Manhattan gets some big-league ideas – A Rural Resource Team is spending two days here in an attempt to generate ideas for Manhattan to build a successful future.

In a matter of seconds, Cathy Coleman can rattle off a long list of businesses that have left town in recent years.

The hardware and lighting stores have gone dark. The bowling alley and hairdresser have closed shop. The medical center, art gallery, pharmacy and a few restaurants all have closed in the past five years.

By ERIN NICHOLES, Chronicle Staff Writer

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2004/04/07/news/manhattanbzbigs.txt

The puzzling part is, businesses are moving out even as people are moving in.

"Even though this town continues to grow, this is the smallest we’ve ever seen the business district," Coleman, vice president of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday. "What can we put here that other people will support?"

That is the million-dollar question, and the chamber’s Downtown Revitalization Committee has recruited big-league help in searching for an answer.

A Rural Resource Team, consisting of representatives from public and private agencies, is spending two days here in an attempt to generate ideas for Manhattan to build a successful future.

"We want to hear what the community wants, what the community needs and we’re here to offer possible solutions," said Angela DeYoung, a team member and marketing specialists for the state Department of Agriculture.

Rural Resource Teams are organized by the Montana Economic Developers Association and the state Department of Commerce. They visit rural towns by invitation, free of charge, to help with planning on issues ranging from parks to schools to business.

Members include representatives from the federal and state agriculture departments, the state Department of Commerce, private architects and the Rocky Mountain Resource Conservation & Development.

The team will work through today interviewing senior citizens, educators, business people and others about Manhattan’s assets, challenges and goals.

Then, tonight at 7, the team will summarize its findings at a Town Council meeting, and offer suggestions. The team will generate a formal report in about a month.

The team focuses on a variety of things, but local business leaders are particularly interested in hearing what the team says about commerce.

"We want to know what we can do to help the business people in this town," said Coleman, who also owns a downtown bookstore. "We want to know what kinds of business people would like to see."

Coleman and others hope the team will help them stop Manhattan residents’ dollars before they leave town and are spent in stores in other Gallatin Valley communities, especially Bozeman.

"We’re such a bedroom community," Mayor Eleanor Mest said. "So many people work in Bozeman, they’re just buying what they need in Bozeman."