With downtown Jasper recently being named as a Main Street city, the process to revitalizing the historic downtown district moved forward Tuesday as a board was officially put in place to spearhead the project.
Mike Putman, the director of marketing and communications for the Downtown Jasper Business Association, was named the executive director of the downtown Jasper Main Street program, and a 15-member board was appointed. The board includes President Debbie Young Sanders, Vice President Dustin Beaty, Treasurer Lisa Killingsworth, Secretary Delores Tuck, Andy Byars, Pam Callahan, Kathy Chambless, Jonathan Holladay, Paul Kennedy, Tamara Matthews, Brent McCarver, Barbara Medders, Willie Moore Sr., Carlos Pedraza and Donna Smalley.
Putman addressed the community at the Bankhead House and Heritage Center Tuesday night.
“Thank you for putting the confidence in me to accomplish this goal. I can promise you that anything that’s been accomplished thus far has not been Mike. It’s been Mike and you and you and you,” he said, pointing around the room. “This is not a Mike train. This is a Jasper train and a Walker County train.”
Sanders, the president of the Downtown Jasper Business Association, spoke of the original development of downtown Jasper.
“Dr. (David) Rowland came in, and he bought some buildings, and he refurbished these buildings, and new businesses came into those places,” Sanders said. “We just have so many things to thank him for in the downtown business area.”
Through Main Street, program leaders will work with the newly appointed board to revitalize the downtown area, modernizing it and talking with community members about what they want to see in the area. “You’ve got to have a strong foundation to be able to build on and move forward. ... It’s wonderful to be involved in this process,” Mary Helmer, the Alabama state coordinator for Main Street, said Tuesday evening at the Bankhead House. “Seeing the love you have for your community and Dr. Rowland tonight, I think you’re going to drive your car pretty far.”
Sanders added, “We spent about two hours this afternoon being indoctrinated into the Main Street program, and it’s just amazing the things that are going to be taking place within our community.”
A resource team will be in Jasper on July 21-23 to get much needed community input, and a visioning session will be held July 21, from 5 to 8 p.m., at a location to be determined, in Jasper. “We’re going to do a lot of interviews,” Helmer said. “We want to know what you want your community to be.”
Rowland said he’s encouraged to see what the Main Street program can bring to the community.
“I totally endorse it, because it’s a great effort to get the downtown businesses in focus and trying to revitalize the downtown,” he said. “I think it’s already been successful.”
Jasper was one of only three cities in Alabama to receive Main Street designation in 2015.
View Link
