October 4, 2018

Main Street Complete Streets Construction Project

Objective:

Replace aging water, electrical, and concrete infrastructure.
Increase pedestrian walkability, safety and accessibility.
Increase lighting within the corridor.
Slow down traffic with roundabouts and a road diet.
Widen sidewalks and increase connectivity between districts.
Install modern features like wifi and wireless sound system.
Create a destination for locals and tourists.

2018 Construction Season Update:

Water service tie-ins continues along W. Broadway between Auburn and Miller.
Please be advised that Behrend Avenue between Main St and Broadway will be CLOSED for waterline installation. Construction hours are 8am-5pm. Detours and barricades will be in place.
Construction continues around the Civic Center area.

Should you have any questions regarding this project, road closures, or street restrictions, please do not hesitate to call Public Works Dept at 505-599-1308 or visit http://www.fmtn.org/633/Projects-and-Construction for all the latest on road projects.

Downtown Maker's Market

Weekly Happenings:

Mondays: BRP Training Classes from 8am-10am. See upcoming topics below.*
Wednesdays: New Location!!! Jazz Jam will be held in the Civic Center Lobby from 7pm-9pm. Enjoy free hotdogs and water. Sponsored by the San Juan Jazz Society.
Thursdays: Downtown Maker's Market in Orchard Park from 4:30pm to dusk. Anything handmade, homemade, and homegrown! Continues through October 25th.

Upcoming Events:

Historic Downtown Walking Tour: Thursday, October 4th at 5:30pm. Join the Farmington Museum for a FREE walking tour of downtown Farmington’s fascinating early history. Learn a little about the devastating Main St. fires, early architecture, pioneer community builders, and more! The tour begins at the Palmer House at 210 N Allen Ave (east side of Civic Center). The tour may be cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. For more information, please call (505) 599-1174.
Local Foods, Local Places: Launch Party! Tuesday, October 9th, 3pm-6pm. Open House to announce the launch of The Harvest, a program that will create a food hub and maker market, to help food producers create shelf stable products from local produce. This is a part of the larger effort to diversify our economy and create new jobs.*
Autumn Downtown Stroll & Art Walk: October 12th from 5-9pm. June's Art Walk was a huge success! This is your opportunity to extend business hours, increase your revenues, and host an artist or two.
Boo-palooza: Wednesday, October 31 at 4-6pm. If you are participating, please contact Michael to place your candy order.
Small Business Saturday: All day Saturday, November 24th, 2018. Start planning now, see information below to get your free swag.

Art Walk

Business Resiliency Program

The next training module, Social Media, will help your online presence with social media and how to read the analytics.

Focus on Facebook for business
Facebook ads and their objectives
How to produce high quality posts
Post frequency, tracking, strategies, scheduling, and analytics
How to engage your customer

This is the fourth of ten trainings focused on small business marketing and financial preparedness. Future topics will include digital marketing, social media, email marketing, customer service, financial and cash flow management, advertising basics, and Point of Sale systems. These trainings are open to any small business in the region and are held during retail-friendly hours, every Monday at 8am-10am. Visit www.fdbrp.o rg for more information and http://fbdrone.eventbrite.com to register.*

October 8th - Social Media*
October 15th - Customer Service*
October 22nd - Business Credit and Financial Resiliency*
October 29th - 31rst - Merchandising

Please note, that if you want to participate in the October 15th - Customer Service class, you must complete the online modules (approx 90 min) prior to October 12th. You will learn how to:

keep customers coming back
establish valuable business to business referrals
handle challenging situations
create a happier environment for staff and customers
discover your community and all it has to offer! Be a Farmington Ambassador!

Registration for this class is now open and for this program the course fee has been reduced to $15! Visit FarmingtonNM.org/visitor-journey-a2d for more information and to register.*

At the end of this month, Merchandising trainings will be held during October 29-31rst. This will include a 2-hour group presentation Monday, October 29th at 6:30-8:30pm at the Civic Center that will cover retail merchandising (floor plans, window display, and lighting ideas). Register now for the evening workshop at www.fdbrp.org. The following two days will consist of one-on-one in-store consultations. Call 505-599-8443 now to reserve your in-store consultation with Scott Day!

For more info on Scott Day: www.urbandevelopmentservices.com

*All meetings are held at HQ at 119 W. Main unless otherwise stated.

Small Business Saturday:

NOW OPEN: THE SHOP SMALL® STUDIO

We’re excited to announce that customizable marketing materials are now available in the Shop Small Studio!

In about 2 minutes you can create personalized profile pics, email templates, posters, and more to promote your business and help attract even more customers on Small Business Saturday®, Nov 24. This year, we’ve added new ways to talk about your business and a variety of color options to help your business stand out.

After you create your customizable marketing materials, you can request a Shop Small Kit, compliments of American Express. Each Kit is filled with items like tote bags, thank-you cards, stickers, and more to decorate your business and help it stand out on the day. Quantities are limited, so don’t wait to submit your request.

Sincerely,
The Small Business Saturday Team

Click here to start creating: www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/shop-small/?linknav=us-loy-nav-shopsmallbutton

Stakeholder meetings:

Next meeting is Monday, October 15th at 10am at HQ.* Michael and I are here as a resource for you and your business, so bring your questions and concerns and any ideas to make downtown a thriving and inviting place for our customers and visitors!

Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency meeting update:

PLEASE NOTE: The next MRA meeting regularly scheduled for October 16th has been changed to October 23rd at 4pm.*

Art in the Alley

Please visit the first two murals located behind Brown’s Shoe Fit inside the pocket park behind Studio 116. One mural has been completed by James Joe and his crew and the other is in process by Jamie Fairchild (see left).

Completed last week is the mural installation behind The Totah Theater, the artist is Tommy Singer.

Volunteer Opportunities:

Opportunities to volunteer are available. This is a way to help out along side your fellow downtown neighbor. Contact Michael for more information.

Next work day is at Downtown Junkers on October 6th from 10-4pm. We will be clearing out the vacant space for the new pocket park.
Help out artists with upcoming mural installations.
Peach's Neet Feet is looking for volunteers to help move into their new location at 110 W. Main.

Our Goal:

The purpose of this newsletter is to be transparent and open about our plans for this large-scale infrastructure investment with the downtown stakeholders. We recognize the potential for economic growth that could result from a project of this magnitude, but also the challenges that come. Additional details on any of the above referenced items are on file at HQ at 119 W. Main or on our website. Feedback is always welcome and participation is always encouraged!

Contact Us:

Michael Bulloch
Downtown Coordinator & Executive Director for MainStreet Program and Arts & Cultural District

119 W. Main Street
505-599-8442 office
505-716-6057 cell
mbulloch@fmtn.org

Sherry M. Roach
Project Coordinator
119 W. Main Street
505-599-8443 office
505-427-1512 cell
shroach@fmtn.org