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Soul City speakers recount history, urge investment and youth engagement
Summary
Speakers connected Soul City's 1960s-era development efforts to current infrastructure and urged county support for tourism, youth programs and local amenities including a volunteer fire engine and the Merc recreation complex.
Speakers representing Soul City described the community's founding vision and recent local efforts to revive infrastructure and youth services.
Dr. Charmaine McKisick Melton, who identified herself as a daughter of Soul City founder Floyd McKisick and a retired professor, traced regional accomplishments back to the project's water system and the planned development that once aimed to create a self-sustaining town. She said the Car Lake Regional Water System and related projects helped attract employment and regional infrastructure, and urged renewed focus on developing interstate-exit areas.
Tyrone Melton and other Soul City representatives urged better communication and youth outreach, listed programs the community is pursuing (public pool reopening, murals, neighborhood safety initiatives) and asked for more local partnerships and investment. "Let's have more communications," Tyrone Melton said, calling for events, street-level engagement and support for volunteer services such as the community fire department.
Speakers invited residents to visit Soul City events, volunteer and help sustain local programs; they said more intergenerational engagement and focused outreach could bolster local economic and cultural development.
No formal county commitments were recorded at the town hall; speakers asked residents and local officials to prioritize investment and participation.
