Mayfield Rebuilds met Thursday night to update the Graves County community on what they’re working on and where their efforts are focused as they continue to help the city recover from December’s devastating tornado outbreak.
Formed out of a series of public meetings earlier this year where community members shared ideas and formed subcommittees, Mayfield Rebuilds is one of the area’s long-term recovery groups that focuses on the future of the city and what it needs to do for a successful recovery.
The steering committee, made up of the leaders of the seven subcommittees as well as the committee chair, has been meeting with each other to share their progress and goals. The group also recently launched a website for people to be able to share their ideas and questions with the committee at any time.
Jill Celaya, committee chair, started the meeting by thanking committee members for their dedication to the recovery effort.
“You've given your time, you've given your talents. You've listened to people, we've gathered your ideas, and you're helping us plan for the future growth of our community,” Celaya said. “Thank you for stepping up and having a vision for a Mayfield that can provide a wonderful place for our children to thrive, for a place where our children want to raise their children.”
Celaya said the city would likely never have an opportunity like this or access to funds like this again, but there needs to be a plan to navigate this opportunity.
Mark Arnold, a landscape architect with Bell Engineering in Lexington, gave an overview of what those involved in city planning efforts have been looking at to shape Mayfield after it rebuilds. The group of city planners, engineers and architects involved in Mayfield have already taken several steps in the process.
“We collect data, get the aerials. I've spent a lot of time, several Thursdays and Fridays, down here walking the streets, just looking at where we are,” Arnold said. “We've talked to a lot of people. We've met with some community groups. We will develop a vision together. This isn't something that I do on my own.”
Arnold said the group would be back around August 11 or 12 to meet with folks on the committee and people in the community about their ideas for the city’s future.
“It's kind of a give and take with the community. It's not just me and a few people sitting over at a table, we want you to be involved,” Arnold said.
After Arnold’s presentation, each subcommittee updated the group on their recent meetings and what they had decided to focus on from the post-it note suggestions received at the initial community meeting in March. Each committee had a few points of focus:
- Business: a Mayfield/Graves County makerspace and small business innovation
- Education: skilled training and life skills centers and programs
- Health & Welfare: green spaces and health coalitions
- Housing: affordable rentals and homes, permanent housing solutions
- Utilities & Transportation: removing one-way streets, underground utilities and improving accessibility
- Rebuild & Design: expanding downtown, fewer one-way streets, and a unique common space in downtown Mayfield
- Quality of Life: community center and kitchen, a downtown farmers market and an indoor sports space
Mayfield Rebuilds is also working with Graves County officials to go through the recovery process.
District 2 County Commissioner Tyler Goodman said the fiscal court wanted to show support as the city moves forward on its goals. Goodman confirmed that the courthouse, the annex, the jail and the American Legion buildings will all be demolished, but that the bid for that process had been delayed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He also said the courthouse will likely become two separate buildings in its future iteration, with one still in the court square and one in close proximity.
Goodman also addressed the potential future of the American Legion building.
“There is a great opportunity there to piggyback off an already thriving or up and coming art scene and just kind of a unique area to be able to have an American Legion museum, have an armed forces museum, have a space of some of the previous artists of Mayfield and Graves County, have a mixed use facility,” Goodman said. “Have just all these other possibilities but being able to utilize that and keep people and bring people downtown.”
The next Mayfield Rebuilds meeting has not yet been scheduled.
