I was asked to elaborate on the idea of the Business Incubator that I mentioned in my post “The Big Idea.”  There are a couple of key facets to this idea that are described in that post but let’s see if I can bring some cohesion to my vision.

First, I think that the downtown business district should be supplied with free, wireless, high-speed internet access.  This should be paid for by the city government and it’s should be maintained by the city government for the life of the technology.  Further, the city government should build into it’s annual budget the money to keep up with the internet technology, whatever that may ultimately become.  Why?  Because Main Street should, in a small part, be a cooperation between the public and the private.  I am a firm believer that the machine of industry, whether blue or white, is the responsibility of the citizenry and the entrepreneur.  However, the infrastructure needed to have a Main Street is the responsibility of the government.  In the Present and the Future, this infrastructure includes the internet.

What will this infrastructure give the Newton’s?

First, the internet is the way the world works today.  That is a given.  e-Commerce, media, social interaction and information are all the bailiwick of the internet and everyone uses it; Boomer’s are embracing it, Xer’s do business with it and Millennial’s accept it as a way of life.  Because we will have a city core that is free and open to the internet, we will draw the laptops, iPods and iPads to the core at all times of the day and evening.  These people are the users and purchasers.  They are attendees of structured and unstructured activities.  They are the users of the “third spaces.”  Further, they are the humans that the businesses of downtown need for life.

Second, with wireless internet access and people downtown, this will fill the storefront businesses with consumers; consumers of goods, consumers of services and consumers of ideas.  This lifeblood is absolutely required for the entrepreneur.  For the businesses that are already downtown, the internet access will enable them to start e-commerce links for their stores.  Think of it!  While the Newton’s resident is sitting outside your store waiting for a friend, drinking the coffee they purchased at your store, at the sidewalk bistro table you put out, and while purchasing a pair of climbing shoes from an online retailer on their new iPad, so too is someone in a Pennsylvania kitchen purchasing baking utensils from a Newton store.  e-Commerce!  Let’s embrace it.

Now for the Business Incubator idea.   I think there should be a limited number of downtown storefronts scattered among the various blocks that are designated “Business Incubator Zones.”  These storefronts are leased for a finite term, say six months to a year, for little or no cost to the lessor in exchange for his/her willingness to take that newly hatched and weaned business to a rentable storefront after that time.  During their time in the B.I.Z. (Nice acronym.  I think I’ll use that!) they will have a Technology Mentor to train them set up the electronic end of their business or service and they will have a Business Mentor to train them on the day to day details of living and working on Main Street.  Local financiers would make available low interest loans to these entrepreneurs to get them started.  The local Chamber of Commerce would give them one free year of membership in exchange for participation in community service projects the CoC sponsors.  In turn, the CoC would help promote the new B.I.Z. businesses in the Newton’s, the county and the surrounding areas.

While some ideas and entrepreneurs will inevitably fail, others will flourish.  The constant movement of signs and products will constantly change in the B.I.Z., but the Newton’s shouldn’t mourn the loss.  Maybe they’re going on to be successful; maybe not.  Either way, it’s another person’s turn to start something new, fresh and innovative.  That’s what the Newton’s are all about:  new, fresh and innovative.  It’s the entrepreneurs spirit!

The bottom line is this community should do everything in it’s collective power to promote ideas and success.  People with good ideas should be nurtured by other businesses and the patrons of the Newton’s will be growing the local economy and providing more opportunities for the “third spaces” that will make the community more marketable.

During several conversations I’ve overheard recently, the terms “wellness” and “green” were being used interchangeably.  Most notably was during our Steering Committee meeting yesterday.  There were several phrases bandied about like “eco-friendly” and “environmentally responsible.”  While most all of us desire to be good stewards of our environment and ultimately our biosphere, we have difficulty understanding what each other is talking about when we reference these initiatives.  Of course, in the world of Architecture and construction we have the LEED standard to follow when talking about and quantifying anything “green.”  Yet, when we begin to talk about the health and wellness of a neighborhood or a city, we stumble with the same language.

Now, I’m not advocating trying to quantify the notion of “wellness.”  There are qualified people in the medical field that can speak to that.  But what I am advocating is a separation of these two terms.  ”Green” refers to anything that is ecologically friendly whether that is defined by the buildings we use or the cars we drive or the products we buy.  ”Wellness,” on the other hand, should speak to the kind of lives we lead.  I’m speaking very directly about the quality of air and water in our communities, the opportunities to exercise whether recreationally or competitively, the opportunities we have to walk or ride to work or school versus drive.  It speaks to the availability to foods that are fresh and healthy, whether that is the whole foods section of your local corporate marketplace or your downtown, Saturday morning farmer’s market.  If I may be bold, I would assert that “green” falls under the umbrella of “wellness,” and Wellness (with a capitol “W”) should be the focus of our attention rather than what rating we apply to new or repurposed homes and businesses, factories and warehouses.

