Monett Main Street group sees forward progress on plans

Freedom Silo preservation — including a new roof, dog park, activities advancing appropriately in town
 
Putting a roof over the Freedom Silo and progress on the new Monett Dog Park offered main topics of discussion at the latest meeting of Monett Main Street.
The Freedom Silo has become a landmark downtown with the mural painted by Raine Clotfelter. Given to the city in 2020 by Gerald Doennig, whose family was the last owner of the former Ag Service Center, the silo needs preservation work. Doennig recently expressed concern that five years later, no action has been taken to cover the structure’s exposed top. Discussion about protecting the silo dates back to its initial donation. Monett Main Street began initially exploring what to do. The 50-foot structure, dating back to around 1906, is built of half-inch-thick steel at the base and unusual high-quality wood at the bulkhead on top, divided into four sections.
Alyssa Vaughn, president of Monett Main Street, said bids were sought on how to cover the top with something like the cupola presently in place. The cost was quoted at $26,000. Vaughn said Main Street took the proposal to the Monett City Council, where council members wanted something more permanent. A steel covering, requiring two cranes to lift it and welders to work from an elevated position, pushed the price to around $70,000.
At a Monett City Council work session on Oct. 23, City Administrator Mickey Ary reported Steel Tech designed a roof to match the present top covering and donated the material for a roof. The pieces presently lie at the base of the structure off Front Street. Cost for the roof will run $58,690, plus $16,000 for two cranes. Ary added the Monett Fire Department will have to saturate the interior of the silo with water as a preventative measure to keep it from catching fire during the welding.
Mayor Randy Burke wondered if some cost share was available with Main Street. Ary noted there is no written agreement between the city and Main Street on how to proceed. Work on the Freedom Silo is not in the current city budget.
Vaughn noted with Clotfelter’s mural, the Freedom Silo has become “super popular,” and was even featured in motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson’s magazine.
“It’s really important to preserve the integrity of the silo, especially since it’s become such a landmark,” she said. “We’re now brainstorming on how to come up with the money on our limited budget. We got $25,000 from the city to use as a match for grants. We decided to approach grant writers for a portion of the job, then fundraise for the rest.”
Dog park progress
The dog park, also another project dating back five years, finally passed the major hurdle when the Monett City Council at its October monthly meeting agreed to let Main Street use the former Olympia Foundry property on Broadway between Ninth and Tenth streets. Main Street will erect the fence and supporting structures. The city will maintain it as part of the park system.
Vaughn said Main Street has reached out to architect Richard Werner to make the dog park plan fit in the new location. The new site, she noted, is very close to the size of the original site on Front Street between Fifth and Sixth streets that proved unsuitable under FEMA buy-out covenants. Main Street will likely proceed in phases; first putting fencing and sidewalks in place, then later putting in bathrooms in the brick block building remaining on the site.
“We want to get an agreement in writing with the city over what was promised years ago under another administration,” she said. “We want to make sure we’re all on the same page. We want to get a budget and get something going. We want the public to see that when we’ve completed this, it’s going to be awesome.”
Unlike the popular Aurora dog park in Baldwin Park, Monett’s site is located next to Broadway, offering higher safety concerns if an animal gets loose. Vaughn said the committee that worked out details concluded a need for security cameras. Animals will need to have had shots and a license from the city. Owners will be able to get a key fob bracelet from the city that will give them access. All those steps would further reduce liability to both the city and Main Street.
The block building, Vaughn noted, is presently used for storage. She hoped it could be  converted to bathrooms and have a mural relating to the dog park added.
“The dog park will be one of the first things you see coming to downtown from the east,” she said. “We want our park to be more interactive. It will be way more than a fence and some grass.”
Meeting rescheduling
Without an executive director, Main Street has restructured its meetings. With committees seeing overlapping responsibilities and some members serving on more than one panel, Vaughn said Main Street decided to hold all its committee meetings on the first Tuesday of the month, from 4 to 8 p.m., so that members can go from group to group. Board meetings will be held on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 5 p.m.
“Things are going well so far,” Vaughn said. “The main thing is to get more people involved who are not board members, people who are good at tasks like fundraising or newsletters. It’s a couple hours a month, not a ton of work.”
Vaughn has worked with Cassie Branch editing Main Street’s events schedule, eyeing fewer events to do remaining ones very well.
She indicated the Repurposed Faire, for example, will likely see a name change, keeping the craft focus but combining it with other activities, like a barbecue bake-off. The Farmers’ Market is looking to partner with other farmers’ markets in the area. Andrew Miller, who managed the market this past season, and Branch have met with farmers’ market leaders in Neosho, Cassville, and Aurora, talking about using the same vendors in each, working on different days to create steady business for the vendors.
Main Street helped lead the downtown pep rallies at the downtown pavilion on home game nights during football season, raising almost $800 that will support the football and cheer programs. Vaughn praised the football team for helping. She especially lauded the Monett fire department for cooking the food and overseeing clean-up afterwards.