Columbia's Past May Have a Future

Last week's forum regarding location of Piggot's Fort drew a robust crowd of people and sparked community interest in pursuing what is arguably one of the most significant historic locations in early Illinois.

With strong support from the Illinois War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, the event surfaced new resources and new people that will help local groups move forward on four proposed projects that will help Piggot's Fort achieve the widespread and lasting recognition it deserves:

1. Completing transfer of a proposed park site along Bluff Rd. from the Columbia Historical Society to the City of Columbia, a process begun in 2007 but not yet completed;
2. Convening an expert panel to identify the true site of Piggot's Fort, if such identification is still possible;
3. Developing the above mentioned park site as a location commemorating Piggot's Fort and interpreting its contribution to the European settlement of Illinois;
4. Working with the appropriate groups and agencies to identify and commemorate genealogies and other historic records, gravesites and building sites for the Piggots, Whitesides and other pioneer settlers.

Each of these efforts received a boost from the turnout at last week's event, but more help will be needed.  Interested individuals should contact the Heritage & Preservation Commission about opportunities to get involved. 

Where Was Piggott's Fort?

In 1783, James Piggot erected a fort at the foot of the bluff, a mile and a half west of Columbia where a small creek, called by the French the Grand Ruisseau, emerged from the bluff. This fort was home to 14 families--the largest settlement at that time along the entire Cahokia-Kaskaskia Trail--creating the nucleus for the earliest American settlement of the Illinois territory.  It was a celebrated place in those early times, known as Piggot's Fort.

While many believe the stone foundation across from Sackman Field at 11832 Bluff Rd. to be a remnant of Piggot’s Fort, the exact location is open for discussion. Members of the Illinois War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, Columbia Historical Society, Columbia Heritage & Preservation Commission, and the Sand Bank School Historical Society have joined forces to try and settle the question during this coming year. As a first step, a forum will be held from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. on November 30th at Sand Bank School, located just north of the currently designated Piggot's Fort site.

Anyone interested in the history of the area should plan to stop by and share information with early Illinois settlement historian Bill Wilson, Monroe County historian and author Gene Haller, and other experts.

Monroe County Led Southwestern IL Tourism Growth in 2010

Monroe County once again led the pack of Southwestern Illinois counties in growth of revenues from tourism last year.  The economic impact of tourism in Monroe County totalled $14.2 million, up 10.8 percent from the previous year--the second year in a row in which Monroe led the pack in percentage expansion of revenues. 

The Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) has released numbers for the Southwestern Illinois tourism industry showing that visitors to the nine Southwestern Illinois counties generated nearly $907.3 million in local economic impact in 2010. Totals from each of the other counties, compiled by the U.S. Travel Association, included: Bond - $13.8 million, up 3.7 percent; Calhoun- $22.2 million, up 2.5 percent; Clinton - $37 million, up 2.4 percent; Jersey - $51.2 million, up 1.3 percent; Madison - $316.4 million, up 3.4 percent; Randolph - $29.4 million, up 9.4 percent; St. Clair - $408.6 million, up 6.9 percent; and Washington - $14.5 million, up 7.5 percent. 

Nora Feuquay, staff for the Monroe County Economic Development Council (MCEDC), attributes the increase to the activities of tourism related groups in the county such as CLIFFTOP, the Monroe County History Museum, and the Peterstown House as well as the efforts of local municipalities in supporting their businesses and tourism activities.  "Many of these groups are doing a great job promoting themselves via websites and social media," Feuquay observes. 

The MCEDC Tourism Subcommittee also continues to work on getting tourism information on the county website while building a tourism theme for the county and, eventually, the region.  What's next?  Cooperation between the county and municipalities to support the new Monroe County Welcome Center will further enhance growth of tourism in the area.

Sounds Like a Plan (2011)

Each year, the City of Columbia's Community & Economic Development Department presents a strategic plan with goals & objectives for the coming year for approval by the City Council.

This year's plan, which was approved December 20th, presented the following goals & objectives:

Encourage new businesses to form and grow in Columbia
Work with the Monroe County Economic Development Council (MCEDC) to develop program(s) that will encourage and support local entrepreneurs

Retain businesses in the City of Columbia by supporting their long-term success
Encourage Columbia’s citizens to support local businesses

• Continue to support MCEDC’s “Think Monroe County First!” campaign

Provide direct services to current businesses
Continue business retention/expansion visits through MCEDC

• Use a team approach to address identified needs of local firms
• Continue to administer the Admiral Parkway Redevelopment Area

Support expansion of current businesses through loans and incentives, where appropriate

• Maintain/expand city & county revolving loan programs
• Identify possible new incentives for business expansion

Recruit new businesses to the community
Market available sites and buildings for businesses looking to expand and/or relocate

• Initiate a marketing campaign to promote Columbia with office & retail users throughout Greater St. Louis
• Engage local & regional partners (i.e., Columbia Chamber, MCEDC, Leadership Council, Regional Chamber & Growth Ass’n.) in this effort
• Upgrade the City’s website in support of this effort
• Maintain building & site listings using Location One Information System (LOIS) as the primary platform

