Mayor shares ideas for Jackson’s future

JACKSON, Tenn. — The Hub City may soon be undergoing some changes.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re building each other up and building our city up,” said Mayor Scott Conger.

Thursday morning, Conger spoke at the Jackson Young Professionals meeting about his goals to improve the city.

“We want to build a positive image for our city, which is vitally important for everyone,” Conger said.

Mayor Conger says it’s important to modernize the City of Jackson, and that means creating a positive presence online, meant to draw in new families and businesses. 

“First thing that we’re going to do is Google, and if a bunch of negative articles come up, then we’re potentially eliminating ourselves from a search process before we even know we’re in the search process,” Conger said.

There was also a question and answer session after the mayor spoke, where residents were able to ask him their pressing questions.

Several people asked about the city’s plans to fix roads and infrastructure. 

Conger says there are plans to redevelop streets from Airways Boulevard to downtown, which will consist of adding sidewalks and bike lanes. 

“It’ll take 10 or 12 years. You know, large major reconstructive projects like that aren’t quick, but we’ve got to start,” Conger said.

“The meeting was very informative today. I learned a lot of new information about what’s happening here in Jackson and the plans for what’s to come,” said Jackson Young Professionals member Madison Balding.

Conger also discussed his public art initiative, including plans to have pop-up art shows, concerts and other projects to showcase local artists.