COMMENTS & COMMENTARY
By Charles Hill
The New Year is upon us and my optimism for the future of the City of St. Charles has risen to a new high. The new City Administrator appears to be a no nonsense type of guy. So, kudos to the Mayor and the City Council for bringing in leadership. I have to admit he has his hands full with the unrest in the Police Department and the never ending struggles within City Hall. If he enforces the charter to the letter, and does not let the Mayor interfere with the day to day operations, he has a chance. If the Council allows him time to do his job and create a work environment that understands the residents are the customers and not the enemies they would be well served. The first night he basically told the Council and Mayor if he is given the ability to do his job he will make them all look good. So to Dr. Williams, good luck in ’05 and may the political gods look after you.
Dr. Williams, just a few notes from an average resident and business owner: The Convention and Visitors Bureau is missing the mark on many of the items where they spend money. Over the past ten years they have done the same thing, the same way, and have always expected different results. That isn’t business smart. I understand the CVB is finally going to hire a company to analyze the market and help figure who we our target market is. That will go a long way in finally telling the CVB what we, the business owners, have said all along: the greater metro area is where we would get more bang for our buck. The CVB has long catered to hotels because they believe when someone spends the night they spend more money. Well that may be true but those people, as a segment of the market, are few and far between.
We have to determine what our product really is. To date we sell ourselves as historical. Now, there is a market that is over done. Every town west of the Mississippi says they have history. Last time I looked History was not highly thought of when we all went through high school. Now when you say fun, that sells. St. Charles is a fun place to visit. Main Street is a fun place to visit, fun with an historical slant. Get the picture: Fun first, Historical second. “Where history comes alive” sounds boring, and then on top of it History really doesn’t come alive because we have non-historical uses of the buildings. So in reality we are pretty much selling a lie. Like I said before even Boone’s Lick is a farce.
I know the above statements probably made Archie, Paul, Gene and the rest of the old guard upset but it is true. The love we all have for history is evident in the fact we moved our families and businesses here, but we are not the norm. Our appeal with the current marketing is so limited that we have lost tourists. Stop and think why are our streets packed during Christmas Traditions? We make our town a place to have fun not just historical. Christmas Traditions creates a feel of community that brings local residents down to Main Street and makes them part of us.
