Caleb Warnock

A stew of frustration, anger, hope and goodwill spilled over in Provo on Saturday morning at a public meeting about whether Provo's downtown can be revitalized and how.

So many people turned out for what organizers had expected to be a smaller, quieter meeting that extra chairs had to be brought in, refreshments ran out and the meeting ran over time, to the delight of organizers hired by the city. The meeting was held in a room at the Provo Library.

Three more meetings, focused on coming up with a list of action items, are expected to begin as early as next month.

Covering part of a wall in blue and green sticky notes, business owners and residents spent hours listing examples of thriving downtowns the city could emulate, the assets Provo's downtown can use to its advantage, and the challenges inveighing against the project. Dozens of those gathered rose repeatedly to address the group with their ideas, frustrations and comments.

But through the process, business owners, seated in a circle at the center of the room with residents circling behind them, said they had done this all before.

"Less talk, more action," said one owner, his tone short, to the group when asked for his comments. In an interview after the meeting, this owner, who declined to give his name or identify his business, said he was so frustrated he was "getting ready to move" his business out of town.

Having been to at least a half-dozen such planning meetings over the years, his frustration has mounted as he's watched the city spend half a million dollars on studies, he said, none of them bearing tangible fruit. He said no one on the City Council would "pull the trigger" on a concrete financial plan to help downtown. Meanwhile, pleas to plow downtown snow from the streets so residents can shop go ignored and historic buildings are crumbling, he said.

Those gathered said the strengths of Provo's downtown are the very things any revitalization plan must protect and encourage: unique businesses, historic architecture, safety, business and community cooperation, walkability and parking, public art, affordable commercial rents, student and permanent residents as customers and volunteerism.

"I like the diversity of businesses," said Ken Stika of the Great Salt Lake Guitar Company. "There is something wonderful about having a tattoo parlor next to a church."

"Safety, comfort, beauty, freedom: these are things that are not tangible but are very real," said retired business owner Mary Kawakami.

Religion, air quality, homeless people, parking and affordability were listed as challenges again and again.

Those who are not members of the LDS Church must be made to feel welcome, the "yellow air" must be cleaned up, rent for business space must be affordable, the downtown must be better lit and police should show themselves more, said those gathered.

Business owners repeatedly linked the presence of the homeless in downtown to crime and vandalism, a historic complaint, and said their presence damages the downtown image.

Everyone agreed there is a public perception of a lack of downtown parking. Some said this is only a misperception and should be shown as such, while others felt there is a genuine lack of parking that is hurting businesses and entertainment venues downtown.

Owners also repeatedly said the city should support a free shuttle service between downtown and BYU campus, and that the airport must expand to entice corporate anchors.

In addition, the owners said the downtown must be allowed to become more of a 24-hour venue, there should be more sidewalk dining in the summer, more upscale restaurants, a public gathering place, and support for small business startups.

As the meeting closed, organizers handed out 30 disposable digital cameras to volunteers and asked for photos of downtown "assets and concerns" to use in illustrating upcoming reports on how downtown might be revitalized.