Maintain and distribute timely information on Columbia’s demographics, business mix, and economic potential

• Update community profile with the Illinois Department of Community & Economic Opportunity (DCEO)

Stimulate more commercial activity on Main Street
Enhance design consistency and the historic character of this corridor

• Develop a comprehensive Main Street redevelopment strategy that includes market analysis, targeted street/building improvements and planning for adequate parking/transit service

Increase private investment in Main St. properties

• Work with the new Main St. Business Association (MSBA) to support business expansion and recruit new businesses into the corridor

Develop and market local sites & facilities that will entice visitors and locals to learn more about Columbia’s history and heritage

Market Columbia and Monroe County as tourist destinations

• Secure attraction signage from I-255 and IL-3 to Columbia destinations
• Finalize Intergovernmental Agreement & staffing for the Monroe County Welcome Center
• Continue the strategic marketing campaign to increase use of Columbia’s lodging and conference facilities

Develop community signage that blends aesthetics and commercial promotion in the highest & best manner

Assist MSBA in securing signage on I-255 for “Historic Main St. Columbia” and installing banners along Main St.
Review community entrance signage and informational banner use to reduce clutter and improve aesthetics

Enhance Columbia’s reputation as one of the most desirable communities in the region through adoption of updated planning

Review and update the City’s Master Plan (recommended every five years)

• Incorporate the new Main St. redevelopment strategy into the Master Plan
• Incorporate Plan Commission recommendations from the Senior Services Assessment into planning

Expand resources for parks & recreational uses to make Columbia “a great place to play”

Develop a comprehensive plan for use and development of grounds and facilities

• Complete a parks & recreation plan that will be incorporated into the City’s Master Plan
• Continue to pursue grants from the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources and other sources
• Develop a program of grants, planned giving and other mechanisms to fund long-term improvements

Enhance parks & recreation services and expand public access to facilities

• Continue to review facility use and special event practices to improve service
• Incorporate maintenance & scheduling of American Legion Fields into day-to-day operations

Support community activities, celebrate milestones and add to the local quality of life

Employ strategic analysis and community partnership for all events to reduce costs, build traffic and increase economic returns to the community
Initiate an ambassadors program to increase volunteer support for events

Implementation of these initiatives begins today.

Columbia's Hampton Inn Has New Owner

St. Louis-based hotel owner, operator and developer Midas Hospitality has announced the acquisition of the Hampton Inn hotel in Columbia.

Announcement of the acquisition of the 77-room hotel marks the third acquisition by the company in the last 90 days. Midas recently announced groundbreaking for the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Paducah, KY (scheduled to open 2nd quarter, 2011) and acquisition of a new Candlewood Suites in Champaign, IL (scheduled to open in December, 2010) just last month.

Midas Hospitality, co-founded by David Robert, President, and J.T. Norville, CFO, was established in 2006 and has quickly become a premier hotel management group in the Midwest. Midas has developed, opened and managed numerous properties including Crowne Plaza, Four Points by Sheraton, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Hampton Inn and Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, among others. Midas holds a growing portfolio of 11 hotels in 6 states serving 6 different global brands.

The Hampton Inn Columbia opened in August 2008 under the ownership of Columbia Hospitality, LLC. Kurt Furlong, SVP Sales and Marketing, states: “We are extremely excited to add the Hilton brand to our Midas family.”

Small Town Guru Jack Schultz to Visit Columbia February 8th

Jack Schultz, nationally acclaimed author of Boomtown USA: The 7 ½ Keys to Big Success in Small Towns, will be the keynote speaker at a special forum for the Monroe County Economic Development Council (MCEDC) on Monday, February 8th at The Falls Reception and Conference Center in Columbia.

The forum is sponsored by Midland States Bank. Doors will open at 7:00 a.m. and the event will conclude around 9:00 a.m.

Schultz, founder and CEO of Agracel, Inc., an industrial development firm specializing in rural America, is a top economic development authority on small towns just like those in Monroe County. His book has already inspired many communities to find their own vision.

The Boomtown USA project took more than three years of research beginning with 15,800 small towns across the country. Schultz narrowed the list down to a group of 397 outstanding small towns he calls "agurbs"--communities that were growing and offering opportunities to their young people while others were turning into ghost towns. His research has been featured in USA Today, Forbes and BusinessWeek (among others), and he has been a guest on numerous radio and television programs including Bloomberg Business Television.

Schultz has taken his message on the road to more than 300 communities in 44 states since 2004. In 2005, Schultz was named Ernst & Young’s Illinois Entrepreneur of the Year and in 2006 he received the Beta Gamma Sigma Medallion for Entrepreneurship.

His company, Agracel, has completed projects in 14 states, owning seven million square feet of industrial space, which has facilitated more than 5,000 jobs. The company owns 15 business parks and a short line railroad.

At the upcoming Monroe County forum, Schultz will talk about the characteristics of towns that are successful as well as the importance of encouraging an entrepreneurial approach in the community. He will also share reasons why it is vital to support local businesses and ideas about how small towns can survive and thrive during hard economic times.

Attendees can register for the event by going to the U of I Extension-Monroe County website, via email or by calling 618-939-3434.

