Original minutes from a 1980 meeting
In June 1976, while serving as President of the New Bern-Craven county Chamber of Commerce, Doug Davis conceived the idea and provided the leadership which led to the creation of a Downtown Revitalization Committee. The committee was formed with representatives from the following: (1) Chamber of Commerce (Doug Davis), (2) President of the Downtown Merchants Association, (3) Director of Redevelopment Commission, (4) One from the City of New Bern, (5) One Downtown Merchant at large, (6) One member from the Craven County Board of Commissioners. The Downtown Revitalization Committee conducted many public forums to allow for citizen in-put and to keep the public informed as to the progress being made. The slide/tape program from Santa Cruz was very instrumental in helping tell the story of revitalization.
At the July 12, 1977 meeting held at the Palace Motel, Mr. Davis told those present that, at the original meeting on June 3, 1976, the Downtown Revitalization Committee came into being, and at that meeting the Committee was given a mandate to see that a Central Business District Revitalization Plan to include an architectural study, if necessary, was accomplished. Mr. Davis stated that the committee with the help of the Board of Aldermen, City, Merchants and Land Owners has completed this step and is now ready to proceed with a plan for implementation if this is the wish of those present.
Next the Chairman introduced a five-phase plan for the Downtown area. The plan encompassed a four city block area bounded by Middle, Pollock, Craven Streets and Tryon Palace Drive. The estimated cost for each phase was included.
Mayor Kimbrell spoke in favor of the plan as did Mr. Leo Brody and many others. Mr. Green was granted permission by the Chairman to take the floor. He advanced several excellent reasons why the plan should be implemented and concluded with the following motion: “that the group approve a vote of confidence addressed to the City Board of Aldermen in order that they might favorably consider a special tax district to fund the five-phase plan within the four city block area of the C.B.D”. The motion was seconded by Jim Whiteside. During the discussion, George Scott offered an amendment to the motion that the work on all phases of the plan be started simultaneously. The motion was seconded by Lou Steinberg and E.B. Austin. The motion and the amendment carried unanimously.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 9:45 PM by asking all present to attend the meeting of the Board of Aldermen on July 19 at 8 PM at City Hall.
*The 1977 Plan was the foundation for the revitalization effort, however several recommended projects/phases were never pursued including construction of a mall area throughout the downtown.
Susan Moffat Thomas
Executive Director
No comments:
Post a Comment