The public is invited to participate in a Community Visioning Session on June 21 and a Community Presentation on June 23.
SUMRALL, Miss. — On June 21-23, the Mississippi Main Street Association (MMSA) will conduct a Downtown Roadmap for the Town of Sumrall, Miss. The Downtown Roadmap is a service provided by MMSA to newly designated Mississippi Main Street communities.
The purpose of the Downtown Roadmap is to provide the Sumrall Main Street Association with a strategic framework or "roadmap" with prioritized recommendations and specific implementation tactics for the next three to five years as the organization guides the downtown revitalization activities for the community.
“With advice from the Mississippi Main Street Downtown Roadmap Team and the ideas from our local Main Street Association, I hope that we can implement a more thorough plan for the revitalization of our downtown ‘Main Street’ area,” said Heath Sumrall, Mayor of the Town of Sumrall.
The public is invited to attend the community visioning session on Monday, June 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Sumrall Community Center. The community visioning session will be interactive, and community members are encouraged to give input to help shape the vision for downtown Sumrall.
Community members are also invited to attend the community presentation on Wednesday, June 23 at 5 p.m. in the same location. The public presentation will include general observations and recommendations by the Downtown Roadmap Team.
“Our goal is to create a shared vision plan that Sumrall can use to build on for years to come," said Sabreya DeLancey, Director of Sumrall Main Street Association. "While we are bringing in experts to guide us through, we hope that the people of Sumrall (citizens, business owners, leaders, and even students) will come together and put all of our ideas into plans and then put those plans into action for a greater tomorrow in the Town of Sumrall.”
The Downtown Roadmap Team is comprised of individuals with expertise in a wide range of downtown revitalization experiences. The visit will be comprehensive, and the team's investigation, observations, recommendations, and presentation will follow the Main Street Approach™ to downtown revitalization.
The team will provide recommendations for the community based on information gathered through a review of prior planning documents, an online survey distributed to the community prior to the visit, a community tour, interviews and input sessions, and a facilitated community visioning session.
The team will send a final report to the Sumrall Main Street Association following the Downtown Roadmap that will contain all of the recommendations from the community presentation.
"The MMSA Downtown Roadmap Team looks forward to working with the Sumrall community to develop a plan for the Sumrall Main Street Association that will lead to economic growth and vitality in the downtown which will benefit the entire town," said Thomas Gregory, MMSA State Coordinator.
Team Members include: Thomas Gregory, MMSA; Jennifer Prather, MMSA; Rachael Carter, MSU Extension; Randy Wilson, Community Design Solutions; Andy Kalback, Kalback Design Studio;
Bethany Byrd, Own Your Hill; Chance McDavid, Mississippi Development Authority; and Jeannie Zieren, MMSA.
