Milledgeville Main Street asking for public’s input on city’s future

MILLEDGEVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Milledgeville Main Street is asking residents to tell leaders what they would like to see in the city in the future.

A national group named the antebellum capital one of seven cities in the country for a new pilot program aimed at revitalization and preservation.

“We needed something to help us move forward and this program being part of it, will help us to move forward and figure out what direction we need to go,” Carlee Schulte, the director for Milledgeville Main Street, said.

Making progress is good — especially when it means more business, more jobs, and more stability.

“Keeping that going and also staying with the trends, making sure that we still have enough and have what people are looking for downtown,” Schulte said.

She says the pathway to a booming downtown is smart development.

“Milledgeville has been active in revitalization for a long time and you can see it’s a very healthy fun district and a lot of things are going well here,” Kennedy Smith, a consultant with the Community Land Use and Economics or C.L.U.E. Group, said.

Main Street America, a national network of more than 2,000 downtowns and neighborhood districts, named Milledgeville one of seven cities in the country to demonstrate revitalization and preservation.

“We don’t come to the communities to tell you what to do. We really go to the communities to learn as much as we can,” Norma Miess, the National Main Street Center’s Senior Program Officer and Director of Leadership Development, said.

Leaders are asking for the public’s input on what areas can improve and what are some of the untapped resources the city can use.

“What we’re really going to be doing is looking to see what comes next, you know, building on this strong foundation that’s already in place. What’s down the road for downtown Milledgeville 10 years, 20 years down the road? What’s the next big leap to take,” Smith asked.

Schulte points out filling store fronts and keeping up with the next generation are vital for the city’s growth.

“Finding people and developers who come into town and want to do those partnerships. I think those sort of things would really benefit for our downtown,” she said.

A benefit she adds will serve the community for years down the road.

“We’ll be able to serve as a model not just for other main street communities, but communities nationwide that maybe want to move toward historic preservation, revitalization of this urban core,” Schulte said.

Main Street America will take the suggestions they received from Monday’s public forum and develop a potential strategy for Milledgeville’s future in about 18 months.