Heart of Adair, the downtown revitalization group, met in the old courtroom of the Adair County Courthouse recently with just under forty people in attendance.

Dr. Ben Arnold gave a slide presentation to help those in attendance visualize how much more inviting Columbia could be with plantings and creative building painting. Making the point that his was among the worst looking buildings on the square right now (the red one in the corner by First National Bank), he asked if it wouldn't be better to work in groups so that one building isn't getting fancied up in a certain style, while it sits right next to one that has had no improvements made on it at all. The question remained how to get building owners working more closely together for the good of all.

A questionnaire was passed out and collected which revealed each person's individual priorities. Results follow.

Q: Should Heart of Adair get involved with the local zoning board in the hopes of influencing zoning of areas around the proposed bypass?

A: Thirty favored the idea. Four said no.

Q: Should Heart of Adair work with the city to develop codes and regulations about the "looks" of buildings and signs before any more renovation is done downtown?

A: Thirty-two favored. Two opposed.

Q: Should Heart of Adair apply for a National Historic Site designation for the entire town square? (It could mean a 20% tax savings for participating building owners).

A: Thirty-three favored. None opposed.

Q: Should Heart of Adair work with the city, college and property owners to develop an historic/aerobic walkway?

A: Thirty-three favored. None opposed.

Some took questionnaires with them to think about before discussion at the next meeting where it is hoped the most popular decisions can begin to be acted upon.

The final question asked each individual for a list of his or her own priorities for downtown. Response suggestions included:

*Look into tax advantages of deeding exterior of historic building to the historic society while maintaining ownership and control of inside.

*Develop theme events around Columbia's historic events: Mark Twain roots, Civil War Raids, Jessee James robbery of Bank of Columbia, Longhunters Camp, Authors, and Mrs. Scott's and Mrs. Begley's art programs.

*Set a long range goal to improve and expand off-square parking areas and eventually get traffic completely off the square. (Editor's note on this suggestion: Janice Holt Giles once encouraged Columbia to make itself into a mall with foot traffic only.)

*Paint murals on back of buildings, especially those facing the Reed Street parking lot.

*Cable cars to the Trabue House from the square.

*Have a writer's fair in Columbia.

*Plant more trees downtown and in parking areas and on all entrances into town.

*Enforce present ordinances.

*Have fewer meetings, more action!

*Recycle and keep our city clean.

*Recruit more people into Heart of Adair.

*Place a bust of Dolly Partin downtown, encourage more street vendors, and perhaps a weenie wagon.

*Hold an annual Janice Holt Giles festival.

*Repair the courthouse immediately-fix leaks, paint, light the bell tower, etc.

*Hold a taste of Columbia festival since we have over twenty-six different eating establishments in the county - all of them good.

*Make buildings more attractive downtown with paint, plantings, awnings, etc.

*Improve sidewalks.

*Bury electrical lines.

*Ask Wal-Mart and local nurseries to donate plants for flower beds. (Editor's note: last year's plants were donated by Rose Burton's greenhouses and by Wal-Mart. Jackie Graves attended this meeting to say that Wal-Mart wants to work with downtown revitalization again this year and will provide bins for recycling, fund raising events, etc. Jackie can be reached at Wal-Mart to discuss further.)

*Take a quarter of the square at a time on which to work. Adopt a "problem area" and get focused on one doable project area at a time.

*Put a U.S. Government package store downtown.

*Give Senior Citizens discountsl.

*Stop airplanes from flying over the square.

*More activities downtown, for instance, a band concert in the summer.

*Recruit businesses to downtown buildings.

The Design Team has set out seven areas of importance. They include:

*Cleanup of city and county-emphasize new programs, improve publicity, open dumping, zoning ordinances enforced, new recycling programs, residential recycling.

*Beautification of city entrances-landscaping for notoriety (examples: dogwoods in Glasgow, cherry blossoms in Washington), come up with a plan for some uniformity in landscaping, assure maintenance.

*Sidewalk renovation with consideration of ease of mobility for all, especially handicapped accessibility, keeping in mind proper width, drainage, quality craftsmanship, etc.,

*Courthouse-improved lighting on the bell tower, uniform window dressings, clean up and maintain state of repair.

*Signage-review current zoning regulations and make efforts to get improved historical signs, etc.

*Public parking-beautify and possibly turn into parklike areas, address security and accessibility problems.

*Building facades-research and protect integrity of building architectural designs as improvements are made.

Going back to the original Town Meeting in January, the vital concerns listed by the group of sixty people in attendance included:

*Lack of variety in downtown stores

*Need for improved awareness/education about parking

*Downtown closes up too early

*Streetscape improvements needed beyond central business district

*Need for more organized events

*Need organized team efforts that don't burn out volunteers.

