Better Hometown Eatonton Hosts City and County Elected Officials
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The Eatonton Messenger
VOL. 133, NO. 29
Thursday, July 19, 2001
By Angie Dalrymple
Reporter
Better Hometown Eatonton hosted a luncheon Tuesday for city and county officials so they could tell them about the program and the benefits it has brought to Eatonton.
District director Joy Moten-Thomas, who works with Alan Dickerson, North Georgia Area Projects Coordinator for Better Hometown, explained what the program is and bragged on the accomplishments of the local effort.
"Eatonton Better Hometown has been one of the most productive cities in the program since it joined. (Lynda) Ramage goes above and beyond to further improve her community", said Dickerson.
"I commend Roddie Ann and Tom Rossiter for applying for Better Hometown in 1999 and being approved on their first try," said Moten-Thomas.
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs and Georgia Power Co founded better Hometown in 1996. The program was formed to help out smaller communities with populations of 1,000 to 5,000 people who were unable to form programs such as Main Street (one of these is located in Milledgeville)which is based on a city population around 15,000 people, Moten-Thomas said.
"The program was designed to improve the community’s quality of life, much like Main Street, just on a smaller level," said Moten-Thomas.
"Better Hometown is really a self-help community development program that is run by the citizens."
Dickerson deals with the development of almost 20 Better Hometowns in the north district while Moten-Thomas works with four to five area Better Hometown communities on more of a day-to-day basis.
The original application based a need for Better Hometown on the lack of centralized leadership in Eatonton, the weakness in the city’s infrastructure, the lack of recreational and retail facilities in downtown Eatonton and the lack of appreciation for Eatonton’s culture, she said.
"I am also impressed that both the city and the county work as a joint partnership to financially support this program," said Moten Thomas.
The numerous accomplishments of Better Hometown are found throughout Eatonton’s downtown. The Plaza, the program’s first project, has continued to grow each month. An inventory of every building in downtown has also been taken to help the city know exactly what it has to offer when a buyer inquires about a particular space.
Other cultural advances have included bringing to town the Macon Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts, and, in November, the Morehouse College Choir, said Moten-Thomas.
Projects in progress right now include making Eatonton a Tree City, obtaining Scenic Byway status and saving the old jail. One particularly beneficial project to downtown businesses would be the offering of a façade grant, said Moten-Thomas. This grant could allow business owners to be reimbursed up to a certain amount for any improvements or work done to their buildings.
Eatonton also will host a Better Hometown application workshop from 10 a.m. until noon Aug. 9. This will be an opportunity for cities interested in applying for Better Hometown status to come and learn about the program, said Moten-Thomas.
"Communities want to be like Eatonton. When you drive downtown and see the Better Hometown banners and signs, it just gives you that warm fuzzy feeling that your city is accomplishing great things," said Moten-Thomas.
"However, the destiny of Better Hometown rests with the Eatonton citizens," she said.
"If you see a Better Hometown board member stop them and ask how you can volunteer to better improve your community," she said.
