Resident urges Oliver Springs to consider Tennessee Main Street program and form downtown committee

A community member addressed the council during public comment to outline a no‑match downtown program run by Tennessee Economic and Community Development and suggested steps the town could take to strengthen an eventual application.

She described the program’s phases: “Year 1 is an educational phase, and it includes a community visit. They come to town, look at your downtown... Year 2 is an innovation phase... and this is where they provide $20,000 in funding for projects like gateway signage or benches or banners,” she said, and added larger tiers could become available later.

She recommended assembling a committee of five community members with ex‑officio representation from the city and county mayors, cataloguing building inventories and zoning/code information, and compiling a festival/event catalog to show the town’s assets to visitors. The speaker offered to help the town prepare preliminary materials and said Frank Clark, who heads Tennessee Main Street, had offered to join a virtual meeting or in‑person briefing.

Mayor Terry Frank and staff agreed to include the memo as an exhibit to the minutes so it will be easy to find and to keep the matter on the council’s radar as staff evaluates future opportunities.