Please Attend Community Forum Tonight
There’s still time to make plans to attend the “Downtown Dialogue” public forum tonight. The event will be at 7 p.m. at the fellowship hall of First Presbyterian Church, 110 N. Main Street.
Also, please continue to submit comments on this “Downtown Dialogue” blog.
Thanks for visiting the blog and for participating!
Note: If you’d like to ask a question or make a suggestion for a topic, hit the ‘comments’ link under this article. On that page you can leave a comment that will be addressed at the meeting or in future posts.
I believe there needs to be some form of entertainment for downtown. A sports bar would be a good gathering spot for people of the community. A place to meet and watch the game or just socialize. Jonesboro, TN has Music on the Square in the summer. It blocks off downtown and has free music for all ages. You just bring your camping chair and listen to some good music. Anything that would bring people together on a frequent basis would be welcomed.
Comment by B. Adams — March 31, 2009 @ 6:46 pm
Love To See Aquarium Something For People To Do Here
Comment by Donna — March 31, 2009 @ 10:10 pm
Two suggestions that I would like to bring up. First, as was mentioned in the article in the Sun about bring the Arts to downtown area. I believe it would be great to consider that our children are the ones who are the future of downtown Greeneville and we can do many things but if they do not ‘buy into’ the idea of bringing in tourists and Greene Pride then we may loose any work we have done in these next few years. My idea is having the various ages of children do either a Keep Greene Clean or a What Greeneville Means to Me type contest. Having them submit drawings that represent whatever theme is chosen. Then we could either display that artwork in or on particular buildings/businesses OR have the winners decorate the Trash cans that line Main Street and thus have a Culural Arts display built in. Perhaps another idea is to make those pieces of artwork into medium size flags to be hung along Main Street. The other issue I would concure with is the lack of parking. There is especially a lack of handicap parking. Have we discarded the idea of a small Transit to run up & down Main Street as well as some of the main residential areas. I believe it would help bring to the businesses some of the elderly or others that find it difficult to get to or park close enough to our great businesses an opportunity to take advantage of dining and shopping there. Thanks for this great blog and the hard work that is being done. Has anyone thought of doing a separate open forum meeting just with the youth of Greeneville to hear some of their ideas to see what they would like for downtown in their futures, I think we would all be well surprised at thier input towards their future.
Comment by Ginger Pinata — April 1, 2009 @ 10:43 am
Will there be any effort by community leaders to develop a homeless outreach program in Greeneville? Given our leaders in their “infinite wisdom” lack the compassion to even let our homeless live in a storage shelter, this is probably not even being thought about. Will we continue to ignore the plight of the homeless, or will we as a community have the courage to begin to reach out to them?
Comment by A Concerned Citizen — April 2, 2009 @ 1:37 pm
One of the issues this forum is trying to address is, ‘How do we get people coming back into Downtown Greeneville?” I have read and heard of the numerous comments addressing ideas for a Veteran’s Memorial. Greeneville has shown it’s tremendous pride for it’s country and love of it’s soldiers for many generation and I agree that we should find a way to display that pride in Downtown Greeneville. The most wonderful way for a community to gather together to honor our country and it’s Veterans yearly is the 4th of July!
Moving the Fireworks display back to the Greeneville High School area (as it had been done for many years when downtown was more active and not on the by-pass) is the perfect finale for a weekend of RED, WHITE, and BLUE festivities in the downtown area. Why not a parade to go with it? Greeneville loves parades and so do visitors looking for the quaint traditions that towns like ours hold.
This would be an opportunity to not only broadly honor our veterans and history, but to also bring pedestrians into the downtown area to eat and shop as they wait for the parade, watch music, or wait for the fireworks. Did I mention the many hills such as the Highland Hills or Town Square shopping center that offer picturesque viewing as the mountain back drop fades into the displays dark curtain? Phil Gentry will certainly have some poster quality pictures to display!
