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Eastland one of three cities picked for preservation program
11/19/2009 - by JANE PRATT Special to the Reporter-News
Eastland is one of three Texas cities to be selected by the Texas Historical Commission to participate in the 2010 Visionaries in Preservation program that provides cities with an opportunity to plan for the future and implement revitalization projects.
Bill Dolen, planning director for the city of Eastland, said he is excited about the city being chosen to participate in the program, because it gives residents an opportunity to be a part of the city’s future planning.
“During next year, people will come in and start working with the city to develop projects that the citizens want to see done for preservation,” he said. “They will help us come up with a means of achieving those projects and help develop a step-by-step timeline for the projects that may last from two months to 15 years.”
Dolen said that in the past the Historical Board has dictated what it wants done. He said this program allows residents to pick projects and decide what they want, working with the city to accomplish those goals.
He said there will be seven public meetings during the year, with the first one being in February. After the first year, the Texas Historical Commission will continue to be available to the city for consultation.
Beaumont, Eastland and Gonzales join 31 other communities participating in the VIP program that uses historic preservation as an element to create jobs, provide affordable quality housing, increase economic development and revitalize downtown business districts, according to a news release from the commission.
The program helps establish a way to capture the benefits using a planning process known as “visioning,” a tool to bring residents together to develop a shared image of the future and the steps needed to reach specific goals.
“VIP communities capture the true Texas mystique,” said Josh Lasserre, state coordinator the VIP program. “The structures and the people that shape each unique place tell the real stories of our state’s historic past.”
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