Manchester was one of the first cities chosen to participate in this new program, a public-private partnership between the Department of Community Affairs and the Georgia Power Company. The program is similar to the Georgia Main Street Program which serves cities from 5,000 to 50,000 in population. The Better Home Town Program is for cities with populations ranging from 1,000 to 5,000.
The Better Home Town Program provides for economic development assistance in the form of a $10,000 grant from the DCA along with technical assistance and resource team visits from the University of Georgia, GMA, Georgia Power Company, GDITT, Georgia Division of Historic Preservation and others.
Manchester was one of 35 cities applying for the five available positions. After an extensive review and application process, the announcement was made on January 27, 1997 at the Mayor's Day luncheon that Manchester had been chosen. The other four cities selected were Bremen, Blakely, Blackshear and Greensboro.
The principal project for the city in 1997 has been downtown renovation with the centerpiece of that project being the purchase and installation of street lamps reminiscent of the style of the thirties and forties. Each lamp cost $1300.00 plus installation. So far over 47 lamps have been purchased by individuals and donated to the city. These lamps have been erected on Main Street and more are going up each month. The City of Manchester has borne the costs of opening the sidewalks and streets for the underground wiring.
Along with the lamps a major effort is being made to restore the facades of downtown buildings using a comprehensive plan. The buildings are having metal facades removed, awnings installed, trim and brick painted and generally restored to the look of the thirties and forties. Since last year when the project began, 16 buildings have been restored and many more are underway.
The final touch of the downtown restoration is a complete street scape renovation which is on the drawing board.
In addition to the downtown renovation, the task force from the Better Home Town program has been instrumental in the formation of a Downtown Development Authority in the city of Manchester in 1997 and other development projects.
The state coordinator of the Better Home Town Program is Cindy Thilenius. The executive director of the program in Manchester is Frances Tribble.
