Calling all community servants.
There’s an urgent need to “rekindle” an effort begun more than a year ago to reconstitute and revitalize a Business Improvement District (BID) for the Midway area.
The area could use a new BID, which is a defined area within which businesses pay an additional tax (or levy) in order to fund projects within the district’s boundaries. The BID is often funded primarily through the levy but can also draw on other public and private funding streams.
To survive, any new Midway BID must have broad merchant participation and representation. There are unquestionably numerous problems — homelessness and blight, redevelopment of the former Sports Arena come immediately to mind — which are crying out to be addressed.
And, it is a watershed time in the area as the Midway Community Planning Group (MCPG), with the aid of the city, is updating its community plan, Midway’s blueprint for future development. Through the plan update process, the community will essentially be redefining what it is and, more important, what it really wants to be.
Victor Ravago, a hotelier who until recently was on the MCPG Board, had begun a drive to reactivate the BID. Unfortunately, he has been transferred out of the immediate area and will likely no longer be able to continue to spearhead the Midway BID-creation effort.
Therefore, someone needs to step forward and take Ravago’s place.
Referring to the desirability of creating a new BID, and what it would mean, Melanie Nickel, MCPG chair, said: “About 10 years ago or so, the Midway business community agreed to start up a Business Improvement District. While it was in operation it did great things for the Midway area. It produced advertising to bring customers into the Midway retail areas. It planted street trees, did regular clean-up projects, and partnered with homeless organizations to make them and their clients into positive contributors to the community.”
“A new BID could do all that and more,” continued Nickel. “We need some people to step forward to help create a new BID. “They don’t have to do it alone; the city has a whole department just for helping establish and maintain BIDs.”
Noting that the former Midway BID website is “inactive and the e-mail attached to it is dead,” Nickel said she is willing to “try to work with volunteers to get a new BID group started.” 
One thing’s for certain: BIDs have proven track records nationwide, demonstrating that they can:
• Unify businesses to work toward a common goal, which often economically revitalizes business districts.
• Mitigate retail sales leakage by allowing the area to compete more effectively for regional market share through the generation of greater local marketing resources and strengths.
• Support area businesses through commercial recruitment, retention and promotion as well as through the sponsorship of “shop at home” and image-building campaigns.
• Create a strong unified voice to represent business interests to local government agencies.
• Fund other projects such as clean-up programs, decorations, parks and special events.
• Assist in leveraging public and private resources for program activities and development projects and other commercial revitalization efforts.
Anyone interested in doing a real community service in helping to shepherd through a new Midway BID should contact Melanie Nickel at [email protected].