ADAMS STREET NOT CLOSING!
Adams Street is not being closed. Repeat, Adams Street business district is not being closed to make it a pedestrian only downtown. We want to assure all business owners and citizens this is NOT an active discussion that is taking place amongst city staff nor city council.
Last February during the first Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC) community meeting, locals came together and set 5 goals of which action items were discussed. (You can read about these goals on the city website). One proposed idea was to close Adams Street and make it a walkable shopping and leisure district. This has been successful in some communities and does look appealing to those traveling by to stop and stroll the downtown area. Monte Vista is NOT ready for this. Something like this would create a major change to the downtown community.
The city now has an AmeriCorps member, Xavier Campos, to lead the RERC discussion on how to achieve the 5 goals set in February. At the RERC meeting on October 18, 2023 closing Adams Street and making it a walkable area was a table top discussion. Apparently, one member in this group made mention that this was a done deal. This is far from the truth and the idea was misrepresented. All ideas, suggestions, concepts coming from RERC community members, based on the goals established, have to be vented by city staff and then may go before the city council for decisions to be made. Funding is always a concern and we will do what we can, while looking for grants and or other funding for implementation. Some ideas may have to go through the public notice and public meeting process and possibly even presented to Planning and Zoning before going to City Council.
While Monte Vista has so much charm and character, there is still much to enhance before a discussion evolves around closing Adams Street. In the meantime, get involved, watch for the meeting announcements and become an active RERC community member. After all, it is about, our future, recreation, economic development and enhancing our great “little” city.
Gigi Dennis, City Manager