COMMUNITY AWARENESS TEAM
OBSERVATIONS
Bucyrus visiting
1. Housing comments:
Visitors to Washington Courthouse noticed well planned housing developments that were attractively landscaped and exhibited a sense of pride by community residents. It also seemed that there were a variety of housing options, i.e. multi family and single family. They did notice a lack of “for sale” signs…does this indicate a tight housing market? Are there growth pressures that will need to be addressed?
The downtown area provided a different type of housing, also well maintained and showing a pride in ownership. Ringing the city center the visitors noticed a number of attractive Victorian houses. They wondered if these houses could be the subject of a walking tour that could provide a draw to tourists.
2. Retail comments:
The visitation team observed that development is likely to occur at the new U.S. 35 interchange, and that retail development in this area could impact on the downtown retail district. The downtown seems healthy at this point in time, but will new development pressures create challenges in the future? Does Washington Courthouse now have the opportunity to address these possibilities in a proactive way?
There are a few storefronts that could benefit from renovation, but overall the visitors found the central business district to be lovely.
3. Comments on hospitality:
By and large, the visitation team received a very cordial and helpful reception at the offices and businesses that they walked into and with the shop owners and community representatives that they asked questions of. However, in one of the key community offices the reception was not one that would encourage a visitor to the area to come back again. We would suggest that front line personnel in public offices and elsewhere be encouraged to participate in hospitality training and customer service workshops to learn or reinforce that they are an important representative of the community and help to shape a visitor’s impression of Washington Courthouse.
4. Comments on community facilities:
Washington Courthouse has a number of facilities to be proud of, including the park, the hospital and the schools. The park’s tennis courts could use some attention.
5. Signage:
Old U.S. 35 signage needs to be repaired, a larger welcoming sign with landscaping could provide a more dramatic entrance, and better signage to indicate how to get to the center of the city would be good. Related to signage, the “for sale” sign on the building on old U.S. Rt. 35 cannot be easily seen because it is obscured by overgrown vegetation. This could provide an unwanted challenge to marketing the building.
6. General observations:
Roads are a little bumpy, especially over railroad crossings. There are only a few properties that are in need of repair, but they stand out even more because of the pride of ownership that most residents take in their homes and businesses. Generally, residents are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful to visitors.