The Role of a Main Street Manager
Main Street touches so many aspects of a community that, without a clearly defined work plan, roles, and responsibilities, managers can quickly burn out. Main Street managers should focus on:
- Administration of the program - The daily operations of running a Main Street.
- Public relations - Acting as the authorized spokesperson for the local program (on policies and topics as approved by the Main Street board, not your personal opinions).
- Work plan coordination - Support committee members and volunteers with projects, including administrative work not appropriate for volunteers and providing necessary information and resources for success.
- Volunteer management - Volunteers are how Main Streets succeed. The Main Street manager is the motivator for all volunteers, and managers volunteer recruitment, training, communication, leadership development, and recognition.
A Main Street manager’s role can be summed up as communication and collaboration.
- Good written and verbal communication skills that are regularly reinforcing the work of the program. Communication will be with a variety of individuals but none more important than the downtown business and property owners. As a Main Street program, these are your clients and should be treated as such.
- Collaboration with partners leverage scarce resources to achieve common goals. Coordinating people and partners, rather than projects, is a great way to build capacity and prevent burn out.
As a leader of the program, the Main Street manager is a resource for the committees, attending the meetings, and serves as a liaison to city administration. Managers connect the work of the committees to each other and other partnering programs by connecting resources and shared opportunities.
What a Main Street Manager Is Not
Just as important as what Main Street Manager does, is what a Main Street manager should NOT do.
- Do NOT create agendas and take minutes. This is the role of board and committee chairs and secretaries. (The Main Street Manager can remind the volunteers of these tasks.
- Do NOT carry out most of the strategic plan tasks. Volunteers and partners should help to achieve the strategic plan. (The Main Street manager coordinates the activities, but should not do all of the actions)
- Do NOT report to individual board members. The Main Street manager is accountable to the policy set by the board as a whole, and reports to the board president regarding performance expectations.
- Do NOT act as owner of the program. The Main Street manager serves the program, and guides the steps toward achieving shared goals.
Do NOT take sides. Leadership changes, and the program needs to adapt.
Working with Colorado Main Street
The Main Street manager is the point person for all things Main Street in their community, as well as for the statewide coordinating program to that downtown. As such, the Main Street manager is the local contact to access the benefits to being an official Colorado Main Street.
Managers of official Colorado Main Streets have several responsibilities to Colorado Main Street and the Department of Local Affairs:
- Quarterly Reporting. A quarterly narrative provides an update on how the local program is progressing towards its strategic goals, while quarterly statistics reflect the return on investment of the program.
- Narrative template (Word Download)
- Statistics template (Excel Download)
- Reporting best practices
- Training.
- Most months, Colorado Main Street has both a free webinar providing information on timely topics to our network of official and aspiring communities, as well as a virtual meeting of just our official Main Street managers (“community conversations”). We expect our managers to attend at least four of these each year.
- The Main Street manager is also obligated to attend the annual summit of official Colorado Main Streets, held each fall in a different location across the state. Scholarship funds available.
- Typically, the Main Street manager attends Main Street America’s Now conference in the spring, although a board member can attend for the community instead (or in addition). Scholarship funds available.