This week the town of North Carrollton completed a sidewalk project on Hoboken Street. It was done in phases beginning at Marshall Road to Main Street then down Hoboken Street to Williamson Street. With the construction work of Jimmy Irwin and his crew, these efforts began back in February. The town is receiving tourism funds to make these improvements in North Carrollton, thanks to its collaboration with State Senator Lydia Chassaniol, who chairs the Senate Tourism Committee. There is no doubt this kind of project is an investment to this community and it’s solid. It’s a combination of acquiring funds and coordinated work with people dedicated to this community. Carroll County Board of Supervisors President Jim Neill also helped on this effort with a culvert we needed under the sidewalk.
Small towns across the United States are looking for ways to strengthen their economies, provide better quality of life, and build on local assets. Many rural communities and small towns are facing challenges. One needs to look no further than to what many communities faced a couple of years ago with COVID-19 and the dismal numbers of the 2020 census.
Slow-growing and shrinking rural areas that the 2020 census showed causes more demand for hometown group efforts with their policies.
Smart growth strategies can help rural communities and small towns achieve their goals for growth and development while maintaining their distinctive historic character.
Planning with development should help a rural community and encourage growth in a town. Policies of working together make a difference from the garden club, county supervisors, and seeking grant funding that included state organizations and the legislature. This latest project here in 2024 that North Carrollton has just completed is an example.
Investing in small towns, with simple upgrades, will create assets that will be beneficial for communities. Local economic development matters and I have enjoyed working with a great group here through the years. I am proud of them, now on to the next endeavor here in small town Mississippi.
Ken Strachan serves as the mayor of North Carrollton and is a member of the Mississippi Municipal League board of directors.
