By Ellie Pool
Staff Writer
The Jasper Downtown Development Authority (DDA) met for its monthly meeting on Monday, where members heard a breakdown of the different types of businesses in town and gave the go-ahead to begin the process of forming a 501(c)(3) in support of downtown revitalization.
Brandon Hannah, both a city council member and a member of the DDA, presented a breakdown of business licenses by category for 2025.
According to information from the city’s planning and zoning office that Hannah presented, the city had 677 business licenses in 2025, with 100 in the downtown (central business district).
In later comments, Hannah noted this is the first year they have done this type of analysis, and that using 2025 licenses creates a time lag, as some businesses have changed. They used a rough gauge of those within the downtown boundaries, as there is no official listing for just downtown. He said they are working to streamline this process to allow further, more real-time analysis.
In the graph Hannah provided to the Progress: Business Offices make up 38%; Professional Office/Services, 16%; Retail, 15%; Restaurants, 12%; Beauty Shops, 8%; and Other Categories, 12%, including florists and antique shops.
In his presentation e-mailed to the Progress, Hannah noted:
“Together, business offices and professional offices make up over 50% of all businesses in this dataset, suggesting the district functions as a significant professional and administrative center in addition to being a retail destination,” he stated.
Other News:
Parish Lowrie, chair of the DDA, asked to set up a 501(c)(3) in an effort to “provide charitable fundraising, financial support, volunteer resources and community partnerships in furtherance of downtown revitalization and to achieve the objectives of the Main Street America program.”
The 501(c)(3) is currently under the working name ‘Friends of Downtown Jasper Inc.’ This organization has the purpose of “promoting the revitalization, preservation, economic vitality, cultural enrichment and improvement of downtown Jasper through charitable, educational, historical, cultural and community development activities,” according to Lowrie.
The 501(c)(3) status is important because donors can write off their donations as tax-deductible charitable contributions. Lowrie asked the board to entertain a motion to provide him with a $1,000 budget to get quotes from attorneys to move forward with this plan. The motion was approved.
• Pam Briordy highlighted events going on this week, including music in Stegall Alley this Saturday, Aug. 29, from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. The Pickens Arts and Cultural Alliance will be there hosting a ‘Chalk Party.’
Other upcoming events include JeepFest’s Show n’ Shine on Main Street on Sept. 4. The next Downtown Live will be Sept. 19.
Briordy said, “(The Promotions Committee)’s focus is trying to be on sustainability and longevity… We’ve been throwing a lot of money out to host these events with not a lot of return, so in order to make them sustainable, some things will have to get cut and some things will have to change.”
• Dave Terry, chair of the Pickens Small Business Development Council, spoke about the need for better parking in town.
• Tracy Jones of the Pickens GOP spoke about the upcoming fundraiser at Hensley Plaza. See the ad on page 2A.
The next DDA meeting will be Sept. 28 at 5:30 p.m.
