Graffiti Removal Project

Dear Members,

In recent weeks Salmon Arm has seen an increase in graffiti and "tagging" in the downtown area. In response to this problem The Downtown Improvement Association is embarking on a Graffiti Removal Program and needs your help. This office will be outfitting contractors with paint and marker removal equipment this week and sending them out to remove these markings from affected buildings and businesses. In order to facilitate this project, we ask property owners to agree to grant access to our contractors (please see attached consent form) so that they may quickly and efficiently remove the vandalism when it appears. It will be the goal of this project to remove graffiti within 48 hours of its appearance. Further to this point, we also ask you to contact our office should you notice a new "tag" in the downtown area.

The DIA will be the primary funder of this project, along with the gracious support of Hardie Home Decorating. Our contractors will be outfitted with 2-3 colors of paint in order to remove the graffiti. If you already have paint or would like the color of your building color matched, please contact our office and arrangements can be made to use your paint.

In order to ensure the long term viability of this project, we ask that businesses receiving graffiti removal services make a donation of supplies such as paint or funds to help cover project labour costs.

Please take the time to fill out the consent form (MS Word format) so that we may remove this vandalism as soon as possible. Feel free to contact our offices anytime should you have any questions or concerns regarding this project.

Thank you, Roger

Community Organizations Join Forces

Community Future Shuswap (CF Shuswap) and The Downtown Improvement Association (DIA) are formalizing their working relationship with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation in an effort to more effectively respond to local needs.

As community based organizations, CF Shuswap and the DIA acknowledge their common interest and ability to advance positive social and economic benefits within the downtown core of the City of Salmon Arm. This agreement is being entered into with a specific focus to work collaboratively in the creation of a stronger, healthier and more vibrant downtown core.

The organizations have a desire to work together in advancing their common interests in fostering positive social and economic benefits in the community. “We have always had a good working relationship with the DIA over the years,” noted Joan Hokanson, Chair of Community Futures – Shuswap, “and our Boards believed it was time to formally recognize our relationship so we could more effectively work together on areas of common interest.”

The first such formalized undertaking between the organizations will be a joint funding application to the recently announced Community Adjustment Fund to complete a downtown beautification project. This project, if successfully funded, will immediately put unemployed people in our community back to work and will serve to create a downtown core that is more accessible and welcoming for both local residents and tourists alike.

“This agreement reinforces our desire to work together in more meaningful ways, for the betterment of our community.” commented Rob Marshall, Chair of the DIA.

Click to view a copy of the agreement [PDF]

For more information on these community organizations, visit www.salmonarmdowntown.com or www.futureshuswap.com

Time to Renew

It's time for the Salmon Arm Downtown Improvement Association to renew its mandate.
Read more... [PDF]

In Great Downtowns...

Projects for Public Space www.pps.org

Great downtowns fill cities with life. You can tell a city is healthy if it has a vital downtown full of public activity. In PPS's work for downtowns, they helps spark revitalization by finding ways for this vitality to emerge. Their Placemaking approach goes beyond the typical downtown master planning process: It enables city staff as well as residents to focus on improving the places that are most important to them and build a planning framework around key actions. The process rejuvenates downtowns and catalyzes improvements by both the public sector and its private partners.

Imagine, for instance, a park bordered on one side by a commercial street and on another by a public library. These urban elements work together to form a single place, yet in a typical downtown that area would likely be managed by a number of public entities. Instead of a unified approach to the place, several different city agencies employ a piecemeal approach, each operating within the boundaries of its professional discipline.

But if we look upon these elements as interrelated components of a single place, we create more opportunities for local people and different public entities to jointly create a vision of what's best for the downtown. How can the street, park, library, and businesses support and strengthen each other? What do business owners, library employees, and residents envision for the area? By actively observing and listening to the people who live or work or play in the area, the answers to what the place needs will become apparent.

DIA Annual Report

The 2007 DIA Annual Report is available for viewing online.

New Board of Directors

President - Rob Marshall, Pharmasave
Vice Pres - Sharda Murray-Kieken, Oak Holdings
Treasurer - Michael Wagner, Salmon Arm Savings and Credit Union
Joanne Mason - Community Futures Development Corp.
Roger Ayles - C2 Properties
Bill Laird - WH Laird Holdings
Cookie Langenfeld - Culinary Inspirations
David Askew - Askews Foods
Lynda Wilson - Okanagan College
Bryan Kassa - Partners In Planning Financial Services
Patty Monroe - Salmar Community Association Councillor
Chad Eliason - City of Salmon Arm Representative

Public Washrooms

The public washrooms are now open in the Ross Street Plaza
from approximately 8am to 6pm.

Do you have comment about the newly opened Ross Street Plaza? How you used the facility, have you driven by? Do you have suggestion or opportunities on how it can be more fully utilized as a community facility? Please forward your comment to info@salmonarmdowntown.com

Music At Work In Your Business & SOCAN

The most immediate way to sense the value of music to your business is to imagine your business without it.
Read More...

358 Alexander Street NE
PO Box 1928
Salmon Arm, BC
V1E 4P9
Phone: 250 832-5440
Fax: 250 832-5039
E-mail: info@salmonarmdowntown.com