City renews contract with Historic Downtown Sikeston

SIKESTON — The City of Sikeston continued its long-term contract with the Historic Midtown Development Group for the promotion of Downtown Sikeston.

During Monday’s Sikeston City Council meeting, Council approved renewing their contract with HMDG, better known as Historic Downtown Sikeston. The renewal will increase the City’s payment to the group from $5,000 to $10,000 per year.

“The new contract goes into a little more specifics to what the downtown group will take care of,” said Sikeston City Manager Jonathan Douglass, adding part of that is maintaining some of the landscaping in Downtown Sikeston.

“In the past there have been some scattershot attempts to take care of some of the landscaping and some of the other things,” Douglass said. “Lately they’ve been a little bit more regular on that and we’d like them to continue doing that.”

The new contract specifically stipulates that Historic Downtown will:

• Cooperate and coordinate with Chamber of Commerce, Sikeston Parks & Recreation, and the Convention and Visitors Bureau on activities benefiting the downtown district.
• Work with the City Council and City Manager as requested to meet goals, objectives, and action steps of the City Council relating to the downtown district.
• Operate and oversee the Downtown Farmers Market.
• Maintain the Downtown Sikeston signs located on the railroad right-of-way along Malone Ave, and the landscaping surrounding said signs.
• Maintain downtown landscaping in flowerpots and beds located on downtown sidewalks and in public areas including adjacent to the Jeremiah’s parking lot and mid-block on the 100 block of Front Street.
• Keep the bulletin board located near the Depot Trail Head of the Cotton Trace Trail updated with current and relevant information to downtown and other community events.
• Annually provide the City with a report of activities completed in support of this agreement.
• Undertake and support downtown beautification projects.
• Undertake and support public art in downtown.

Douglass said the increase to $10,000 a year is more in line with other cities pay downtown organizations.

Sikeston Mayor Greg Turnbow praised Historic Downtown Sikeston and their executive director Jason Davis, saying they are a proactive group that is currently working on an art project with Downtown.

“Jason is very good,” Turnbow said. “He has meetings with downtown merchants and if you have something you want to do, he presents them the data. He’s like a center point for us.”