[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 112 (Friday, July 25, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1611-E1612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO BOYNE CITY, MICHIGAN ON ITS SELECTION AS A MICHIGAN MAIN 
                            STREET COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 24, 2003

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements 
of Boyne City, Michigan, which has been named one of four Michigan Main 
Street communities for 2003 in a statewide competition sponsored by the 
Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
  Boyne City in northwestern Lower Michigan recognizes as its greatest 
downtown assets scenic water resources and historic turn-of-the-century 
architecture. With the comprehensive community-wide proposal it 
developed over a period of several years, Boyne City could not be a 
better candidate for the kind of downtown makeover that Main Street 
communities receive as part of this commercial revitalization program.
  The seeds of Boyne City's application to be a Main Street community 
were planted about five years ago, when local resident Tom Johnson, of 
the Northern Michigan Economic Alliance, attended a national Main 
Street Program conference. Recognizing the value of its historic 
resources and the economic benefits of the Main Street program, in 1999 
a collaborative Boyne City group including citizens, business people, 
the Downtown Development Authority and City representatives formed the 
Boyne City Main Street committee with the goal of becoming a Main 
Street community.
  Boyne City's years of effort met with success on June 19, 2003, when 
MEDC announced that Boyne City was one of four

[[Page E1612]]

statewide winners in the very first year of operation of the Michigan 
program. Boyne City's selection was based on physical characteristics 
of the proposed Main Street area, the capacity of their downtown 
business organization and broad based support that evidenced 
willingness of the whole community to participate.
  Along the way Boyne City had to commit to providing a minimum of 
$35,000 per year for three years for a full time Main Street 
coordinator.
  National and state experts who work with the Main Street program will 
make dozens of visits to Boyne City over the next three years to work 
with local participants as they develop ways to market Boyne City's 
historical downtown, encourage economic development, develop loft 
apartments with the assistance of the Michigan State Housing 
Development Authority and preserve and rehabilitate historic 
structures.
  The aim of the program is to stimulate economic growth, and Boyne 
City's successful application may result in a return of nearly $40 for 
every dollar it spends, according to Main Street's 2001 national re-
investment statistics. The Main Street program was developed by the 
National Historic Preservation Trust.
  With this honor, Boyne City will move even more quickly to transform 
its downtown into a thriving Main Street center of commerce and 
economic vitality.
  I ask you, Mr. Speaker, and my colleagues in the House of 
Representatives to join me in congratulating everyone in Boyne City who 
put in the years of effort and community wide collaboration that made 
Boyne City a charter member of what I sincerely believe will be a long 
line of successful Michigan Main Street communities. I offer my 
heartiest congratulations.

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