BID dues ensure 'heart' of community beats on

In response to Kathleen Hyde’s guest opinion asserting that prosperous downtowns don’t “just happen,” I say bravo!

I am not at present a business owner, but I have been and in a small downtown similar to Sandpoint’s. We gladly paid our BID dues and volunteered our time to ensure that our downtown stayed beautiful, vital and economically sound.

It wasn’t that we had lots of spare money to spread around or that extra time wasn’t a premium, with three small children and a small business to run, but we simply believed that having a business association to keep a cohesive and dynamic downtown running smoothly was vitally important. It was our opinion that the downtown is the “heart” of a community and one of the first criteria upon which that community is judged by outsiders.

The buying public doesn’t respond favorably to hundreds of fiercely independent merchants all going in different directions, but it does respond by spending its dollars in a lovely, united atmosphere that is our downtown Sandpoint under the umbrella of the business association. The lights and decorations at Christmas turn our town into a wonderland. The flower baskets in summer are nothing less than spectacular and seem to get better every year. All the fantastic events such as Lost in the ‘50s, Oktoberfest, Mardi Gras, the Wooden Boat Show and so many more require money, time, effort and organization and all that comes from the guiding hand of the business association.

 I, for one, as a community member and shopper, am more than grateful to all the merchants of our great town who contribute their dues and efforts to keep this organization going. I wish the detractors of the BID would spend their time and monies rolling up their sleeves and pitching in for the general good instead of whining and complaining that all the beautification and events don’t do anything for their individual businesses. The five years I spent on the Downtown Design committee never put a dime in my pocket but when my downtown prospers, I benefit. When our downtown prospers we all benefit. As long as the downtown remains alive, energetic and bustling it will be beneficial to everyone, but it can’t happen without support.

I thank you, Kathleen Hyde, and all the forward looking volunteers who have helped create and maintain this picturesque and consumer friendly downtown of which we can all be proud. Congratulations to you and to the business association and may you continue to thrive.

MARIA FINLAY LARSON

Sandpoint