A lot has been said about the changes happening in and around Columbia. The biggest thing I can say as a resident is that I’m noticing.
For the new business owners who are opening stores or serving the public, you’re part of something good that is happening. For the old(er) business owners who have kept the faith and who have begun to renovate or rejuvenate buildings, thank you.
In case you wondered, it will take all of us in Columbia and Marion County working together to stem the population decline and bring both businesses and residents into town.
What can you do if you’re not an investor or a business owner? It’s easy. You can support them. I was telling a friend the other day that I enjoyed “spreading the love” and eating or shopping at different places all the time. One big thing that would help Columbia is if more people spent dollars locally. Eating and shopping not only generates sales tax (in the city), but it helps those business owners who live, work and play here. They’re the folks you hear announced at high school football games as sponsors, or whose ads you see in the pages of The Columbian-Progress or on local radio.
If you haven’t been downtown recently, there is a positive vibe. Colorful paintings now fill the windows of the Rankin Building at Jan Marie’s, and other buildings are being painted and restored in hopes that businesses will soon be present.
But it’s not just downtown that is growing. Just look on U.S. 98. MDOT has been busy paving all four lanes, and up and down the highway there is now construction. Each new building will produce a few jobs and contribute to the local economy. I’m excited for the folks that will get to work at the medical clinic, Fast-Pace, which will employ as many as 15 to start. More employment means maybe some of the vacant homes will sell to people who are working. Each home produces property tax revenue, which can be used on things like crumbling infrastructure. Be sure to support all of the local businesses, from hardware to burgers. One thing you can get in a small town is personal service and a side of conversation at most.
You can also do your part at home. It’s simple to pick trash up out of your lawn or to paint your front door. Last weekend, before heavy rains hit, I went home one day and cleaned out the storm drains near my house. It’s those little things that and help us as we work our way back to prosperity.
Will Columbia be the place your grandparents remembered from the ‘40s and ‘50s? No, it won’t, but as Columbia is being redefined, it will mold to fit today’s society. It’s funny, but things are beginning to come full circle. In many places downtowns are cool again.
These changes could help us retain our local folks after they graduate from college.
I may sound like a cheerleader or a broken record, but we all have a role in Columbia’s health.
I had the opportunity to visit two very different and very cool towns during the summer. The first is my hometown of Kent, Ohio, where new businesses and trendy eateries are now the norm. The second, although a large city, has a small-town feel to it – similar to Columbia. Murfreesboro, Tenn., where my son lives, has a courthouse at the center of town. On Friday nights (not during football season) there is always a live band there with a large crowd. Young and old enjoy a variety of music and fellowship with each other.
I’ve even been to other downtowns that were coming alive again, including another Columbia – Columbia, Tenn. In that small town, you can walk across the street from the Maury County Courthouse and grab a fabulous breakfast, lunch or dinner at Puckett’s, a old-fashioned diner-style place. There are areas on the edge of the downtown that need work, but it’s great to see a thriving city center.
Here’s hoping the positive changes continue in Columbia and Marion County, and a hearty thanks to those making it happen.
Mark Rogers is managing editor of The Columbian-Progress. Reach him at news@columbianprogress.com.
