Merchants and property owners set up representative group.
On September 10, City of Plant City staff handed out paperwork to downtown businesses that generated a fair amount of consternation. Among other things, the letter served as a reminder for merchants and property owners to comply with ordinances, and to remove unpermitted sidewalk cafes, items in the public right of way, signs and flags overhanging sidewalks, and that properties need to be brought into compliance by October 1.
On Monday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., the city held a follow up meeting. Fifty people showed up to City Hall, including Mayor Nate Kilton and County Commissioner for District 4, Christine Miller.
“We thought we had a positive message to deliver to you, and quite frankly, that train ran off the rails,” City Manager Bill McDaniel said. “There has been a lot of miscommunication and misperception, and I regret that. From the beginning, this meeting, this gathering of minds, was meant to be about positive issues and developments, and opportunities for downtown. I am so committed, as is our City Commission, to ensuring that we are supporting our downtown in the most positive way possible….As City Manager, I look for opportunities for the city to invest in downtown. But….I don’t want to sit here in City Hall in a vacuum and come up with the ideas that we think are best for downtown. I want to work with you, collaboratively and cooperatively, to identify what we need to be focusing on to make our downtown as strong, as vibrant, as viable as it can possibly be.”
The discussion addressed some of the responsibilities of city government, including code enforcement complexities and city and merchant liabilities. “We believe there are codes that need to be changed, and in some cases, possibly eliminated,” McDaniel said. “Tonight needs to be a beginning where we have a formal communications structure between the city and you all, as merchants and building owners downtown. I think it is time for there to be a merchants group again, made up of some of you who are representing the interests of the merchants and building owners of downtown….We want to make beneficial investments in our downtown. But I need you to tell me what that looks like.”
When the call came for volunteers to be a part of the five-person merchant group, nine people came forward. They each, impromptu, took 30 seconds to a minute to introduce themselves and the reasons they would be a good fit for the five. Papers for voting were passed out, then the rest of the merchants and building owners in attendance voted. “I, for the most part, thought the meeting was good,” LeighAnn Mays said. “I think what they were trying to do was get together that group of five, so that way we can start having better communication, because the communication has been horrible between businesses and building owners, and the city. Bill sounds like he is very sincere about really trying to get everybody working together so we have a better downtown.”
The individuals who were selected as representatives were:
Greg Williams, owner of Brick City Bricks; Martha Trejo, owner of Sweet Roots Apparel; Brandon Snyder, owner of Propagation Whiskey Bar and Kitchen; Cody Lenz, owner of Three Hands Mead Company; and Mays, owner of the Mays Building.
“I think it was a step in the right direction,” Lenz said. “Downtown Plant City is probably stronger than it’s ever been. I think the turnout last night showed that, and there are a lot of people who care. I’m excited for the future of downtown.”
