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July 24, 2010

TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: Downtown Terre Haute must focus on the future

Upcoming increased activity intensifies need to think beyond the rough waters of 2010

Anonymous The Tribune-Star The Tribune Star Sat Jul 24, 2010, 11:01 PM EDT

TERRE HAUTE — The tight economic times have forced states, cities, colleges, businesses and everyday people to rethink every money decision. That reality surfaced last week in downtown Terre Haute.

The executive director of Downtown Terre Haute Inc. will step down from that position at the end of September. Andrew Conner will leave the job largely because of reduced funding for DTH by two of the organization’s primary financial supporters — Indiana State University and the City of Terre Haute. Thus, the coalition of downtown businesses and individuals will be led by its volunteer leaders, as it was before Conner became DTH’s first executive director in 2005.

The situation is understandable. ISU has absorbed a 6.6-percent budget cut from the state. The city is coping with a $6.7-million drop in property tax revenues — which fund most daily operations — for 2009 to 2011. Hard choices are being made to weather this stubborn fiscal storm.

This difficult moment in time, though, should be considered a transition point by the community. The value of an active, well-organized downtown leadership group remains high. DTH promotes historic preservation, economic development and activities such as the Terre Haute Street Fair and the Famers Market. Conner has served as a passionate, tireless, well-recognized voice for those efforts.

Everyone involved in the downtown district undoubtedly wants to see it grow and prosper. Signs of progress will continue to emerge later this year and early in 2011 with the grand opening of the new Terre Haute Children’s Museum, the unveiling of the Max Ehrmann statue at Seventh and Wabash, and the debut of the ISU-Barnes & Noble University Bookstore and ISU Foundation offices. Downtown will become busier.

The increased activity intensifies the need for the university, city, business proprietors and landowners to think beyond the rough waters of 2010.

Those concerns aren’t minimal, of course. Funding for DTH from the city decreased from $20,000 in 2005 to $3,000 this year, so ISU shouldered a large portion of the expenses. The school will provide DTH funding until the end of this year. Meanwhile, the city’s original DTH funding source, through the Department of Redevelopment, has expired and is now being paid through the mayor’s discretionary community fund, Mayor Duke Bennett explained.

Nonetheless, the need for a vibrant downtown is clear, and an ISU official reaffirmed the university’s outlook on that. “It is important to know that our commitment to downtown Terre Haute hasn’t changed,” said Nancy Brattain Rogers, associate vice president for community engagement and experiential learning.

That’s an encouraging statement. The entire city benefits from a downtown that entices visitors and offers residents a higher quality of life. ISU and the city should continue talking and planning for the future with the folks involved in Downtown Terre Haute Inc.

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