Saline City Council voted at its July 21 meeting to renew its annual contract with local non-profit Saline Main Street, which includes as-needed financial support capped at $20,000.
Saline Main Street, formed a little over a decade ago, aims to “operate as a cultural and commercial hub for entrepreneurship, innovation, entertainment and the arts,” according to Mary Dettling, Executive Director of the organization. Since 2012, Saline Main Street has hosted a variety of local events, supported businesses and opened the 109 Cultural Exchange, a community venue open to the public.
“The 109, this is another thing that we’ve been tackling for a long, long time, since even before I was here,” Dettling said. “But we received our final occupancy at the end of March this year. We’ve hosted several events so far, including successful comedy nights, portrait painting workshops, and more. We’re open to hosting private events, and we are looking for the community to submit ideas.”
At the July 21 meeting, Dettling presented on the group’s progress within the past two years, including a study that found that in 2023, the city hosted over 170,000 visitors, which were found by looking at unique cellphone pings in the area that stayed for over 10 minutes.
“I’m in my second term on council, and these are the best numbers we’ve seen,” councilmember Nicole Rice said. “And not just the most numbers we’ve seen, but these vibrancy grants, these things you’re getting from MEDC, all you’re bringing in to our business owners, to our community, is amazing.”
Council voted unanimously after Dettling’s presentation to extend the city’s contract with Saline Main Street.
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
