Mayor Lyle Holmgren – Mayors Message June 2024

Since January, there has been much discussion about Main Street and Midland Square. Many folks have expressed their opinions on both sides of the issue. We have discussed the pros and cons of revitalizing the Square and Main Street at our City Council meetings and in town halls, listening and gaining citizens’ input on how we can revitalize our downtown. At one town hall, the question was asked: what needed to be done to revitalize downtown? Nearly everyone agreed we must do something. Suggestions included adding more vibrancy, amenities, infrastructure improvements like lighting and more greenery, more downtown events, public restrooms, marketing, parking issues, addressing vacancies, and improving façades as critical areas the city should focus on. These changes and improvements were almost identical to a 2017 survey asking people what they would like to change about Main Street.

A Main Street and Midland Square steering committee was recently organized with co-chairs Jared Lewis and Jim Abel. The steering committee comprises individuals from the Lions and Kiwanis clubs, Women’s Civic League, Chamber of Commerce, Beautification Committee, merchants, business owners, veterans, and residents. They are charged with developing a plan to revitalize the historic downtown area. I’m excited by their enthusiasm and willingness to develop ideas to revitalize Main Street and Midland Square.

One of the committee members noted that Tremonton needs to identify what makes Tremonton unique. He had a point. What is it that sets Tremonton apart from everyone else? Think about it. Could it be the county fair and parade closing in on 100 years or Utah’s most prominent junior livestock auction? How about the oldest rodeo in Utah? Or could it be the sacrifice of the four Borgstrom brothers, the only American four gold-star family of WWII? Did you know that North America’s most extensive collection of restored horse-drawn wagons is just two miles west of town? Tremonton has all this and more. We want to be a town that people drive to instead of through.

When the citizens of Parowan, Utah, decided they wanted people to stop, rather than drive through, on their way to Brian Head Resort, they began advertising that they had the “Best Cinnamon Rolls in the West.”

So many people came for the cinnamon rolls, that two new businesses and a new bakery opened in the town of 2,986. Today, the town stages cinnamon roll contests, and a florist offers cinnamon roll bouquets.

We live in a world of rapid change. Our town is growing, and its demographics are shifting. However, if I have learned anything over my years in this community, it is this: change is inevitable.

Tremonton is well-positioned for the future. Our residents love our small-town feel and welcoming, neighborly community. Concerns over infrastructure, especially water, have been addressed, and many roads are being improved, but we still have challenges. I appreciate our new city manager, Bill Cobabe. Recently, he shared some ideas about revitalizing downtown that are worth sharing. He remarked, “Instead of looking at downtown as a problem, we need to look at downtown as an opportunity.” To coin a phrase from 4-H, revitalizing downtown is a huge opportunity to “make the best better.”

The City’s mission and vision statements contain the answer to revitalizing downtown. Our Mission Statement reads, “Create a safe and welcoming community where neighbors feel connected to each other and can enjoy life.”

The city’s Vision is to “Be a connected community with a vibrant and welcoming feel.”

Four words in those two statements stand out to me. Those words are Safe, Welcoming, Connected, and Vibrant.

As the steering committee develops ideas and plans to improve our downtown, those plans should include ways to make downtown safe for the community, to have a welcoming feel, to connect with each other, and to be vibrant.

Of course, much of this can only be accomplished with funding.

In June 2014, as the Tremont Center was being developed, the city council created the Main Street RDA as a future funding source for revitalizing the historic downtown. Approximately $2 million is currently available to revitalize Main Street and Midland Square. Of that $2 million, roughly $746k is available from the RDA, $579k from the Rural Communities Opportunity Grant (RCOG), including the city’s portion of $174k, budgeted for Midland Square improvements, and $675k the city council just approved to be transferred from the city’s general fund in FY24-25. In addition, the city is working with Representative Blake Moore on a Main Street Revitalization grant.

It’s easy to give lip service to something – heck, with the ease of the internet and social media, it takes almost no effort at all to provide all kinds of lip service to something – but doing something…well, that can be much harder because doing something requires us to get working. As residents of Tremonton, we are committed to improving our community, and our hometown’s grit and determination will help us prioritize what needs to be done to do just that.

So, that’s the big deal about Main Street.