Focusing on the positive, at that same meeting, community assets were noted, such as: we do have some retail base on the square, a historic and unique courthouse centerpiece, unique architectural detailing on many buildings, Lindsey Wilson College is successful and growing, the new chapel by a world-class designer will be bringing thousands of visitors to Columbia in future years, financial institutions on the square are strong and supportive of revitalization, many historical residences, strong existing festivals Christmas and Labor Day, the fountain, a lot of local talent and a showcase for it in the revitalized Columbian Theatre, a sense of safety, accessible local government, family oriented, friendly populations, a new courthouse annex, a new regional jail, a famous marching band at our high school, a strong volunteer base like the efforts that are at work in Heart of Adair.

DESIGN TEAM ACTIVITY

Downtown Flower Beds underway

Businesses representatives requested, and were encouraged by popular vote at the last meeting, to take over the plantings of the bed(s) closest to their locations. Each flower bed will have its own personality - it should be fun to see which sides of the square have the best flower beds this summer with so many volunteers.

Mackie Jo Pennington decided to take matters into her own hands last fall and put out bulbs in front of her Photo Video store. The result has been colorful March Lilies and April tulips. Mackie is a volunteer on the Heart of Adair Design Team headed by Charles Grimsley who says that by this fall, it is hoped that there will be leadership, flower funds and a uniform plan for the flower beds. However, they will still need many volunteers and Charles is pleased that personnel within each of the downtown businesses is adopting the beds closest to their stores.

Free mulch is available to downtown revitalization from John Maynard, Manager of North Eastern Products, located out in the Flatwoods area. John says just bring the truck and he'll fill it up. He can be reached at 378-6787.

To volunteer on the Design Team which focuses on building fronts, landscaping and signage, just call the chairman at Grimsley's Jewelry.

A G E N D A

for next meeting

Tuesday, May 7th, 5:15 p.m. in the old courtroom, Adair County courthouse.

I. Results of survey, discussion and additions, if any, to list from last meeting (see page one for list)

-Decide on one priority project per person, or per team

-Encourage more volunteers to join in

II. Billy Joe Fudge presentation on reforestation, how to and how much

-Q & A on activities that might fit Heart of Adair goals

III. Set standing Heart of Adair meeting times and dates for easy planning (Gain agreement on best day of week for meetings and best times)

-One day per month for all volunteers

-One day per month for committee chairs

Artist Lynn Skinner will bid low

on painting murals on buildings

Lynn Skinner, local artist who painted the stairwell at Rags to Riches and the murals for Lainey's Diner, has said that if given the opportunity to bid, he will bid as low as possible for painting murals on downtown building walls in the hopes of gaining the experience.

Who does the American flags here?

Who puts out those wonderful American flags each year at patriotic holiday times? Some say Dennis Loy inherited the project following in Bill Walker's footsteps. Someone else guessed it was the VFW.

There are those of us who are so moved and inspired by the flags flying along the streets that we'd like to see more of them.

Wouldn't it be great to see them all summer?

What if the flag team who takes care of the American flags got together with the Chamber of Commerce team which takes care of the celebration banners downtown and came up with a plan for flags all year round?

To agree or disagree or to suggest something entirely different, call 384-3979 extension 02, and leave your message and number.

Helpful product available for

use in window boxes

Mary Allender suggests a very helpful product for use with flower in window boxes.

The product can be put in planters and will hold four times its size in water. That keeps the planter from drying out so fast.

Mary will be glad to research and provide the contact for this product.

If you've been unable to attend a Heart of Adair meeting since the last newsletter was mailed, the following highlights some of the accomplishments:

*The group name "Heart of Adair" was voted the winning name from among other suggestions including: Main Street Columbia, New Hope Square, We Care, Columbia Plus, The Square in Adair, Columbia Pride, Eye on Adair, Vision 2000, Revitalization of the Square, etc. Heart of Adair was an idea suggested by Robert Flowers and received a two-thirds majority vote.

*Boundaries of Heart of Adair were explored and the majority decided that this will be a county-wide organization, with no limitations, realizing that a visitors perception of this place begins the moment they come across the Adair County line. While the first projects will begin where the greatest need exists, downtown, efforts will eventually radiate to include all of Adair County.

*A financial committee of volunteers was added (see teams on back page), and Ben Arnold was voted Chairman of the Board.

*The group is officially seeking an attorney who will volunteer two projects, (1) incorporate Heart of Adair, and (2) apply for 5013C status so that donations will be tax deductible. Any attorney willing to give his or her time and expertise for this project is invited to call any of the committee chairs listed at the end of this article>.

*"Tastes of Adair" is the idea most popular for a promotion of Columbia and Adair County. The budding idea is for a possible 5-track meal ticket which could start at one restaurant and move on to four others for additional courses. Then a new 5-track ticket would take over. The promotions committee needs volunteers from local restaurants to help us take the idea from here. Promoter Donna Vaughn came up with the idea for a slogan, "Cafe today, Circle-R t'mar".

Just in case this idea doesn't fly past a great slogan, other suggestions for festivals and promotional events include:

A Lost Arts Festival, featuring the locally made arts and crafts; and,

A Shady Grove Festival tied into Janice Holt Giles' most popular book by that name, where the mayor and Judge might declare Janice-Holt -and-Henry-Giles-week in Adair County and related events could be held throughout the week.