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Editorial: Main Street program should be protected

Two months ago, it looked like Main Street associations would be disappearing from Washington’s downtowns. When Gov. Christine Gregoire presented her budget, funding for the Washington State Main Street Program was eliminated.

Not so today. House Bill 2704, which could save the Washington members of the national organization, passed through the state House of Representatives in mid-February and is headed to Senate.

It’s looking good but nothing is ever a guarantee.

Sumner and Puyallup Main Street directors are worried because they don’t know if the Main Street Tax Credit Incentive Program, which stems from the Business and Occupation tax credit, is tied to the bill. Without it, our Main Street organizations will lose a material portion of their funding.

The national affiliation to the Main Street program offers training, networking and a knowledge base. These are luxuries that established local programs, like Puyallup Main Street Association and Sumner Downtown Association, could learn to live without if they had to. But the Main Street program also plays a vital role in historic preservation, bringing a focus to downtown cores and pulling a community together.

The Main Street Tax Credit Incentive Program provides what Puyallup Main Street Association Executive Director Michele McGill refers to as the organization’s nest egg.

Every year they host events that don’t raise any funds for Puyallup Main Street — art and wine walks, the Santa Parade, downtown trick-or-treating — and the tax incentive make those community events possible.

The tax incentive also provided Puyallup Main Street with the funds to match contributions to the downtown facade improvement.

The funding the Sumner Downtown Association receives is a mere fraction of Puyallup’s but is useful for promoting various events throughout the year.

Without doubt these are features that make downtown communities more vibrant, appealing and livable. This isn’t something we want to lose.

The Main Street Tax Credit Incentive Program isn’t mentioned in the House Bill, which is leaving Main Street directors in a world of confusion and worry. If the two are interconnected and the bill is defeated, it could be grim for downtowns.