BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MIDDLETOWN -- Downtown eyesores and neglected sites will be captured on film during tours that begin next week.
The series of tours will be conducted by a committee within the Downtown Middletown Partnership Inc. (DMP) to pinpoint problem areas and get them corrected, said Charles VanRenterghem, DMP executive director.
The work is part of an effort to revitalize downtown Middletown. The first tour will be Aug. 19, and others will follow to cover at least the bulk of the Main Street and Central Avenue areas, he said.
"We'll be looking at anything that is an eyesore, things that if you were an outsider coming into the city would make you say, "Yech,' " Mr. VanRenterghem said.
The unsightly areas will be photographed and a priority list established, then DMP will pick the top few, find who is responsible for the site and work toward a solution, Mr. VanRenterghem said. "If it's a rundown building, we'll contact the property owner and find out how we could help them to fix that problem," he said. "If there's a lot of debris or litter, maybe the problem is that there are just not enough trash cans."
Officials hope seeing improvements will spur other surrounding property owners into action.
Some needs are already obvious, such as street light posts that need painting, Mr. VanRenterghem said.
But there will likely be a variety of problems, including garbage and debris, overgrown weeds, peeling paint, and signs in disrepair, said Kevin Summers, DMP board member who is on the physical improvement committee that will conduct the tour.
"Those things tend to drag down the values of a neighborhood, probably more significantly than other problems that would cost more money but might not be quite as visible," said Mr. Summers, also president of the Middletown Historical Society.
DMP was formed in 1993 as a result of Middletown being selected by the National League of Cities to be one of 10 pilot programs in the United States to work on revitalizing the downtown area.
The DMP mission is to be a catalyst for downtown development, focusing on getting the city to make the downtown area a priority, and encouraging other groups and property owners to join the revitalization effort.
DMP consists of a 25-member board of directors, made up of area leaders, business people, property owners and residents who share an interest in downtown Middletown.
DMP board member Paul Buchanan said he is eager to see the tour conducted and the resulting improvements.
"This is my home and it's been my home 50 years," said Mr. Buchanan, a lifelong resident, whose family has owned a business in the downtown area more than 50 years. He joined the board because he wants to see downtown Middletown once again become an important part of the city.
"I just got tired of seeing the downtown deteriorate," he said. "I just want to see a sense of pride. The tours are just another step in that direction."
Visit DMP's Web site at Middletown.org