City to Move Forward on Schoolhouse Restoration

A timely donation of $25,000 from local philanthropist Charles Todd has allowed the City of Columbia to move forward on pursuing a grant to fund restoration of the Shoemaker Schoolhouse as a new Monroe County Welcome Center. The Columbia City Council will vote Monday evening whether or not to authorize the submission of an application to the State of Illinois to provide roughly half of the funds needed to complete the nearly $59,000 project. Todd's donation--along with "in kind" contributions from the City and volunteers--will provide the matching funds needed for the grant.

The project will renovate a one-room schoolhouse built around 1850 for use as a facility to serve visitors. The schoolhouse is located on Illinois Route 3, the Great River Road Scenic Byway and—much earlier--the Kaskaskia Trace, in Columbia, three miles southeast of I-255.

Since Illinois 3 is the first exit for travelers crossing the Jefferson Barracks Bridge into the state, visitor use of the facility, when open, is expected to be high. The Tourism Bureau Southwest Illinois estimates that the Welcome Center could, conservatively, generate $50,460 per month in economic impact or $605,520 annually.

Other Communities, Other Visions

Local leaders in many parts of the country are finding creative new ways to spur economic activity in their cities and counties:

In California, the City of Santa Clarita began hosting stakeholder meetings for business leaders as the economy turned sour and more businesses began looking for help from government. The mayor's economic development summit helped leaders from the chamber of commerce and the industrial association meet each other. The City’s strategy also included a luncheon for commercial brokers that was held to target rising vacancies and to share resources for attracting new tenants. The meetings were perceived as valuable, offering more ways that the City and the business community could proactively come together to address the downturn, and efforts eventually resulted in the City bringing Advanced Bionics Biomedical Company and its 350 jobs to town.

The City of Lake Forest, Illinois provides local businesses with a checklist of all events in the city so that owners and managers can synchronize their business goals, promotions, marketing and sales with opportunities available in the community. The City's Economic Development Department calls this service "Lake Forest’s Marketing Machine."

In Tennessee, Unicoi County officials are planning a sustainable tourism initiative with its goal to create new businesses that would support tourism. The county will use a $50,000 GEMS of Appalachia Grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission and matching funds from the Joint Economic Development Board and the Conservation Fund to sponsor educational workshops early next year for business owners and entrepreneurs in Unicoi County, the Town of Erwin, and the Town of Unicoi. According to Mayor Greg Lynch, the program is targeted to people "who are close to retirement, maybe wanting to start a bed-and-breakfast, something to sustain them for the rest of their lives, or young people wanting to start up their own guide business, [for example] to be river guides..." The county also is considering culinary tourism focusing on Appalachian Mountain cuisine.

Miller Fiege Home Open This Wednesday

The Columbia Heritage and Preservation Commission (CHPC) welcomes the public to an open house at the Miller-Fiege Home this Wednesday from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

The open house is being held partly to inform the public of the City of Columbia’s intent to designate this home as a local historic landmark, which has been recommended by CHPC. Comments about this proposed action may be shared during the open house or submited in writing at City Hall no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26th. CHPC has also planned this event as a celebration of the building, the families who have lived here, and Columbia’s heritage in general.

This home was built in 1850 adjacent to a blacksmith shop run by P.W. Miller (the shop was located approximately where The Medicine Shoppe stands today). The shutters on the home, iron fence surrounding it, and the pump out back all date from this period. Miller purchased the house in 1857, and it remained in his family’s hands until the death of his descendent, Winnifred Fiege, last year; subsequently, the City of Columbia purchased the home and its many antiques, and the home is now being prepared as a historical museum for the whole community to enjoy.

All Greek To See...And Hear

Those who love cool jazz should mark their calendars for Saturday evening, August 1st--that's when Perry Danos and his 10-piece orchestra will perform a live dinner show here in Columbia.

Danos will visit Columbia as part of a breakout tour promoting his new album, "Swingin' on the Moon", from Grand Vista Music. He will make his only St. Louis area appearance at The Falls Reception & Conference Center, and packages are available that include dinner and even overnight accommodations at the new Hampton Inn.

Danos is an up-and-coming Chicagoan of Greek descent who blends the smoothness of Tony Bennett with the heart-on-his-sleeve grit of Rod Stewart. Moving interpretations of some of his own favorites, such as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "The Long and Winding Road," and "Lately," are new and exciting renditions of some of the world's best -loved classics from the great American songbook.

The concert is sponsored by The Falls, the Hampton Inn Columbia, and the City of Columbia as part of an ongoing initiative to boost visits to this city.

City's First Hotel Now Open

The Hampton Inn - Columbia--the city's first hotel--opened August 12th. In the trade, this is called the "soft opening" preceding the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, dignitaries and all, on Tuesday, August 26th.

Illinois tourism continues to be a significant tool for economic development statewide. The Travel Industry Association of America reports that state and local tax revenues grew by 5.5 percent last year, generating over $2 billion from travel spending--the highest level ever. The Illinois Bureau of Tourism estimates that Monroe County captured $10.8 million of this revenue in 2007, up 9.9 percent from the previous year.