New Aberdeen Main Street director enthused about area’s prospects

Work under way on designation application due in October

About 50 people gathered at the D&R Events Center in Aberdeen to take part in a meet and greet with newly-hired Main Street director Wil Russoul, who stressed cooperation and positive energy are paramount in improving Aberdeen’s downtown core.

“First,I just want to say I’m so thrilled to be a part of this,” he said. “I’m humbled you selected me.”

Russoul said he was “passionate” and “positive” about the drive for Main Street designation, a state program that provides the tools cities need to attract businesses and tourists, and calls himself “a cheerleader for Aberdeen.”

Russoul said there’s reason to be positive as areas like Seattle, Pierce County and even Olympia are booming.

“Seattle is the number one city for growth. Pierce County is the number one county for growth,” he said. The cost of housing is rising in those areas, prompting many people to consider setting up shop somewhere less costly and crowded. “Every week I talk to someone who is thinking about moving here or just has.”

Grays Harbor County has three times the tourism as the state average, said Russoul, in large part due to access to the north and south beaches.

“This used to be a coastal town. All the traffic coming in was coming from the beaches,” he said. “We have a four-lane highway running right through town that bypasses Elma, Montesano; when people are coming from Olympia or elsewhere, what’s the first city it hits?”

Russoul said making the city more visually appealing is important and said the Gateway Center, a proposed combination tourism center and business office building on East Wishkah Street and F Street just west of the Wishkah River bridge, would get visitors’ attention and encourage them to linger on their way through town.

Access to the waterfront is another big key, he said, saying there are miles of waterfront in town that should draw businesses and hotels to the region. He also said encouraging Aberdeen’s youth to stay in the area would provide for growth.

“Are we always going to send our talent out of town?” asked Russoul. “There are some talented kids in this area.”

Russoul has created a “think tank,” a group of volunteers with a variety of talents and skills who will meet quarterly to brainstorm new ideas. Everyone is encouraged to join in.

“If you’re positive and forward thinking we’d love to have your input,” he said. “Even if you don’t think you are creative I guarantee you can be if you share your ideas with others.”

Russoul, a singer and songwriter, continues to stress the importance of the arts in creating a strong downtown core.

“I’m excited about art, and we have a lot of art down here,” he said, pointing out a few of the attendees as example. “There’s Darrell Westmoreland, one of the best-known music and entertainment photographers in the country. There’s Wiitimaki’s (jewelers). There’s Cakecakes. All artists, and art is what sells us to the world.”

He said when it comes to revitalizing downtown Aberdeen, the more the merrier. He has an open-door policy and says all ideas are welcome. He said it’s his job to bring together different people with differing ideas and mold those ideas into a plan for a better Aberdeen. His office is in Aberdeen Revitalization headquarters on South I Street next to Boomtown Records and across I Street from the D&R Theater. Russoul can also be reached by email at director@downtownaberdeen.com.