Lively discussion filled Spare Rib Inn on Feb. 23 as a group of over 20 community members gathered to share ideas and concerns about revitalizing downtown.

Steelville’s downtown has faced a variety of challenges over the years, including aging buildings, business closures and a difficulty to draw traffic from tourists in the summer months.

“Steelville is very resilient,” Tamra Cape said. “And I mean, we are 191 years old. We have been here since 1835 and we haven’t died yet, and we’re not gonna die now. We’re gonna keep on going.”

Several downtown business owners were present, along with aldermen Bill Bennett and Jason Ward. In addition, multiple committees were represented, including the Chamber of Commerce, Steelville Tourism, the Trail of Tears Remembrance Committee, the Route 66 Parrot Head Club, STARCO and more.

Conversation frequently centered around the question: how do we draw people into downtown? 

The group pointed toward the high number of tourists Steelville sees in the summer months and discussed ways they can encourage people to stop on Main Street after visiting the bike park or a local river outfitter, rather than just driving through. 

“How do we entice them – not only entice them, but also make it worth their while to make the trek into town after they’re done?” Ward asked.

Creating a center of town that would give people a place to gather was one idea. Jim Trippensee suggested turning the low water bridge on First Street into a walking bridge and adding food trucks and tables along the creek. 

“We need some nightlife in this town,” mayoral candidate Duane DeRennaux said. “And a lot of things will benefit from that – bringing in people after they come in off the rivers, they have a place to come into town.”

Since many were concerned that visitors aren’t aware of all that Steelville has to offer, purchasing a double sided LED sign was another idea brought up. This would be used to promote upcoming events and advertise businesses so that tourists could see it when they drive in and out.

“You cannot over promote the town, that’s for sure,” DeRennaux said. “You gotta sell it like a business.”

With businesses coming and going and hours varying throughout the seasons, attendees came up with the idea of possibly adding QR codes to the maps downtown so that visitors can scan them for the most up to date information.

The group also discussed how they can draw tourists in from Cuba who will be visiting to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Route 66 this summer. 

“We’re trying to figure out, as (Steelville) Tourism, how to bring these people another seven miles south on 19 if they’re going to be in Cuba anyway,” Marilyn Lakaner said.

“We don’t want to end up competing with Cuba,” DeRennaux added. “We can compliment each other, I think.”

The group agreed that downtown needs a variety of infrastructure improvements, with the goal being to attract new businesses while also supporting the existing ones. A number of buildings on Main Street are vacant, but will require repairs before new businesses can move in.

“You can’t have a business moving into a building that isn’t viable,” Lanin Thomasma said. “On the other hand, if you don’t have a business in the building, you don’t have the revenue to make the building viable…so we need to break that cycle somehow.”

Other needs that the group discussed included better parking and more adequate signage, the removal of the old gazebo and the cleaning up and dredging of the Yadkin Creek. Dredging will require authorization from the Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The group acknowledged that these ideas will take money and time in order to implement. Experience with grant writing among the group was limited, and participants agreed to spend more time researching possible grants in the weeks following the meeting.

“I think there are grants, revitalization grants, available, but we don’t always have the know-how to know on how to get them, how to write the grants for them and who to talk to get that type of infusion,” Thomasma said. 

One possible source discussed was the Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC), which assists local governments and nonprofits with grant writing. Since Steelville is a member, MRPC allocates a certain number of service hours to the city each year, which they can put toward utilizing those services. 

Another possible source of funding mentioned was Impact 100 Crawford County, which provides grants to nonprofits in the county.

Attendees also discussed the need to create subcommittees of people in the community based on areas of interest and what they’d like to work on.

With an election coming up, Ward encouraged the group to share their concerns with individuals running for office so that they can understand the community’s priorities. 

“It may take a while, and it will take a while because the wheels of even local government run very, very slowly,” Ward said. “In the city, we are also working on fixing problems that are 40, 50, 60 years old.”

The group plans to meet the last Monday of each month. Next month’s meeting will be on March 30 and the location has yet to be decided, but Cape said she hopes to choose a local business to support.

“There’s not anybody in here looking to make themselves rich over anybody else,” DeRennaux said. “This is a community thing. And if it’s done right, everybody can benefit.”