By Joseph M. Morgan
joseph@southerntorch.com
FORT PAYNE, Ala.—A resource team from Main Street Alabama is in town this week to make an assessment of the downtown area and meet with community leaders and stakeholders in order to develop a formal plan that will be presented to the Fort Payne Main Street Board of Directors and the public on Thursday evening. There are two phases to the plan to improve the downtown area of Fort Payne—an immediate 90-day plan of action and long-term 3-5 year plan.
Main Street Alabama announced in June that Fort Payne was one of the three Alabama towns chosen as a newly designated Main Street Community. The Main Street organization works with cities throughout the country to preserve the historic integrity and improve the economies of selected communities. The organization helps Main Street cities like Fort Payne create new jobs and attract dollars and people back to the downtown area of historic communities. Economic development is at the heart of efforts to revitalize downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.
“Main Street Alabama is thrilled to begin work in Fort Payne,” said Mary Helmer, State Coordinator of Main Street Alabama. “Each selected community understands the importance of their downtown to their city as an economic development tool and to develop a better quality of life for its citizens.”
The resource team hosted a community forum Tuesday night to get input and hear opinions from the community. On Wednesday the team spent the day meeting with community stakeholders including downtown merchants, local businesses and industry, community and economic development organizations and others. The Main Street resource team will wrap up their visit with a final public meeting tonight at the DeKalb Theatre from 4:30 through 6 p.m. to present their assessment to the Fort Payne Main Street Board of Directors and the public.
Main Street is a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that has helped cities across the nation revitalize downtowns for more than 30 years. Being selected as a designated member gives local merchants more access to digital libraries, free online training, access to the Main Street Solution Center as well as membership in the National Trust for Historic Preservation and more.