I have sat in the dreary abandoned parking lot of the old Wal-Mart and Ingles with the hundreds of others as we fight for space in one of the only vistas to see the display. Where has Greeneville’s POMP and CIRCUMSTANCE gone? Where is our pride? I have heard so many in Greeneville mention they don’t go to display simply, ‘because they don’t want to fight the crowd in that tiny parking lot’. A Fireworks display in Downtown Greeneville solves an over crowding problem by offering more space and veiwing areas while also solving problems of bring events back to downtown Greeneville.
I ask that Greeneville Leaders please bring the Fireworks display back this year of 2009! And I know you will see a community start to come back together! God Bless America and God Bless Greeneville!!!
Comment by A Proud Greeneville Veteran — April 3, 2009 @ 5:27 pm
One of the issues this forum is trying to address is, ‘How do we get people coming back into Downtown Greeneville?” I have read and heard of the numerous comments addressing ideas for a Veteran’s Memorial. Greeneville has shown it’s tremendous pride for it’s country and love of it’s soldiers for many generation and I agree that we should find a way to display that pride in Downtown Greeneville. The most wonderful way for a community to gather together to honor our country and it’s Veterans yearly is the 4th of July!
Moving the Fireworks display back to the Greeneville High School area (as it had been done for many years when downtown was more active and not on the by-pass) is the perfect finale for a weekend of RED, WHITE, and BLUE festivities in the downtown area. Why not a parade to go with it? Greeneville loves parades and so do visitors looking for the quaint traditions that towns like ours hold.
This would be an opportunity to not only broadly honor our veterans and our special Presidental history, but to also bring pedestrians into the downtown area to eat and shop as they wait for the parade, watch music, perhaps visit the Nathaniel Greene museum and Andrew Johnsons Homestead, or simply wait for the fireworks and just vist with one another. Did I mention the many hills such as the Highland Hills or Town Square shopping center that offer picturesque viewing as the mountain back drop fades into the displays dark curtain? Phil Gentry will certainly have some poster quality pictures to display!
I have sat in the dreary abandoned parking lot of the old Wal-Mart and Ingles with the hundreds of others as we fight for space in one of the only vistas to see the display. Where has Greeneville’s POMP and CIRCUMSTANCE gone? Where is our pride? I have heard so many in Greeneville mention they don’t go to display simply, ‘because they don’t want to fight the crowd in that tiny parking lot’. A Fireworks display in Downtown Greeneville solves an over crowding problem by offering more space and veiwing areas while also solving problems of bring events back to downtown Greeneville.
I ask that Greeneville Leaders please bring the Fireworks display back this year of 2009! And I know you will see a community start to come back together! God Bless America and God Bless Greeneville!!!
Comment by A Proud Greeneville Veteran — April 3, 2009 @ 5:34 pm
I was born in Greeneville and stayed there until I was 18 and “free” to leave & to go to college. When I was 18, all I wanted to do was to leave Greeneville; in fact, I couldn’t run fast enough! I felt “trapped” by the stillness. I rarely returned “home” except for a wedding or a funeral. Although I grew up counting the minutes until I was “free”, twenty years later, I return with an ache … It makes me sad to see Greeneville essentially frozen in time. While so much HAS changed in 20 years, it basically remains the same … a small town on the cusp of being something rich and beautiful and exciting! The views are breath-taking, the history, inspiring … Greeneville is a diamond in the rough. Unfortunately, my fear is that it will stay that way. Visitors come to Greeneville for a reason … a wedding, a funeral, a festival, a baseball game, etc… You want them to come back!!! You have to give them reason to return, aside from the annual “event” in which they are attending. You need night-life! You need more arts! You need shopping! Has anyone visited downtown Franklin, TN? Greeneville has the same feel, it just hasn’t been given the TLC that Franklin has! You need someone with initiative to think out of the box and to be driven & focused in getting Greeneville where it should be! Not literally “on the map” but figureatively as well! You want people talking about Greeneville! You want people to come back to Greeneville! Give them a reason!