Great Plains communities of the future, and the Newton’s in particular, are going to need to market themselves not only as “cool” cities, but as “Healthy” and “Well” communities.  It may have been about commerce and production in the past twenty years, but in the next twenty it’s definitely about being healthy, whether Millennials or ‘Boomers.  Our city government (notably the planning department) have been steadfastly planning and building the Newton’s Hike/Bike Path.  It’s an organized and documented “Wellness” path that runs the entire length of our two communities.  I think that path should become the impetus for all development in the city.  I think that vital pieces of the community (athletic areas, recreation areas, business parks, neighborhoods, etc.) should connect to the path or allow the path to wonder through or be situated adjacent to the path.  Each of these scenarios will increase the “Wellness Profile” of use and living thereby giving a “wellness index” to each.  Now, as a new resident to the Newton’s, I can choose to purchase a house in Wellness Index Area _ , or I can build my new business in Wellness Index Area _ , or my child’s school is in Wellness Index Area _ .  The Newton’s themselves should have a wellness index in the State of Kansas, as the Great Plains will inevitably have in the future.

Final thought?  Each and every new growth opportunity, whether individual business or service or neighborhood scale, in these two cities should first ask the question:  ”Where along the Wellness Trail should I plant my development?”

During the day Monday and Tuesday, Phillips & Associates Consulting and New Boston Creative invited scores of people from different background and with different interests to come and answer several simple questions like:  What would you tell someone that was considering moving to Newton?  Do you think there’s collaboration in town among your peers?  What can your city government do to help you achieve your goals?  What advise would you give to future city government leaders?

These folks were split into these groups:  Health Care, Education, Chamber of Commerce, Faith Based Groups, Social Services, Banks, Neighborhoods, Livability, Public Spaces and the final group, The Next Big Idea.  I sat and listened to almost all the groups and their responses.  A lot of the answers were the same, which to me shows the cohesiveness of the community as well as it’s well-known short comings.  In the end, though, I personally think the consensus is one of sustainable growth and quality of life.

That’s where MY next big idea came from.  I’ve been thinking about my Big Idea for about a month now since reading Rebecca Ryan’s book, “Live First, Work Second.”  In her book, she talks about the next generation of workers, the Millennials, having a desire to find the perfect place to live before finding the perfect place to work and, in the end, wanting to live first and work second.  That’s not to say they don’t have the same work ethic as their parents, the Gen Xer’s, or their grandparents, the Baby Boomers.  They just want to work and live differently and their parents have given them that opportunity.

Sometimes thinking big means thinking beyond what is expected.  There were many times during my training and education as an Architect when I heard the phrase, “Now’s the time to stand and stretch because life will soon shackle you.”  Keeping that always in mind at the beginning of a project, I allow myself time to think bigger than the constraints allow.  This is a creative exercise I give myself while sitting at my desk.  Most times these ideas and explorations are not for anyone’s comments or criticisms, they’re the standing and stretching of my creative muscles.  These ideas, when cooled will often become the basis for practical direction.  So, here are my Big Ideas:

Newton needs to abandon the Kansas Highway K-15 designation on Main Street. I realize this will be unpopular on the outset because of the state money we get to maintain the roadway, but I see it more as a roadblock, if you will, to the design and development to downtown.  What would you think if you had to call a complete stranger and ask permission to rearrange your living room furniture?  That’s what having the highway designation means to the community of Newton.  Each and every time we want to shut down Main Street for an event, we have to ask KDOT.  If we wanted to rearrange parking or paving or restrict movement we first have to ask whether it’s allowed.  Much of what I think Main Street should become will be restricted by State guidelines and mandates.  Therefore, the Highway should go.

The City of Newton needs to make a permanent investment to install and maintain a high speed, wireless internet infrastructure in the downtown core. I believe that between First Street and Eighth Street and between Oak Street and Poplar Street, the city should be wired and the internet should be free.  This will allow citizens and visitors, business owners and downtown residents alike the abilty to become connected without cost.  This seemingly small step could change the way merchants downtown view their own businesses.  Some may advertise differently.  Some may buy and sell differently.  Some may cater to customers differently.  Certainly all should use the technology differently.  In all, this single step, a step that should be taken sooner rather than later, will change the way Newton appears to the world.

The City of Newton/North Newton, along with local banks and local business owners, need to develop and implement a downtown Business Incubator program. In this scenerio, a few storefronts in the downtown “stroll district,” would be designated as incubator locations and those areas would be used by entreprenuers at a much reduced rental rate, and in conjunction with the free internet supplied by the City, would have a predetermined amount of time to get their business up and running before making the commitment to move the now stable business to a rentable location within the city and the next tenant moves in.  The banks would help produce a financing vehicle for the idea-based entrepreneur using solely local money.  The current business owners in Newton/North Newton would provide a “feet on the ground” mentorship program for the new businesses helping them clear some of the hurdles that are only learned from experience.

