By Gerri Miller
Elmore/Autauga News Staff Writer
Officials held their first citywide meeting Tuesday night for Project Prattville 2040, a comprehensive plan to guide growth and improvement in the community.
A small crowd attended the meeting or “visioning session” at the Doster Center on a stormy night. The participants were asked questions such as what issues need to be addressed, what outside forces might affect the city as well as what things shouldn’t be changed.
Those at home were also able to participate in the session through Zoom.
The project will include three surveys and three workshops and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. A planning team will include city officials, an advisory commission, residents, business and property owners, elected officials, and the Planning Commission.
Prattville Mayor Bill Gillespie said if the project gets community buy-in and support, the comprehensive plan could be “a roadmap for our future.”
“We all need to be open-minded, talk about our wants and needs, while we recognize and understand that there is a cost to achieve our goals,” Mayor Gillespie told the group.
“A comprehensive municipal plan is a vision that should be tempered by reality while looking toward the future,” he said. “This plan should allow municipal budgeting to accomplish these goals. The comprehensive plan should be a source of strategic planning and studies.”
Some of the issues to be addressed will include land use and development, economic development, transportation, housing and neighborhoods, infrastructure, public facilities and services and annexation.
The consultant team consists of the KPS Group of Birmingham for city planning and project management; Sain Associates of Birmingham for transportation planning, Zimmerman/ Volk Associates of Huntsville for housing analysis, and Dr. Arthur Allaway of the University of Alabama for population projections.
The first survey is available online now and asks how Prattville is doing, how has it changed and what is important looking forward. It can be accessed at https://projectprattville.com/.
During the meeting, Jason Fondren of the KPS Group presented some of the demographic information collected since the project began in March. Just a few of the points presented included:
• Prattville’s education level is the same as the U.S. average
• Prattville can no longer expand into Elmore County
• Industry is growing in Prattville, but there is room for more
• Housing growth is occurring to the north/northeast of the city
• School funding is among the lowest in Alabama
• Parks are concentrated on the west side of the city
• The City is continuing to work on traffic issues
• The City has been improving the sewer system
Fondren said he has collected demographic information comparing Prattville to Alabaster, Athens, Millbrook, Pike Road and Trussville and said Prattville held its own. The information soon will be made available online at the address above.
When asked to name Prattville’s assets, the audience named:
• Community involvement
• Best people around
• A revitalized downtown
• Sanitation/public works
• Willingness of business owners to invest in downtown
• A safer community than some neighbors
• A retained small town feel with the amenities of larger towns
• History
• Autauga Creek and other natural resources
• Sense of security/low crime rate
• Good relationship with military
• Abundant worship opportunities
• Natural beauty
• Airport
• Industrial Parks
• YMCA
• Interstate Access
The group named these issues that hold Prattville back:
• Traffic
• Lack of awareness of downtown
• Overdevelopment
• A need for a downtown commercial overlay
• Downtown parking problems
• Need bigger library
• Taxes for education
• City auditorium
• Pedestrian facilities
• Bike facilities
• Need dog park
• Insufficient use of US31/I-65 Exit
• Need to fill storefronts
• Bold leadership
• Financial support for historic district
When asked what is missing in Prattville, they said:
• Expansion along 31 with potential industrial development
• Education dollars
• Development guidelines
• Better cross-section of community on Planning and Zoning Board
• Business incubators, green jobs, and high-tech jobs
• More partnerships with Autauga County
• Gin shop use complete
• Job growth
• Interpretive Center
• Youth entertainment opportunities
• Development of High Point Town Center
• City school system
• Balance of industries and small businesses.
Mayor Gillespie said when completed, the comprehensive plan will be a source of information for valuable facts and figures on population changes, economic trends, future housing, and infrastructure needs. He said it will also locate and describe valuable historical and natural resources.
“Having this information well organized and easily accessible is extremely useful to numerous stakeholders, local boards, commissions, citizens, businesses, media, planning commissions and many other governmental organizations,” he said.
