At a recent meeting of the Johnsonville City Council, leaders expressed excitement regarding a new grant that is coming the City’s way. The funding, which will go toward revitalization and beautification, is designed to make the downtown area more attractive and, in turn, draw business back to the area.
Sad to say, driving down Broad Street reveals the fact that the city is in need of such a grant. Abandoned buildings filled with grass and dirt accompanies the overall feeling of emptiness and desertion associated with parts of downtown. What makes the situation even more of a shame is the fact that even in its current state, beauty and charm shines through and causes one to wonder and reminisce about what the street used to look like.
Members of the City Council of Johnsonville, along with the City Administrator and his staff, should be commended for staying the course with the theme of revitalization. From the handling of the city pool to the promotion of the downtown grant, Mayor Dukes and the other members have done an admirable job in getting the ball rolling.
Now comes the hard part.
As stated by Mary Jo Thomas, grant administer, the mission of this current grant is to attract economic development, not ensure its arrival.
As is always the case, the government can only carry the torch so far. It is, in the end, up to the people to finish the job. Local businesses must support and take advantage of this project, doing whatever is necessary to bring downtown Johnsonville back to life again. They should attend whatever meetings are held in relation to the project, ask city hall for as much information as they can, and work hard to use the money provided as effectively as possible.
Citizens, in turn, should take the time to survey the progress of the project. They should take walks along the now tree lined main road and see the transformation take place. Then come back.
Johnsonville has a great opportunity and hopefully this is the start of even better things to come. It isn’t often that a town gets a chance to be reborn or revitalized and turns the opportunity into a long standing turn around. Johnsonville should strive to be the exception.
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