Main Street, between Fifth Street and Eighth Street should be pedestrian only from Friday to Sunday between the hours of six o’clock in the evening until midnight. By placing parking development outside this area, this will allow Main Street to become the hub for all things “third space,” as defined by Ms. Ryan’s book.  This “stroll district” will be utilized frequently by citizens and visitors and allows businesses to change their hours, staying open later.  This will also help to populate the urban living opportunities that exist on the second floors of most all buildings along Main Street.  It may even initiate the opportunity to develop new condominium and multi-family projects near the urban core.

Arts, college and quality-of-life groups should work hard to develop a series of events that take place in the Main Street Stroll District each weekend evening during the summer months between June and August. That’s roughly twelve weekends needing twelve activities.  Some are already spoken for from past events.  We need to have people on foot and on bicycle in the downtown core each weekend keeping activitiy and businesses alive.  These activities might include art fairs, farmer’s markets, craft shows, sidewalk sales, live music and foreign and indie film festivals.  Further, these activities don’t need to be associated with the current Chisholm Trail Festival or Harvey County Fair, but can become separate activities in conjunction with these programs and others.

Newton and North Newton need to band together to develop a small, eco-friendly means of public transportation that runs daily between Bethel College and the southern limits of the City of Newton, which is beside the Chisholm Trail Outlet Mall. This electric, solar powered light rail would continuously, during the day and evening, bring people to and from various points in the city running straight down Main Street, Washington Road and South Kansas Avenue.  This transportation link would be essential for commerce, social services and live-ability.  This component would help establish The Newton’s as a community of wellness and walk-ability, marketing to those people and businesses who are looking solely for quality of life opportunities, which is the way The Newton’s should market themselves in the next twenty years.

The newly established eco-friendly light rail should continue to be developed from the Newton’s, south to Wichita straight down South Kansas Avenue/North Broadway Street to Wichita’s city core. This rail line will allow the connection of Sedgwick, Valley Center, Park City, Kechi and Wichita passing the Wichita Coliseum (currently closed), Britt Brown Arena, Hartman Arena, the Wichita Greyhound Park (currently closed) and 81 Speedway, linking them with the population to the north and the activity center being developed in downtown Wichita; namely Intrust Arena, the Wichita Water Walk and Old Town.

A station would be developed at the south end of Newton and the north end of Park City to connect a faster rail system between the two for county commute, while allowing for a slower paced train to proceed safely through the more populated areas.

This would also allow potential employees for businesses in the core of downtown Wichita, the white collar aircraft engineers, web designers, finance consultants, etc., to reside in the wellness oriented city of Newton/North Newton, utilizing the trouble free, quick, clean, eco-friendly transportation system to commute; this is paramount to the commuter of the future given the volatility of oil and individual transportation costs.

Newton needs to focus for the next ten years on developing and promoting the blue collar manufacturing/distribution industry/workforce and then spend the following ten years on developing and promoting the white collar/green collar lifestyle industry. In the first ten years, while the government is working to develop The Newton’s interests in the commerce and job fair worlds, private leaders in our community need to continually develop and market programs, ideas, plans and designs that will be ready when the City government is ready to market our lifestyle and livability to the outside world in 2020.

Finally, and most importantly, we need to have a strong, clear vision of the future and we need to elect officials from our community that will not only run and serve with these goals and objectives in mind, but after their tenure in public office, be willing to actively continue the focus and vision in their private and business lives as well.  Where are the past presidents of the Chamber of Commerce and the City Leadership?  Are they still active and up front in the issues facing  The Newton’s now?  Are they still champions of this community?  Are they mentoring behind the scenes; making sure the Young Professionals are seeing the same vision?  I’ll bet if you look, you’ll find them.  Now it’s time for them to step back into the light and be recognized as private citizens working toward the community’s common goals for the future.  Let’s, all of us, be leaders in The Newton’s in some form or another.

The ReNewton Project officially kicked off on February 16th, 2010.  This is a Comprehensive Planning project for the twin cities of Newton and North Newton, Kansas.  It will be a twelve month project with many community involvement activities designed to start a dialog in our communities to design what the fabric of Newton and North Newton will look like in for the next generation of residents and leaders; “Millennials” as described by Rebecca Ryan.  The project is being facilitated by Tom Phillips of Phillips & Associates of Manhattan, Kansas and  Kristin Brighton and Susan Religa of New Boston Creative Group, also of Manhattan, Kansas.  Our nineteen member steering committee will meet monthly to brainstorm, collect, make sense of and implement the framework of the new Comprehensive Plan.

As a member of the steering committee and as a resident and business owner in Newton, I’ve decided to use my own blog to record my professional thoughts and insights during this next twelve months.  I’d also like to take this opportunity to invite any and all that would enjoy participating in the online discussion and/or the community meeting forums to register at:  www.renewtonkansas.com

I’m excited about the process and I hope we’ll see similar enthusiasm from the “Newtons.”