DDA adds signage, issues warnings for parking 

New parking signs have been added for the Downtown Development Authority’s 20 limited-parking spaces behind Deano’s, Saltwater Fishery and Moe’s on Madison, and were discussed during its recent meeting, May 30.

DDA Executive Director Glenda Berry said the sign for the two-hour parking limit says, “Smile, you are on camera. If your vehicle is towed, please contact the DDA.” The two-hour limit is only Monday through Friday from 9 a.m to 5 p.m.

“After conversations with the merchants, it was just time to make this happen,” Berry said. “We go down and videotape and then we come back. We give them more than two hours. We really give them about two hours and 45 minutes and three hours. When the time stamp came back, if the same cars were there, we give them (a letter) and place it on their windshield.” 

The letter tells driver’s that it is a one-time courtesy warning and that their vehicle was in violation of the two-hour parking limit. 

“As a courtesy, we are giving you a one-time warning. If you fail to comply with the established time limit for parking again, your vehicle will be towed,” the letter reads.

Six vehicles received a letter, Berry said, and the DDA heard from one person. The next day there was nobody breaking the sign rules.

“It seems like the word is out on the street that if you are there, we are going to tow you,” Berry said. “I think between the signs and the one-time courtesy warning, it seems to be nipping the problem in the bud.”

What the DDA has been excited about is the number of new businesses that have come to downtown Dublin since 2023. Those include J Keyton, A+ Salon, Bloom Salon, Bar Bridal, Mint, Mulberry Kitchen, The Jerk Shop, Crooked Finger Brewing, Dublin Yoga & Pilates, State Farm, Lovely Expressions, Curate Workspace, Balance Life Coaching, Mission Bake Shoppe, Reaching Hearts Travel, Elevated Eatery, EnerGlow Therapeutics, Exodus Travel, Gilbert Thrift Store, Moe’s on Madison, WP Candle Company, Cornerstone Kitchen and Bath, Collective Therapy, Shells Seafood, Happi-Mess, Rosie’s Handmade Ice Cream and Southern MonoGrahams.

“I thought this was important because we’ve talked a lot about economic development and what’s going on downtown,” Berry said. “I wanted you to look at the businesses that have opened just since 2023. It’s a lot to look at.”

Berry noted that some businesses have left the downtown area, but “they are far less than the number of businesses that have come in.”

“When you think about a small town, this is a huge surge of businesses coming into downtown in a two-year period,” she added. “There is just a lot of good positives happening, and there are still spaces in the downtown area.” 

DDA Chairman Rob Miller requested a list of buildings available.

“We need to keep that in our files so we’ll know what we have to offer,” Miller said. 

Berry brought up the DDA doing a downtown stroll. She said other DDAs had done this with their boards, getting together to walk through their downtown area and see where improvements can be made.

“We’ll be able to see what needs to be different,” Berry said. “I walk through downtown all of the time, but sometimes you see it so many times that you miss it. But if the board is looking together, we may see some opportunities where we can really put our eyes on buildings that are open and start thinking about what would be a good business to move in to that location?” 

Berry showed the DDA that the total expenses from the May 17 Crawfish Festival was $36,505.04 while the total income was $39,412.31.

“When it happens again, we have realized that we need to come up with different ticket options because everybody does not like crawfish,” Berry said. “We want to have something where people come and they just want to hear the music and walk around and see the vendor booths.   We can have one where people want to eat crawfish, so the more options the better.” 

The kid zone was larger this year. Berry said they were happy that it came together.

“I’m grateful for the vendors and the in-kind support was really great,” she said. “We were able to make some net gain. The most important thing is that the community really likes festivals. The bottom line is that our community really likes opportunities to come together.” 

The third annual chili cook-off will be held on Oct. 25 on Madison Street.

DDA Operations Manager Nichole Padgett gave an update on the Farmers Market.

“It continues to grow,” Padgett said. “The word is out and everybody loves the market.”