Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette A 2019 photo of Leah Polzien, executive director of the Calumet Downtown Development Authority, as she delivers a monthly report to the Village Council.

CALUMET — Leah Polzien, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and chairwoman of Main Street Calumet, conducted what she called a “high-level presentation” Thursday evening via Gotomeeting.com.

The presentation’s purpose was to inform the public of the importance of a downtown district to the vitality of a community, and how both the DDA and Main Street Calumet, exist to assist in restoring that vitality to the village.

At a recent Village Budget hearing, many comments were made by the public regarding the interactions between the DDA and Main Street Calumet, she said. But while the purpose of the presentation was not to address them, she said she wants the public to know that the questions are being looked into and the answers are being researched, so that everyone can move forward in the best possible way, and do justice to the taxpayers and all stakeholders.

“It also came to light, in my mind,” she said, “that we really need a review as a community about both of these organizations, and why downtowns are important.”

The focus, she said, was to explain what a downtown is, why a community needs a DDA, and what Main Street Calumet is, and their respective programs.

Downtowns, she said, are important to having a strong community, because they provide a centralized location for community events, restaurants, in addition to fun things to do.

“It’s an enhancement to your life,” she said.

Downtowns are a visitor attraction, with historic structures, and the quaintness of it is what brings visitors to Calumet, she said, so, having the downtown look healthy is important.

Downtown districts across the county, for 50-60 years were largely neglected and abandoned, said Polzien, while there was a growing trend toward strip malls, suburbs, and lower density development. In Calumet, the decline of the downtown district was more due to mine closure and population loss, more than a trend of constructing strip malls outside of the downtown area.

“But the effect is the same,” she said, “in that we have properties that are not as well maintained, we have loss of businesses downtown, and in the 1980s, there was an effort to rebuild the traditional downtown, because they do have an important and unique role in our economic and social development of our community.”

Downtowns are truly where the critical mass of commercial, cultural, and civic activities all happen, Polzien said, and she believes that really still happens in Calumet to a great degree.

“So, it’s a great thing to be able to support our downtown, and have that downtown look really good,” she said, adding that it can be a major stimulator of economic growth, as well as a significant revenue generator for the local government.

For a number of years, the downtown district has seen a loss of value in commercial properties, but 2020 was the first year they have gained value, she said.

“And we need tax revenue — I think it’s a very — maybe kind of boring, but very realistic thing.”

The community, she pointed out, has a lot of infrastructure to maintain, and with a sustained lack of revenue, it will not be possible to maintain the infrastructure, such as rebuilding roads, fix sidewalks on, and provide essential services, such as snow removal, police and fire departments, all those things that the Village is juggling with a limited budget.

“We could really improve tax revenue for the village, for our community,” she said, “by improving our downtown, and our downtown is the image of the character of our village, it’s the image we provide to the rest of the world, so what our downtown looks like, its condition, it’s a visible representation of the health of our community that everybody else sees.”

It is therefore, she continued, important to have a healthy downtown that has businesses that has buildings in good repair, and Calumet’s downtown possesses a great cultural significance, not only to local residents, but Calumet is nationally significant.

“We have a very significant industrial heritage for the United States,” she said, “so, we owe the rest of the country to take care of it, and keep it around.”

Polzien added that the community knows its members need to support the local businesses, redevelop the building stock.

“Some of the things that need to happen in order to redevelop that building stock,” she suggested, “we have to start enforcing our ordinances, we need attract and support developers when they come, make sure that our policies and ordinances are enforced and up to date, because it makes it so much easier.”

Editor’s note: The next installment will cover the importance and the role the DDA and Main Street Calumet play in assisting the Village of Calumet as whole.