Comment by Emily Garner — April 6, 2009 @ 6:55 pm
Greeneville is a beautiful town with a lot of potential! We need to involve more artists with the planning and development of the downtown area. Greeneville has the potential to become an arts-centered community…. bring in MORE art & cultural events that would not only promote the arts in general, but enhance the beauty and uniqueness of this area. There are a lot of talented artists in East Tennessee, and we could grow culturally through the promotion and support of visual artists. It’s sad that we have to drive to Knoxville, Chattanooga, or Nashville to visit an art museum.
Comment by Sherry Hensley-Rhodes — April 8, 2009 @ 7:31 am
http://brscenic.com/
http://www.bsfsry.com/
http://www.techscribes.com/sarm/srm_scs.htm
Please check out these links and see what other East Tennessee Towns are doing with the rundown depots! They are boasting over 17,000 passengers a year! I myself have riden the Blue Scenic Railway and enjoyed tremendously! Maybe we could even find a way to create passages from here to Knoxville for “Weekend Getaways” to allow those city slickers a break from the fast lane.
Comment by Bring Back the Train Depot — April 8, 2009 @ 11:04 am
An additional thought to add to the train depot…
I realize that Greeneville needs industry or big business (other than Wal-Mart) to bring cash flow back into this town to fund the projects that we desire. My Husband and myself, drive over 50 minutes a day to Johnson City to have a decent paying job. Knoxville and other local towns have that cash flow and the jobs that Greeneville needs. Why not give our Greeneville natives a way to live in Greeneville, work in larger cities, and bring back that cash flow by creating a faster and easier commute to Knoxville, Ashville, or even Chattanooga via a train system? Towns and cities in states such as New Jersey, Pennsylivina, Vermont, and New York have perfected this system and are able to have their quaint villages and incomes too!
It’s just a thought. I personally, am tired of all the red lights that keep popping up on the “by-pass” and am thinking of moving to Johnson City simply to cut down on the driving and stop and go traffic. I love Greeneville and don’t want to leave, but the planning and zoning commissions are really giving me and other commuters no choice.
Comment by Bring Back the Train Depot — April 8, 2009 @ 11:19 am
I read the comments from folks on this website with the desire to improve the current nature of the town. I especially like the comment above from Emily Garner about Greenville being a diamond in the rough.
So why am I posting here? I had a recent discussion with Tattood Brew at the Hickory Hops festival. We met in an atmosphere of controlled fun where people were enjoying quality craft brews on a fantastic day. There was music, and over 40 craft breweries, each of which have put a lot of passion and work behind the beers they make. There has been a great shift in the brewing industry with the ‘coming of age’ of craft brewing. For those of you who take pleasure in cooking, a similar kind of effort goes into brewing the beer. You will see beer variety such as banana-clove nosed hefeweizens, chocolate/coffee flavored porters, spiced and hopped ales, and believe it or not I recently tried a green tea beer at a student run competition.
I wanted to take a few moments after my discussion with Tattood Brew and suggest (in addition to Tattood Brew’s recommendation) hosting a craft beer festival in Greenville. You are so close to Asheville, a tremendously aware craft beer town that there is a good possibility of all the good asheville breweries coming down there. We are from Raleigh, and we are young, so it takes us a bit more to travel. But where there is an enthusiasm and crowd for good craft beer, the breweries will come. The first year may be a small festival as every one of these festivals has been, but the potential for growth is there.
Hope my suggestions are somewhat helpful. Thank you for your time in reading this.
Comment by sumit — April 23, 2009 @ 9:03 am
My advice would be to deploy fiber optic to Greeneville.
Comment by Elijah — April 25, 2009 @ 4:03 am
I am curious as to why, an unattended fire truck often sets in the CoOp warehouse lot along West Main St?
Comment by Chuck — September 8, 2009 @ 4:48 pm