs Main Street as a Florida Main Street Community after a nearly 40-year hiatus.
City Manager Charles Rudd, addressing commissioners seated as the Community Redevelopment Agency, said the designation culminates a long effort to reestablish the program.
“There was a Main Street Program in the ’80s,” Rudd said at the Jan. 13 CRA meeting. “There is a strong desire now to reignite that program … to reactivate our Main Street status as a Florida Main Street Community.”
He cited the recent Longest Table event as the group’s first major success.
Rudd said the organization has formed a board of directors, established the four committees required by the Main Street Approach, and adopted bylaws, policies and procedures, an annual work plan and a budget. The state program approved the group’s redesignation as a Florida Main Street Community.
“Our partnerships with the Merchants’ Association and Chamber of Commerce will continue, and those partnerships remain strong and important,” Rudd said. “Our contract for services with the Main Street organization will provide the monetary support the program needs to remain certified with the state … as well as leverage our dollars and provide a champion for our downtown.”