Chickamauga council prepares for upcoming events and growth
Chickamauga’s leaders have again affirmed their commitment to maintaining the city’s small-town atmosphere and heritage while at the same time guiding its 21st century growth.
During their October meeting, Kelly Looney provided an update about the third annual Pumpkin Festival, slated for Oct. 22, that is sponsored by the Chickamauga merchants.
More than 50 vendors have already committed to participate in the event, Looney said.
The festival will include cash prizes for winning pumpkin pies as well as for carved and decorated pumpkins. In addition to pumpkins, there will be musical entertainment throughout the day.
Proceeds from the all-day event benefit the Al Millard Stocking Full of Love Fund. Last year, more than $1,400 was donated to the Fund, a charity that makes Christmas possible for needy boys and girls.
In addition to the Pumpkin Festival, the city has a major event planned for the second Saturday in December.
A street fair that begins in the morning of Dec. 10 will conclude with a “Christmas Movie Memories” themed parade shortly after sundown.
Last year’s Christmas Parade proved to be wildly popular and organizers expect an even better and more diverse collection of floats to participate this year.
Construction at Gordon Lee High School is not expected to dampen spirits or activities and the parade route will again proceed from the Crystal Springs ball fields (across from Holland-Watson Veterans Memorial Park — the one with the helicopter) to the high school’s horseshoe parking area.
Entry forms for the parade are available at the Chickamauga Community Growth Association’s page on Facebook.
Looking beyond these special fall and winter activities, former city councilman Jim Staub reiterated the Chickamauga Historic Preservation Commission’s interest in establishing a local historic district.
The overarching goal of such a district would be to establish guidelines for how business facades in the downtown core would look. Only exterior materials, designs and palettes would be subject to regulation,
Creating an historic district could both help maintain the city’s charm without stifling commercial operations — either national chains or mom-and-pop shops — from growing their businesses.
Staub said the preservation commission is eager to have input from the community as to the city’s appearance. Whatever is decided on would only apply to exteriors and would place no restrictions on the use or interior design of a building.
“If fairly regulated, this could benefit everyone,” he said.
As an example of how effective the planning process can be, Staub cited the recently completed visioning process for the Chickamauga of tomorrow that was recently conducted by the Carl Vinson Institute of the University of Georgia.
That process drew large numbers of interested stake holders and over the course of several public meetings a consensus was reached that recognizes how residents want their community to grow.
Recognizing that value of universal support, Staub said crafting aesthetic guidelines and creating an historic district will be a multistep process that involves meetings, public hearings and governmental action.
Council member Evitte Parrish asked, and was assured, that the commission prepare a draft of guidelines for the council’s review.
City Manager Micheal Haney said the visioning and strategic planning meetings conducted over the past few months that involved the public and the council were both productive and informative.
Copies of the final report, a vision for Chickamauga’s future, that came out of those charities will soon be available for purchase at city hall, he said.
Not only will they serve as a record of what Chickamaugans saw as their strengths and weaknesses in 2016, Haney said the strategic plan can serve as a guide to, “make this a better place for my and your children.”