Main Street Dedicated Staff

What may be most impressive about the City’s Main Street program is the size of the staff. The Main Street program accomplishes everything it does, year after year – building improvements, merchant promotions, marketing, community events, business recruitment – with two full-time positions and one-part-time position. The Main Street department does receive support from City staff in other departments and hundreds of volunteers, and that cooperation has contributed to the success of the Main Street program.

These efforts, over the course of 30 years, have preserved downtown Morganton as the heart and soul of the community. Downtown is the social center of Morganton and offers a movie theater, restaurants, shops, art galleries, festivals, Friday night concerts, parades, fundraising events and much more. This would not be the case without the continued support of the City Council; downtown merchants, property owners and residents; and the support of the taxpayers who fund the many projects that set downtown Morganton above many surrounding communities.

City leaders could have decided to pass up the opportunity to start the program in Morganton, but they didn’t. Mayor Kistler and the City Council saw the Main Street program as chance to revitalize downtown Morganton, enhance the City’s character, and strengthen the local economy. The Main Street program has been successful in its efforts. Morganton has weathered many economic storms during the past three decades and the downtown district continues to be a vibrant and thriving part of the local economy, the community, and the region. Thanks to the commitment of the City of Morganton and the Main Street program, downtown Morganton has set a high mark and is an example that other communities strive to imitate.