Jul 15, 2023 2 min read

Washington City Council approved a resolution Thursday to renew the Washington Business District Authority for a term of five years, effective July 1 and running through June 30, 2028.

The business district authority was established in 2000 to provide economic development and revitalization services within the central business district.

Its three general goals are to increase customer traffic; retain, expand and recruit viable businesses; and cultivate a livable downtown with multigenerational appeal. It is the organization behind downtown Washington and its initiatives.

“This allows that organization to continue to market and support downtown and its businesses,” said Mayor Scott Putnam. “(Main Street Manager Shana Brown) brings a real zest to downtown.”

Brown is happy to see the agreement continued and said the BDA has much more planned.

“I have a great relationship with council,” she said. “They’ve been very supportive and wonderful to work with. We have new events coming up and we have initiatives going out. There’s a ton going on.”

Council also had the first reading of an ordinance to amend regulations concerning municipal claims and delinquent taxes.

“This just changes some language of an older ordinance and makes it more current,” Putnam said.

In other business, council approved motions to make employment offers to James Kubacki for the city’s police department and Andrew Newman to be a firefighter. Also accepted were the retirements of police Lt. Jack Hancock and Gene Mercer Jr. from the fire department, and the resignation of Daniel Grossman from the fire department.

“We’ve lost two firefighters and a police officer with almost 60 years of combined experience,” Putnam said. “It’s hard to fill those shoes.”