Main Street shortcomings

To the Editor,
Have you ever noticed who shows up for near every one of the Main Street events? Does that represent Monticello, or a handful of people who have an agenda? I’ll leave the answer up to you.
What I wonder is what drives their activities and who really makes the decisions. Beyond surveys that generated data that is rather sketchy in how they interpret it, and a few events that took place, the progress that has been made seems rather thin and often resembles things that have normally been done by the chamber of commerce.
What speaks to me is the number of things they’re involved in which they have no control over or claim some sort of responsibility for which were purely something the business owner did or is doing! It would have been easier to make the “Tourist Information” signs along the bypass connect to a place which has that information! I’m sure it would have cost much less than bringing in a graffiti artist from New York City to paint a mural many are trying to figure out what it has to do with Monticello!
What about the Community Building? This asset has been left to dwindle and no attention has been given to it by Main Street, ever, yet it sits right above City Hall in the middle of town! I think we can do better, and I also think the state really has no business deciding who is in or out, or requiring people to come to Des Moines for awards and presentations that often lead to near-impossible tasks like creating housing over businesses on First Street, especially when they don’t own or control that property! A pat on the head and a piece of paper that says “AWARD” is a cheap trick to get people to play along! We can do better!
Steve Hanken
Monticello, Iowa