Street Talk
Plan For The Future And See Quick Results
By Susan Hart
The Charrette is coming! The Charrette is coming!
Dear Santa,
I’ve been a great town for 150 years. Through all the changes I’ve experienced during that time, I have continued to be a good and safe community that 3500 people call home.
All I want for Christmas is my two front streets sidewalked… On second thought, while we’re at it, howabout:
12 new businesses
11 apartment rentals
10 acre youth center
9 hole putt putt golf course
8 Church bells ringing
7 wi-fi café connections
6 mile walking track
5 RAMP SKATE BOARD PARK
4 Clothing retailers
3 more restaurants
2 Screen Movie Theater
and a slick and bright new skating rink!
These have all been suggested by the young and old of my fair town. Could you please check this list and see what you can do?
Sincerely,
Water Valley
Do you have a similar letter about Water Valley to Santa?
Are there opportunities for our town yet to be discovered? What would it look like? What are the resources available? Those are some great questions that can be answered by the Charrette Program scheduled for Water Valley, Monday – Wednesday, January 12-14, 2009.
“A charrette is an intensive and inclusive planning process undertaken by an interdisciplinary design team over a brief period of time. The beauty of the charrette is that it allows the community to participate in planning their future and see the results immediately.”- from www.communtiydesignsolutions.com whose president, Randy L. Wilson is the team leader for the ARC Communtiy Planning Charrette.
“Mississippi Main Street Association (MMSA) sponsors this community development exercise. Under this program, a group of selected professionals from architecture, economic development, marketing, historic preservation and engineering spend three days in our community, working intensely to develop a long-range plan, not only for preservation, but growth for Water Valley.
The cost of the program is estimated at $30,000, but the MMSA covers that cost for its selected Main Street Communities. There are 58 Mississippi Main Street communities, and Water Valley was chosen for a charrette program this year.
The program itself begins with a tour of the town and interviews with local leaders. At 6 p.m. on the first day (Jan. 12), the charrette group hosts a town-hall meeting for local residents to provide input. This meeting is vital to a successful charrette.
Please put some thought into this issue and mark your calendar for Monday, January 12, 2009, at 6 p.m. The meeting will be in the second floor courtroom at the Water Valley Courthouse. In addition, there will be a closing meeting on Wednesday, January 14, for a presentation of a rough draft of the charrette team’s plan. All residents and interested parties are invited to attend both meetings.”- Bill Taylor, Board President, WVMSA.
Congratulations to the winners of WVMSA Santa Raffle. Nancy Anthony won the drawing for the hand-painted tray by Pati D’Amico and Margaret Higdon won the hand painted Santa gourd by Dr. Andy Jones. The raffle was part of our partnership with JA and Imagination Station, in which $310 was raised for Project Santa. Both ladies are from Water Valley.
Thank you to all who have supported our local businesses during this holiday season. Have a Merry Christmas and blessed New Year.
