"These buildings are not going away. As much as some would like them to be knocked down or destroyed or whatever, they are here and we need to figure out a solution to put them back into use." Scharton said.
Some ideas include finding or providing grants or subsidies to upgrade things like air conditioning or elevator systems, that are preventing full use of the buildings. Swearengin supports taking lots of small steps to fix downtown, and isn't sure the city needs to do something to bring hockey back to downtown's Selland Arena. She says, "I wouldn't say no, but at this point we have to move forward with the plan we're laying out here today, which is systematic revitalization of Downtown that doesn't depend on one thing working or not."
Swearengin must sell her vision to the City Council. She hopes to have the new department up and running within a few weeks after taking office.
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