Dante Bidwell outlines Main Street district and 1% sales tax plan for Baker

Dante Bidwell, who heads up economic development for the city of Baker, said the city has formally established a Main Street Economic Development District board and is pursuing recommendations from a strategic planning process that include implementing a dedicated 1% sales tax to fund local improvements.

"We have finished the strategic planning process," Bidwell said, and added that "one of those is the implementation of a 1% sales tax." He said revenue collected inside the district would be reinvested in sidewalks, parking lots, facade improvements, signage and other streetscape work intended to make Main Street more attractive to shoppers and prospective businesses.

Bidwell told the Forward podcast that while Baker has "about 12,500 or so" residents, "you get millions of cars driving through" on Plank Road and Main Street each year. The proposed district and targeted investments aim to turn pass-through traffic into stops that spend money in town.

The Main Street board was formally set last May, Bidwell said, and city staff worked with state lawmakers and local bodies to fill seats on the board. He said a strategic planning firm provided recommendations that city staff are now working to implement in partnership with the city's planning and zoning commission.

Bidwell described several elements of the plan: design standards to guide building placement, greenery and facade appearance; incentives or standards to attract and rehabilitate hotels; and recreational upgrades such as renovated baseball fields to attract tournament play. "When people are coming from out of town to come do tournament ball, they need to place a stake," he said, arguing tournaments would increase hotel stays and local spending.

He also discussed transit and congestion: a planned parking/ride transit center is intended to reduce traffic and provide foot traffic that supports restaurants and retail near transit stops.

Bidwell cited Gonzales as an example of a nearby jurisdiction that used district rules and investment to change its commercial corridor over a decade, and said similar design standards in West Feliciana and St. Francisville encouraged development there.

The podcast did not record any formal city council votes or legislative action on the proposals. Bidwell identified the policy idea as a recommendation from the strategic plan and said staff are working with planning and zoning and other partners on overlay-district recommendations; he did not provide a timeline for council consideration or a vote.

Next steps, as described on the program, include pursuing the overlay elements through planning and zoning, keeping the Main Street board active, and continuing outreach to residents and stakeholders about how the district would operate and be funded.