The Heartbeat of Our Streets: Why Momentum Matters

They say you can’t truly understand a community’s “why” until you walk its streets. My recent visit to downtown Boise proved exactly that.

Beyond a productive meeting with a peer who generously shared insights into downtown Boise, I spent a couple of days immersing myself in the city’s core. From intentional adaptive planning to the soul found in local art and culinary scenes, visiting downtowns of all sizes serves as the ultimate classroom for hungry students eager to devour every yummy morsel.

These spaces remind us of a fundamental truth: how we plan our spaces directly dictates how we feel within them. Successful communities aren’t built solely with concrete and brick; they are forged from a genuine sense of belonging. Our mission is to continue to collaboratively weave that same vitality into our own streets here in downtown Idaho Falls.

Thanks to the community leaders before us who had the foresight to establish an equitable funding mechanism – the Business Improvement District (BID) - we stand on a 30-year legacy of excellence and proven strategies, ensuring the investments in improvements are shared by all those who benefit from them most.

Our growing success is also thanks to downtown property and business owners who provide more than just products and services; they provide the passion, dedication, creativity and ideas that drive us forward. By working in harmony with the Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corporation (IFDDC) and the City of Idaho Falls, downtown merchants are investing in strong partnerships that make the heart of our city thrive.

Among other things, the IFDDC is the engine behind many downtown funding mechanisms, including grants, the Business Improvement District, and parking revenue. All these funds - as dictated either by law or by agreement - MUST go directly back into physical improvements, promotions, public art, and advocacy for downtown. Because of our structure as a non-profit, we’re able to leverage our foundation to capture grant funds, such as the Facade Improvement Grant, that are otherwise inaccessible by individual downtown property owners. This is local control at its essence. We aren't just spending; we are investing.

The continued success of the BID relies on the support of our property owners. To renew our BID in 2027, we need at least 50% of our property owners to sign the petition. We’re asking them to stand with IFDDC to protect the 30-year momentum we’ve built together. By renewing the BID, they’re not just pooling resources; they’re securing a proven engine of growth and ensuring another decade of progress for downtown.

Over the next two years, much of IFDDC’s focus will be on this BID renewal process. Our goal is to educate and inform those within our BID and to keep our downtown vibrant and relevant. When the time comes to call for signatures in 2027, we want our downtown property and business owners to feel heard and fully informed about our path forward. We are currently exploring three primary avenues:

1) Maintain Current Standards: Renewing the BID with our existing boundaries and rates. This would maintain our current level of service, including a full-time downtown advocate to City Hall, while working within our existing budget, much of which is based on dated 2007 property values.

2) Enhanced Service & Growth: Renewing with adjusted BID parameters (boundaries, rates, cap, assessment years) to account for inflation and expand more initiatives and programs, such as beautification, maintenance, art, security, marketing, cleanliness, and advocacy efforts for the district. (Any adjustments require a vote by the IFDDC Board of Directors and City Council approval.)

3) Dissolution of the BID: Dissolving the BID would revert to basic city maintenance. Marketing, grants, the beautification program (flower baskets, pots, and holiday wreaths), and coordinated events would cease, and the collective voice of the IFDDC Director and 13-member Board would be replaced by individual lobbying efforts.

To help downtowners make the best decision for their business and property, we will soon provide them with BID resources, including a survey, FAQs, history, and a renewal timeline.

At IFDDC, we’re choosing to focus our energy on the innovation, passion, and expertise of those dedicated to our downtown’s future. We will continue to listen, inform, and support every member of our downtown community, including those hesitant about change, to ensure all voices are heard. Our goal is to move forward together, building a vibrant legacy that our community and future generations will enjoy for years to come.

In conclusion, the artwork in the photo above, titled Flowers For..., was created in 2024 as part of Boise’s annual Freak Alley Gallery mural renovation. Ashley Dreyfus is a well-known Boise-based artist celebrated for her vibrant, whimsical style and "Alter Ego" characters that explore themes of joy, community, and human connection. The mural resonates with me for two reasons: 1) I often spoke similar phrases to my kids when I dropped them off at school, and 2) all of Dreyfus' themes correlate with the reasons why I walk through the doors of the beautiful historic Shane building and up the stairs to my office every day - downtown and all of you are important to me. I am honored to work alongside you.