Paxton and supervisors have frank discussion
When Greene County Development Corporation (GCDC) executive director Ken Paxton presented his quarterly update to the county board of supervisors Monday he tested the waters on a new idea. It wasn’t rejected totally, but the supervisors gave Paxton little encouragement to officially name the courthouse square “Bell Tower Square.”
Paxton reported on meetings that have been held this summer to develop a county-wide marketing plan. About 45 attended the first meeting in June, and 20 or so returned to a second meeting earlier this month.
“The bottom line is that you have to come up with the key thing that will differentiate yourself, say something about yourself nobody else can say, the thing that makes you unique,” Paxton told the supervisors. “The most unique thing we have in the county is the bell tower.”
Paxton said that the rooftop art project proposed for buildings around the square will make Jefferson even more unique, and he suggested that art could go on the courthouse roof.
The supervisors were less than lukewarm on that idea. Chairman John Muir said that on a scale of 0 to 100, the board is 35 or 40 percent in favor of putting art on the roof. Supervisor Guy Richardson explained that putting art on the courthouse’s rubber roof would likely void the warranties on the roof, something the supervisors are not willing to do. “You’ll have that problem with several roofs around the square,” Richardson said.
He suggested that someone contact the companies that install the rubber roofs and ask what the options might be. He added, though, that there are many roofs around the square that aren’t rubber.
It was useful conversation between the supervisors and Paxton. Paxton reiterated that the history available to curious visitors to the county will be a selling point ahead of any rooftop art.
He added that he had talked with Jefferson administrator Mike Palmer, and that they intended to “push kind of hard” to officially name the square “Bell Tower Square.” “It would be a destination and everybody would know what that destination is,” Paxton said.
“It’s always been the courthouse square,” Muir said. “You’d rather keep it the courthouse square,” Paxton asked. “Personally? Yes,” Muir answered.
“I’d have to think some about it,” Richardson said. “I probably would not have a lot of objection to the courthouse or the bell tower square,” he said.
“The courthouse is a big drawing thing,” Muir said.
“If you’re coming from Illinois, and you’re going to the courthouse square, how much is that going to differentiate you from the other courthouse squares? If you’re going to the bell tower square, how many of those are there?” Paxton answered.
“I don’t want to throw water on your things, but I just want us to know where everyone stands,” Muir said. Paxton said that’s the reason for his updates, and that he could see a potential problem with the rooftop art.
“The bell tower square… it’s a good conversation to get going, see how people feel about it,” Muir said.
