I AM DOWNTOWN!!!!

I am writing today wearing two hats; 1) as an ordinary citizen of Owensboro/Daviess County and 2) as the Executive Director of the “We the People” Initiative. I moved here in 2006 with my family and like many people immediately gravitated to the downtown area to see what it had to offer. I was disheartened as I walked up and down the streets looking at abandoned buildings, vacant parking lots and in general unkempt conditions. It was clear that this was a downtown on the way to becoming a ghost town. I was surprised and wondered why the downtown wasn’t prosperous, especially with an asset like the beautiful Ohio River right there. When I would comment on the downtown area, people would say “Owensboro is just an old river town and it will always be this way”.

In 2008, when I took the position of Executive Director of “We the People” I was excited to find out that I was not alone in my thinking. Downtown revitalization and transformation was the number one priority in Economic Development that came from the 2007 “We the People” America Speaks 21st Town Meeting. Soon after I started my job, the Gateway Planning Group started designing a plan for a new downtown. “We the People” were apart of the planning even facilitating unprecedented public participation in that downtown plan. “We the People” unveiled the final plan at our November 2008 first anniversary celebration. Excitement was in the air as so many of us felt there was true hope for our community. Since then, there has been much negativity throughout the community after a tax increase was passed to pay for the downtown plan.

I congratulate our public officials for looking to our future and investing in our community. This project is surely an economic development gift that we cannot pass up!!!! I encourage all of the downtown supporters to come forth and help us channel the momentum from the town meeting. Let’s support our downtown to become a place that is prosperous, thriving and a place we are all proud to call home. Let’s make it a place that keeps our children here and a place that will bring our children back.


Shelly Nichols