Holly DDA Welcomes New Director Nicholas Klempp
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Oct. 14, 2020)
Holly, MI – Business owners in Downtown Holly already know Nicholas Klempp from his years of volunteering at events, organizing programs for families and kids, regularly attending municipal meetings and being active in the community.  Now he’s stepping into a new role as director of the Downtown Development Authority.
Klempp grew up in Holly as did three generations of his family before him.  He and his wife Jennifer, along with their two children,  are often helping at events like the Holly Car Show, Ladies Night Out, the Dickens’ Festival, and of course events through the schools.
For over ten years Klempp has been project coordinator for Holly Area Community Coalition, a 501(c)3 whose mission is “to work in partnership with the community to empower youth to make positive life choices, thereby preventing and reducing the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs among area youth.”
There Klempp planned community wide events and campaigns, developed the Holly High School Youth Action Board, taught life skills to middle and elementary school students, and helped secure and manage over $100,000 in grants.
He’s been a Pastor at a local church, as well as an office administrator who coordinated the billing process for 14 Prevention Coalitions throughout Oakland County.
Plus Klempp has been active with the DDA, having already attended several trainings including The Main Street Approach and the Eight Principles of the Four Point Approach.
Grant-writing and management was one of the skills that appealed particularly to the DDA Board.  “One of our biggest projects right now is moving the Holly Depot.  Our previous director Katy [Golden], I give a lot of credit to for that.  She got the ball rolling and raised a lot of the money and got the community involved to get this started,” Chairperson Dick Rossell said.
The DDA has raised the money to purchase the land, and has some grant money coming to help fund the move.  But an additional $150,000 is still needed.  “It’s all hands on deck with this depot, and having someone with a track record of going out there and getting grant money, who knows how to manage that, is a real advantage.”
Beyond funding the depot move, the DDA is aiming to grow their resources by focusing on the nonprofit aspect of their work.  The DDA is funded through a TIF – which is a Tax Increment Financing fund that comes from property taxes paid by the businesses. This money would otherwise be paid to the County, but is instead “captured” to be re-invested at the local level on things that help the TIF district such as events, promotion, and physical improvements like outdoor seating, lighting, trees, public art etc.  Main Street Holly is the associated nonprofit which secures funding through donations, fundraising, and grants over and above the TIF capture.
“We don’t necessarily know what the future of TIF funding will be,” Rossell said.  “That’s a tax-based program and it’s limited, especially in these uncertain times.  If we want to be able to do more, we’ve got the 501(c)3 where we can raise money and go for bigger donors.”
As far as the depot project, Klempp and the board have until July 1, 2021 to raise $150,000.
Klempp is excited for the challenge.
“I really look forward to being a part of the great work the Depot committee has started and getting to work on raising funds and completing that amazing project.   I also can’t wait to start to meet, in a whole new way, the many great volunteers that make up the Main Street group and working as a team to accomplish great things for Main Street Holly,” he said.
Learn more about Main Street Holly at https://www.mainstreetholly.com/.