Newspaper Page Text
February 11, 2009
^Reporter
PAGE 7A
City aims to move Streetscape plan Thurs.
BY LAURA THACKSTON
AND WILL DAVIS
After six years of waiting,
plans to improve Forsyth's down
town square may take a big step
toward reality on
Thursday.
City council members
are expected to meet at 2
p.m. on Thursday, Feb.
12 to review final sug
gestions and perhaps
approve a final
Streetscape plan that
will catapult the city
into soliciting bids for
the project. The state
awarded a $1 million
Streetscape grant to the
city in 2003, but govern
ment red tape and a
turnover in city leaders
have slowed the project.
That’s way council
member Lamar Russell
persuaded council to call a spe
cial meeting this coming
Thursday to try to expedite the
project. Russell said a revised
plan drawn by project engineer
The Jaeger Co. is, in his eyes,
nearly perfect and now is the
time to act. With the slow econo
my, Russell told the Feb. 3 coun
cil meeting that the project could
bring 15 bids, which would bring
the costs down.
The city has now
held two public hear
ings on the
Streetscape plans to
get input from local
residents and busi
ness owners. At the
initial meeting held
last year, several busi
ness owners com
plained about the
enlarged sidewalks
that jutted into the
street, and about a
loss of parking spaces.
A new design
unveiled at a public
meeting in Alderman
Hall on Feb. 2 tried to
address those complaints. And
most residents seemed to sup
port the plan proposed by Jaeger
representative Scott Douglas.
While some residents said they
were still against the idea of
Royal Palm owner
Art Rauscher says
he’s not a big fan of
bumpouts, but said
they will help those
trying to leave a
business or parallel
park.
bump-outs, many liked the fact
that the new plan would make
them smaller and landscaped.
One of the main functions of the
bump-outs would be safety for
pedestrians. City council mem
bers discussed the fact that it
can be dangerous for pedestrians
to try and cross the street or
walk to their cars in the after
noon because of traffic and the
lack of visibility that drivers
have around the square. "I'm not
a big fan of bump-outs, but it
will serve a purpose for those
trying to leave businesses or
parallel park," Royal Palm
owner Art Rauscher said. "We
need something that will help
people get away from the traffic
and trucks that come through
Forsyth."
The plan also changes the
handicap ramps so that they are
now closer to the sidewalk and
flush with the road. This would
allow for a larger turn radius for
drivers. But with handicap
ramps comes the need for
handrails, and not everyone
likes that idea. The revised lay
out showed that some of the
handrails could extend across
businesses' front doors. Douglas
pointed out that it serves no
purpose to have a handicap
ramp if there are no handrails to
go with it. Hugh Cromer, owner
of Lawson and Cromer
Pharmacy, asked council mem
bers to take into account the
individual needs of business
owners and residents.
Council member Desi Hansford
agreed.
"We need to come to some con
sensus with store owners and do
an end study of what is needed,"
said Hansford. "I have a concern
with anything that would block
a store owner's entryway."
Council members and Douglas
said there are five main purpos
es to the streetscape plan: beau
tifying the downtown area,
allowing better access to busi
nesses, making the square hand
icap friendly, creating a down
town identity and making the
square pedestrian friendly. "Will
the streetscape bring more busi
ness? I don't know," said Mayor
Tye Howard. "But it will freshen
it from 500 years ago. I believe
in throwing this out for discus
sion. You can't be against this
100 percent."
The $1 million plan also
includes rearranging parking
spaces so that the square actual
ly gains two more spaces, shift
ing the inner sidewalk to face
the retaining wall, revising most
curb lines to increase truck turn
ing areas, paving materials (i.e.
pavers vs. concrete), creation of
typical sections of planters and
handicap ramps and providing
recommended benches, trash
cans, bike racks and street
lights. Some business owners
were concerned about what
would happen once construction
got underway, but Douglas said
contractors do one section at a
time and work with business
owners to minimize the impact
that it has on a business's suc
cess. Those who still had issues
with the plan were asked to con
tact Better Hometown director
Laurie Pippin with possible sug
gestions for improvement.
Olive branch for city?
66
It's time for us to get off our (fannies) and start helping each
- Commissioner Jim Peters
In a gesture of harmony,
Monroe County commis
sioners are cutting by 50
percent what they charge
the city for animal control
services.
Commissioner Jim Peters
won unanimous support for
his proposal to lower the
fee for the county's services
from $7,500 to $5,000.
"It's just a goodwill ges
ture," said Peters. "It's time
for us to get off our (fan
nies) and start helping
each other..working togeth
er."
The fee is part of the
annual contract in which
the county agrees to
respond to stray or aggres
sive animal calls in the city.
Peters allowed that his
proposal isn't entirely
unselfish. He said the coun
ty hopes to get some help
from the city with sewer
and water service if it
builds a new administra
tive building in the city.
Commissioner Jim Ham
sounded skeptical. "You
think you'll get $2,500 out
of them for the administra
tive building?" asked Ham.
"It's a two-way street."
Then Ham started listing
a litany of things the city
oth
had done
that he
didn't
think were
coopera
tive. That prompted new
commission chairman
James Vaughn to remark,
"Y'all have long memories,"
prompting laughter from
the crowd.
Peters, a Republican,
joked that it's all part of
the new "change" era of
politics, a reference to
President Obama. Ham
concurred.
"Hope and change," he
said.
Annual Membership
& Black-Tie Celebration
(featuring Five Men on a Stool, Entertainment & Leola Flubbard as speaker)
February 21, 2009—6 P.M.
Holiday Day Inn Conference Center, Forsyth
(Availability to pay by credit card, check or debit card at Website-.www.hubbardalumni.org )
$100 Per Person—Formal Affair
Atlanta based super group Five Men on a Stool is taking over the music scene all across the U.S. with their
contemporary R&B/Jazz sound combined with the influence of spoken word. This hot new band features the
individual talents of its five members accompanied by an All-Star rhythm section that showcases a sexy
interplay between words and musicianship that appeals to all the senses, their Black-Tie Celebration. Enjoy a
night a classy evening of music and poetry that is sure to leave you wanting more!
Hubbard Alumni Association
(501(c) 3 Non-Profit Association)
Annual Membership & Black-Tie Celebration,
Saturday, February 21,6 p.m.
Holiday Inn Conference Center
Formal Affair,
Ticket Sale: $100 per person
Contact: W. James Green—478-973-1743
Fundraiser for Scholarships & National Historic
Hubbard Dormitory Restoration
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