Jasper DDA approves up to $4,000 for training, affirms Downtown Live schedule and public-safety plans; Parrot Park groundbreaking targeted for August

The Jasper Downtown Development Authority on Monday authorized up to $4,000 to bring the Carl Vinson Institute to Jasper for a DDA training session and confirmed plans for this year’s Downtown Live events while accepting public-safety and park updates.

The DDA voted to fund an in-person training session, described by staff as a daylong program for up to 15 participants from the board and city staff. Pam made the motion and Sunny seconded; the motion passed with members voting “aye,” the board secretary announced. Board members also set vendor-application and event dates: vending applications will be released March 1, and Downtown Live dates for 2025 were listed as May 10, June 14, July 12 and Aug. 9 (second Saturday each month).

The vote authorizing the training followed a staff presentation explaining available carryover funds and sponsor revenues. Brandon Douglas, city manager, summarized the budget context, saying the DDA had about $20,000 in carryover to start the year and roughly $22,000 in hotel/motel allocations. Douglas noted 2024 downtown contributions totaled $59,519 against roughly $57,000 in downtown-specific expenditures and cautioned the board to plan for…