FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION UPDATE
Quite a bit has been going on in Blackstone. The town manager and B&B consultants have completed the contract phase of the CDBG project. This clears the way for the actual construction phase. Property owners can now make definitive plans on their facadework and submit them to the Design Committee/Review board. Once the review process is done, the property owners can go to the town and acquire their building permits and work can begin!
The Design Committee meets twice a month on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month. The meetings take place at the Police Department community room at 5:30 pm. Property owners are welcome to attend these meetings by appointment. Requests for plans to be approved can be submitted to the Executive Director's office on the Monday that preceeds each scheduled meeting. The paperwork for submitting these plans is included in the guidelines that were distributed to all of the property owners in the historic district.
We look forward to moving the project forward with all due speed. There has been some controversy that has been well publicized but it appears that the project is moving ahead without a glitch. All parties involved have the good of the town at heart and despite some tense moments, progress continues unabated.
D.B.I. UPDATE
Virginia Main Street requires a detailed report each year that is due in mid January. The Executive Director has been busy preparing all the necessary documents due from Blackstone. This information is rolled into an Annual Report and it is important and required for Blackstone to maintain its Main Street designation.
The DBi Board meets the second Tuesday of every month and the January meeting took place on January 13th. The committees have been tasked with coming up with work plans and budgets so that at our next meeting in February, we can adopt a budget for 2009.
There will be a manager's retreat coming up in Luray on Wednesday and Thursday, January 28th and 29th. This is a mandatory training so I will be out of the office during this time. I look forward to this respite and time to re-focus and bring back a fresh perspective on the priorites that need a clear focus for the rest of 2009.
Lafayette Dickens
Executive Director
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