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Mike Cuevas
by David Hansen
Mike Cuevas seems as fairly planted in Bay St. Louis City Hall as the moss-draped oaks that surround the old building. When one considers Ceuvas? working as the city?s clerk of council, secretary to the planning and zoning commission, special projects coordinator and Main Street Bay St. Louis project manager, it?s hard to imagine that she once longed to leave the city.
?Ten years ago I was looking for any way out of this community that I could find?any way; drop a dime, and I would have gone for it. Now I wouldn?t leave Bay St. Louis on a good bet,? she said.
She stays because by serving as the Main Street project manager, she is able to combine her business management background with her passion for historic preservation for the betterment of her home town.
The goal of the Main Street program in any city, according to Cuevas, is to affect economic revitalization through organization, promotion, design and economic restructuring.
Cuevas brought the Main Street idea to the city after receiving a mandate from the current mayor that she increase economic development in the city. Although she worked in her parents? business for years, she didn?t feel she had enough experience in the field of business development to make decisions that would affect the entire city. The mayor thought differently, however, and insisted she could do it. So, in an effort to learn what she could or should do, she began networking with state economic development officials.
Eventually she met Scott Barksdale, state coordinator for the Main Street program, and she found what she was looking for?a program that helps businesses help themselves. She presented the program to the city council; they approved the plan, and she became the city?s first Main Street manager.
The program creates a win-win situation for the city and businesses, says Cuevas, because it builds partnerships between those
involved, with everyone?s having a stake in the outcome.
?The end is always the same for a politician and a business person, but they will traditionally follow different routes. Main Street puts the politician and the business person together, going down the same street. Itisn?ta ?thecity?s going to do it for you? type of program. Everyone works together,? she said.
The city went through a dry run of the program for 18 months before receiving official designation in June 1991.
Because the program relies on shared goals, Cuevas has spent much of her time bringing people together.
?Probably over the past two years, the biggest part of my job has been to build consensus for specific projects. Either consensus among the council, between the council and the business association or between business owners and residents,? she said.
Although she declines to take credit for the transformation downtown, her leadership appears to be paying off. Bay St. Louis has experienced a renaissance, with antique shops, restaurants and art galleries now lining the city?s streets.
?They were independent business people before Main Street. Now they think of themselves as acollective agency ?as one big department store. There?s no one in direct competition with anyone else, so when they send someone to another store, they are sending them to another part of the department store, and that?s good,? she said.
Coming from an owner-operator background, Cuevas relates to small business owners and is glad when she is able to help. ?One of the personal satisfactions I get from Main Street is seeing suggestions I have made come to fruition. When I see cash registers ringing more often, it makes me feel good,? she said.
Many projects have been spawned from the program, including the creation of a volunteer tourism group.
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Mike Cuevas
Several Saturdays a month volunteers promote Bay St. Louis at the Mississippi Welcome Center on Interstate 10, encouraging motorists to take the scenic route and stop in Bay St. Louis.
?If Bay St. Louis wants to be promoted, we have to do it. We don?t have a direct access from I-10, so we have to have something out there to bring tourists in. You can?t just throw out a brochure and hope they will make a side trip,? she said.
One method of economic development that has created a controversy in the city is gaming. Although she understands residents? concerns, Cuevas believes gaming should be looked at objectively.
?I approach gaming as business devel-
stajf photo by Ken Murphy
opment in Bay St. Louis, and that?s part of my job?to stabilize existing businesses, and I find ways to expand and to recruit new businesses. Although I didn?t go out and recruit gaming for Bay St. Louis, it?s an industry just like software development or manufacturing cable,? she said.
With or without controversy, Cuevas is sure to be in the thick of things in Bay St. Louis. She seems to draw energy from a challenge. When will she feel she has overcome the challenge? ?When the psyche of old money versus new money is over with, and people see that it?s our future?not yours versus mine?but ours, then, I?ll be happy, and I?ll pack up my briefcase and go home,? she said.