The city of Columbus is discussing ways it can improve its growth and aesthetics during the next year.
At a city work session Wednesday morning, City Planner Christina Berry shared with Mayor Robert Smith and city council her vision for 2012.
“I identified some major issues that are affecting the city,” Berry said. “The presentation was very well-received by the board. They gave me feedback and discussed what can be done in a timely fashion.”
The result was a strategic plan for projects that can be completed within a year.
Among the goals for Columbus are creating a redevelopment authority, focusing on cleanliness of neighborhoods and creating more neighborhood crime prevention programs.
“This was really just a brainstorming session, ” Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box said. “We all brought some things to the table and discussed what we would like to see happen. (Berry) took some things from our comprehensive plan and expanded upon them.”
Though Berry took enough information from the meeting to create a plan, the ideas will come before city council again before any of them become a reality.
One of the major issues affecting the city is a drop in population.
Berry said the latest census data showed the population of Columbus at 23,640, which is a decline of almost 2,300 people.
“The census shows that 1,800 people left Lowndes County altogether, and around 500 to 600 moved from the city into the county,” she said. “The county lost population, too. When people leave your city, they take their tax dollars with them.”
Although the Columbus Municipal School District is on academic watch for the second year, Berry said the city could increase its population by implementing a plan to make itself more appealing to specific age groups.
“We need to attract young professionals and retirees,” Berry said. “The city has issue with the educational system not ranking as high. If you attract young professionals and retirees, they don’t have children, so that’s not an issue for them,” Berry said. “Adding bike trails would be attractive to retirees.”
Repairing and improving rundown properties and neighborhoods is another area in which Berry said the city needs to improve.
“We’re going to target specific redevelopment areas to fight blight, meaning investments in streets and lighting and demolishing properties that are dilapidated to open up more room for more properties to come in,” Berry said. “We don’t know how much money we potentially could’ve gotten if these properties were up and running.”
Berry also suggested the city create a plan concerning its infrastructure, especially drainage and water issues.
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