Published in the March 29, 2021 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — The downtown will be getting some spiffy new light pole banners thanks to Wakefield Main Streets.
The colorful banners will be mounted on about 25 of the 50 light poles on Main Street between the Rockery and Water Street. They were designed by JC Marketing of Wakefield.
Wakefield Main Streets president Bob Mailhoit appeared before the Town Council last week to show them the design for the new banners and get the council’s approval.
Mailhoit explained that these new “permanent” banners would be attached to every second light pole in the downtown, leaving the in-between poles available to display seasonal or special event banners.
The Town Council also did a bit of housekeeping regarding some previous donations from the Main Streets program. Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio noted that between 2017 and 2019, Main Streets generously donated benches and kiosks which now adorn the downtown business district.
But a search of Town Council meeting minutes turned up no official record of the board’s acceptance of the gifts. To correct that oversight, the Town Council voted last week to accept those previous gifts.
They also accepted the new banners for the downtown.
In 2019, Wakefield Main Streets spearheaded the effort that resulted in the four informational kiosks now located around town: one at Main and Water streets, another at Main and Albion streets, a third at Veterans Field and a four-sided kiosk with a digital component at Common Street and Lake Avenue, on a corner of the Lower Common.
Main Streets also donated 20 decorative cast iron benches for the downtown in 2017. They have also provided several large, self-watering planters in the downtown as well as the decorative lights that adorn some of the street trees in the downtown area.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wakefield Main Streets teamed up with with the Wakefield Rotary Club, the Wakefield Independence Day Committee and the Wakefield Community Partnership to provide over $70,000 in assistance to struggling small businesses in Wakefield.
Main Streets has also produced 13 professional videos to promote local small businesses and is currently working to connect local small businesses with national business leaders to help them adjust to the new business environment.
Local Main Streets programs like Wakefield’s have been dedicating themselves to improving the quality of life in their communities and preserving the unique heritage of their downtowns and commercial districts.
The mission of Wakefield Main Streets is to promote and enhance the economic vitality, cultural resources, historic significance and the quality of life in Wakefield. Their efforts are dedicated to making downtown Wakefield a great place to invest, work, play, live and experience.
Wakefield Main Streets is a registered non-profit organization and part of the national Main Street America network (a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation).
Main Street America is a national movement, (a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation) It has spanned three decades and taken root in more than 2,000 communities – a movement that has spurred $49 billion in reinvestment in traditional commercial districts, inspired thousands of volunteers and changed the way governments, planners and developers view preservation. This program serves to help cities, towns and villages revitalize their downtown and neighborhood business districts.
