Ideas for promoting the history of Jacksonville were ripe at a subcommittee meeting for a local group working to make the city an Alabama Community of Excellence.
Susan Di Biase, chairwoman of the Quality of Life subcommittee, said she was pleased at how much members accomplished at a meeting Wednesday in pulling together ideas to improve the preservation and visibility of Jacksonville’s historic places.
Councilman Mark Jones said that once the city’s new public safety complex is built, he would love to see the current police building turned into some sort of museum.
“That would be the perfect place for it, right off the square,” added President Jerry Klug.
Jerrod Brown suggested compiling a local “places in peril” list similar to those kept at state and national levels, which would list historical sites in danger of becoming dilapidated.
“The depot is definitely a success story,” he said, but noted that spots like Forney Hall — the only remaining structure of Jacksonville State University’s original campus — and the Eastwood School — the city’s old segregated school for black students — could both benefit from being prioritized for preservation. Among the goals already accomplished by the committee is the recent addition of Eastwood School to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.
Making Jacksonville a more beautiful and walkable city is also part of the committee’s agenda. Indeed, the committee has seen a number of its goals to improve the city’s bike- and pedestrian-friendliness accomplished, including completion of the Henry Farm mountain bike trail, installation of bike racks on the square, and extension of the greenway to Alexandria Road.
A new focus for the committee, said Di Biase, is building connectivity for the people who live in Jacksonville, particularly east-west linkages like the greenway and pocket parks throughout neighborhoods.
Other ideas floated by the committee: create a brochure listing historic locations that could guide visitors on a walking tour; guided tours from volunteers of significant locations for groups using the Chief Ladiga Trail; identify historic districts and create neighborhood committees to focus on their improvement.
“We’re like the tip of the iceberg,” DiBiase said of the committee. “Behind us there’s this whole cadre of volunteers out there getting things done.”
She noted the tree plantings undertaken by the Boy Scouts, landscaping of the pocket park off the square by the master gardeners and the small army of volunteers who worked on the restoration of the train depot.
When the group last evaluated its lengthy list of goals in 2010, said Di Biase, the city’s historical society was not as energized as it is now. The group’s current goal is to be recognized as a historical commission by the City Council, a more defined relationship with city officials could add to the synergistic work of community leaders—something that is a hallmark of the Alabama Community of Excellence program.
“As a society, we have a certain ability to do certain things, but there is every little teeth to what we can do,” Klug said.
If the council were to formally appoint a seven-member commission, he said, it would function as a quasi-judicial body much like the planning commission. Most importantly, if the commission were brought on board, there would be opportunities for locals to apply for grants to fund projects such as façade improvements on historic buildings.
Star staff writer Paige Rentz: 256-235-3564. On Twitter @PRentz_Star.
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