City should encourage downtown renovation

I normally am not afraid of heights but I must admit that this project scared me a little because the bucket kept swaying back and forth while I was painting. My legs instinctively would brace themselves whenever the bucket would move as I stretched to do some painting. It was like doing isometric exercises with my legs for 8 hours. At the end of the day, I was exhausted.

The manlift did save me a lot of time compared to using scaffolding or ladders and I was generally pleased with the machine. The manlift that I rented was new and I was only the second person to rent it. When I returned the machine to the rental company they were extremely upset that I spilled paint on the bucket. I told them that I rented the manlift for painting a building and was not planning on taking it to a tea party. I will probably not rent from that company again.

I arrived at the color scheme for the building by taking a photo of the building and then uploading the picture into my computer. I then painted in different color combinations in the photo using PhotoShop until I got the right combination.

I bought the best paint I could find because I do not plan on going up to paint the roof line again in my lifetime. After 5 days of painting I transformed the building from a run of the mill building to one that sparkled. I had applied for TIF funds for facade approvement from the city to help pay for the painting. The city will reimburse me for 1/3 of the material cost of the project which included the paint and the rental for the manlift.

Over the years many of Minonk's older buildings have either been neglected or modernized by being covered up with unsightly metal or wood facades. I highly recommend owners to consider removing these unsightly coverups and restore the original Victorian facade hidden behind. If everyone would do this, the value of the downtown buildings would appreciate even more in value since the whole neighborhood would be improved. Restoration of older buildings is not only coming back into vogue, it also is indicative of a city that is making a comeback.

The Minonk City Council should tighten its zoning ordinances for the downtown area and require that any improvements made to existing buildings be in conformance with the architectural style of the period in which it was built. This means that older buildings cannot be covered up with metal or wood shingles that are completely out of character with the building. Instead, the older buildings original facade must either be repaired or replaced with a similar looking facade.

In addition, it would be advisable to require any new buildings constructed in the downtown area to have some architectural relevance to the other buildings. This type of ordinance could have required the new Dollar General building to have some windows and to have some trim work that made it look more appealing. It also would require a more appealing sign than the current yellow sign.

This is not a new concept. Cities in the East already have such laws. Walmart and other large chain stores are being required to construct buildings that conform to local architectural styles. A town in New Mexico required a Walmart to add a southwest theme to the design of its building.

Now that Minonk has refurbished its parks it is time to restore the downtown area to its original granduer. It is the heart of the city. Anyone who has looked at the pictures of downtown Minonk from 100 years ago cannot help but be impressed with the beauty of its buildings. The restoration of the downtown buildings to their original archictectural style will draw businesses and residents to Minonk and should be encouraged by the city.