Civil Municipal Magazine Aug 2023

34 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 8 Capitalizing on the annual Alexander City Jazz Festival, which has been a summer kickoff tradition for over three decades, Main Street and the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce have joined forces to expand the festival into a weeklong event. This extension includes exciting activities like a glow-in-the-dark golf tournament and a citywide medallion search, further engaging the community. The city also focuses on organizing community- building events such as the Tikes for Trucks event, crawfish, gumbo, and chili cook-offs. Thomas acknowledges that Alexander City’s role is too often to provide necessary services during these events, such as electrical support, water supply, security, and garbage collection. This is all part of an effort to reinvent the downtown core, given the impact of the US 280 bypass, which shifted the main road away from the downtown area. “The aim is to revitalize downtown and bring back a vibrant flow of foot traffic,” Baird says. He shares that downtown Alexander City has an established Arts and Entertainment District, which serves as a hub for various events, including a stage for the popular Lake Martin Songwriters Festival. During such events, downtown streets are closed to vehicles, and visitors can freely roam and enjoy the festivities, immersing themselves in the experience.