Public Forum: What the people had to say

“For Carrollton to be successful, we must ______.”

• Invest significantly in the downtown business district, including the waterfront.

• Invest in youth, after school programs.

• Finish addressing façade issues, especially the backs of buildings.

• Have a collaborative effort between business owners and city to spruce up downtown.

• Clean sidewalks and curb areas; plant trees and flowers to beautify it.

• Have the city and county governments working together.

• Clean up the town.

• Have more community networking and more participation from residents.

• Firm up the “identity of the city” and build plans around that.

• Continue long-term development.

• Continue the Enterprise Incentive Program, which creates quick successes. People will see those and those will translate into long-term successes.

• Repair/replace sidewalks, parking lots.

• Sweep.

• In the spring and fall, put dumpsters out to help people dispose of trash/garbage for those who don’t know where to take it or for those unable to do so, such as the elderly.

• Finish the river walk.

• Develop a strategic plan with goals, a timeline and a budget.

• Work on unity and work on collaboration between all parties.

• Work on rental property issues, especially those that are uninhabitable and/or have absentee owners (residential and commercial).

• Put local youth to work in the summer cutting grass, weed eating, etc.

• Increase the number of volunteers in organizations, such as the Main Street Program, which works on these kinds of issues year-round.

• Fixing up the backs of buildings is critical.

• See projects through.

• Designate someone responsible for maintaining and caring for the trees planted downtown.

• Better coordinate street sweeping with the merchants’ schedules.

• Develop a list of trustworthy people who will help, for example, helping move a big load of trash, especially for the elderly.

• Create an information kiosk, possibly at the courthouse or the river walk.

• Consider long-term funding and time commitment to these ideas.

• Generate more community pride – too many people don’t care.

• Be good neighbors.

• Don’t forget that other parts of the city also need to be addressed, in addition to downtown.

• Create a door-to-door campaign to spread information about events, like the community cleanup. Consider asking the Scouts.

What is the most important thing that needs to be done right now?

• Clean.

• Finish the river walk.

• Visit new and old businesses and buy something.

• Establish a coordinated effort by civic organizations to go to businesses.

• Cut down the trees on Fourth Street and install appropriate trees.

• Look at what other cities are doing, such as Midway and Wilmore.

• Create a common vision for the community.

• Some people don’t know how to get involved or take pride in the community – get out and ask people to participate.

• Utilize social media.

What is the most important thing that should be done in the long-term?

• Address the aging and deteriorating housing stock in the city.

• Address tenant issues as a long-term legislative issue.

• Make the city a place where people want to stay.

• Bring in more businesses to attract people.

• Create a common realistic vision.

• Think about what you want Carrollton to look like in 10 years, then figure out what needs to be done to make it look that way.

• Engage downtown property and business owners; their lack of participation is a problem.

• Address rental problem downtown. Some businesses have been driven away because of renters living upstairs.

• Create a downtown business incubator.