Ask the PTA president or the lifelong community member or the county supervisor: What”s your vision for Columbus and Lowndes County?
You likely will get three — or more — very different answers. And moreover, you likely will get very different approaches on how to get there.
So sometimes it takes the inside scoop and some outside expertise to get to where you want to go.
That”s the idea behind this week”s charrette, a three-day long reasearch-and-planning effort, ideally ending in a master plan for Columbus and the surrounding area.
“Throughout the three-day intensive process, we hope to accomplish several things,” Main Street Columbus Director Amber Murphree Brislin said via e-mail. “First, we encourage and want the entire community to participate in the Communitywide Input Session on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m., (in the) lower level of the Trotter (Convention Center); second, a branding strategy for our community, and third, to accomplish groundwork for a future community plan.”
From Tuesday through Thursday, Randy Wilson, Mississippi Main Street Association”s contract design architect, and a team of architects and planners, will take input from community members to develop the conceptualized master plan.
“Next week we will have eight top notch designers, branding and marketing specialists and community planners in town focusing only on the future opportunities for Columbus,” Brislin noted. “This is something to be excited about.”
The team has worked in such areas as Hancock County, Eupora, Westchester, S.C., Clinton, N.C., and Macon, Ga.
Some priorities for the charrette are streamlining the city”s diverse branding and marketing efforts, identifying what makes Columbus unique, making the city”s gateways more appealing, improving upon parks and open spaces, including input on sportsplex design and location, and roadways, sidewalks and trail systems.
After the charrette, Columbus will be left with a poster and comprehensive report, which will hold the results of more $60,000 to $100,000 worth of planning services.
The charrette is being hosted as a part of a $15 million Wired Initiative grant funneled through East Mississippi Community College.
“We are very fortunate to have received this grant for our community, and we plan to take full advantage of the opportunity for the entire community,” Brislin said.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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