What began as a vacation last year for Russellville mayor David Grissom and his family became a work in progress as Grissom met and visited with Charleston, S.C. mayor Joe Riley and the Charleston City Council about their city's downtown redevelopment project.
“I got a lot of great ideas from them. Charleston, of course, is different from Russellville,” Grissom said. “They've got an ocean, interstates and infrastructure we don't have here. But after meeting with Mayor Riley, I went away excited about our own downtown revitalization.”
The result? Contracting the North Alabama Council of Local Governments (NACOLG) to help with Russellville's downtown redevelopment. The first step, at NACOLG's recommendation, was the formation of the Russellville Downtown Revitalization Committee. Along with Russellville city councilman Jamie Harris, the committee consists of Matt Cooper, Heather Willis, Kim Perdue, Charlie Canida, Cassie Medley and Chase Sparks.
“It's a good cross-section of the community. All these people are familiar with the concept of downtown redevelopment,” Grissom said. “They've contacted me and shown interest. Each of them have the best interests of our downtown at heart.”
The committee's first meeting will be tomorrow, January 21 at 6 p.m. at Russellville City Hall. Grissom encourages any citizen wanting to get involved or learn more about the downtown redevelopment effort to attend.
Grissom also met with mayors from Sheffield, Florence and Cullman to receive their input on recent revitalization efforts.
“We're not trying to reinvent the wheel," Grissom said. "We'll see what was successful so we can make Russellville's downtown the best we can."
The first step in the project is to create a defined downtown redevelopment district. Grissom hopes to see Russellville's district follow North Jackson Avenue, from Cotaco to Tuscaloosa, with North Washington Avenue as the west boundary and the railroad tracks as the east border.
“After we create the district, then we can talk about ideas like upstairs apartments, for example," Grissom said. "The public meetings will dictate if we want to pursue that, which could require some zoning changes."
The City of Russellville received a $300,000 grant last year to repave sidewalks and add black lighting on Lawrence and Franklin Streets.
“I hope ten years from now we'll look back, and from Cotaco to Tuscaloosa on Jackson it will all match as far as lighting, road signs, street signs, etc. Once the downtown redevelopment district is established, all that can be addressed," Grissom said. "There can even be a color pallet requirement."
Grissom and the Russellville City Council hope to include downtown events as part of the plan.
“Some towns do First Fridays, Third Saturdays. We have the idea to set a weekend where we have something like the Watermelon Festival with sidewalk sales, vendors and entertainment,” Grissom said. “The goal is to get people coming back down here like the way Russellville residents used to do. What a special time it was for my mom to come downtown with my grandparents and spend all day in downtown Russellville.
“We wa
