Published: November 07, 2009 11:24 pm      

Workshop designed to help Marion grow

Town analyzed in MSCAT study

For residents of Marion who want their town to grow, help is here. 

Two different groups that seek to help small towns achieve their potential have taken an interest in Marion as of late. 

One of those groups is the Mississippi State University's Community Action Team, which regularly conducts "First Impressions" studies in small towns throughout the state. They recently completed such a study in Marion with the aim of helping the town recognize both its assets and its flaws. 

The results of the MSCAT study were presented to the community in September, and included a recommendation that "the town needs to get a plan and make some decisions about what it wants to look like in the future." 

Now, in a completely separate effort, a Mississippi Main Street Association resource team will help Marion do just that. MMSA will hold a public planning workshop, or charrette, in Marion Nov. 10-12. The charrette will be an intensive revitalization program in which  members of the community and the MMSA group work together to create a strategic plan for the town's growth.

 

First Impressions 



First Impressions describes itself as "a program designed to capture the



thoughts and feelings of visitors as they observe for the first time the characteristics of a community." 

As such, it helps communities get an idea of how outsiders - who might be potential residents or tourists - view the town when just passing through or paying a short visit. 

The study gives towns an idea of what it is about the community that might make someone want to turn a short visit into a longer one - and also what might make them not want to come back. 

In Marion, the First Impressions visitors found plenty of things both to criticize and admire. 

Among the admirable qualities of Marion listed in the First Impressions report were the confederate cemetery, accessibility, potential for expansion, and potential to become a place where people who work in Meridian prefer to live. 

The report was particularly complimentary of the confederate cemetery, calling it, "an asset that is worth revisiting with family and friends", "an asset for tourism opportunities," and saying it "has potential to draw tourists to the area." 

It also said the town is diverse, adding "nothing was observed that should make any particular segment of the population feel uncomfortable about visiting or residing in the town." 

The people were reported as having a good attitude, being "proud to call Marion home" without being so proud that they refused to recognize the areas in which the town could use improvement. 

Among the things that needed improvement, the report said, were curb appeal and sense of place. 

"Creating a sense of place that defines Marion's uniqueness as a small town is critical to the town's ability to attract visitors, businesses, and residents alike," the report read. Numerous times, the report noted that, without signs showing Marion's corporal limit, it would be difficult for an outsider to tell they were not in Meridian. 

The report suggested that Marion could improve its curb appeal by instituting land-use planning ordinances to help the town develop in a more structured way and limit eye-sores like temporary signs. 

A big challenge for Marion, the report said, is its lack of a traditional downtown or town "core," which could encourage civic activities as well as foot traffic. 





Charrette



The upcoming charrette, which is conducted by a different group and is not related to the First Impressions study, will take a more in-depth and involved approach to helping Marion grow. 

Where the First Impressions study presented the Marion with an idea of how it is viewed by outsiders and some suggestions of what it can do to improve its appeal, the charrette will actively work with the community to create a strategic plan for growth. 

The charrette is funded through the West Alabama East Mississippi Regional Initiative and Meridian Community College and will be conducted by an MMSA resource team that includes urban planning professionals. 

The team will produce diagrams, plans, renderings, photo-manipulations, branding and marketing materials to illustrate their recommendations. 

Lisa Sollie, leadership facilitator for Meridian Community College, said what differentiates the charrette process from other urban planning efforts is its heavy reliance on community input. 

"Instead of the community design team coming in and telling the community what to do, it works in reverse," she said. "They can't do it without the input of the community." 

The idea behind the charrette program, based partially on a program in Alabama called Your Town, is to "help (the communities) help themselves," Sollie said. 

"When they (planning team) leave, there is a working plan given to the community and Mississippi Main Street is actually available to help," she said. 

The Marion charrette will begin on Nov. 10 with a kick-off town hall meeting in which members of the community will be invited to share their vision for the town. On Nov. 12, the public will be invited to hear a final presentation on the plan that is developed for Marion. 

Ultimately, what the town will get from the charrette is a strategic plan provided to them in the form of a map and electronic files. The map and files are designed both to guide implementation on the recommendations of the charrette and to help the community apply for grant funding. 





Want to go?



Marion Charrette Meetings

Kick-off town hall meeting: Tuesday, November 10 at 6 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Marion.

Final presentation: Thursday, November 12 at 6 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Marion.

More info: Contact Lisa Sollie at (601)481-1322.



For more information on the charrette, contact Sollie at (601)481-1322. To view a PDF file of the entire First Impressions report, visit MSCAT on the Web at www.mscat.msstate.edu.