Come August, Palmetto will be the scene of the start of a promising partnership with the University of South Florida. The city was selected to be part of the school’s inaugural Community Sustainability Partnership Program. Graduate students and professors will engage residents to begin assessing various city needs. The agenda includes the linear park and multi-modal trails as part of improving the transportation system, historic preservation, water-sensitive urban design and many other community priorities. One endeavor involves an architectural survey of the downtown core, now a mishmash of styles that lack cohesion. Once important, sustainable projects are identified, students and faculty with correlating expertise will help the city complete those priorities. The city and its Community Redevelopment Agency will pay for the program. This is not just an academic exercise but a constructive one for Palmetto. Students gain experience in their fields and bring a fresh, outside perspective as well as their creativity and enthusiasm to each project. The city gets propelled into the future with unique improvements focused on sustainability. Is Palmetto prepared for a possibly innovative and dramatic transformation? The city’s CRA director, Jeff Burton, commented on that in an interview with Herald urban affairs reporter Mark Young by first noting the city’s lack of millennials: “We are going to have some very bright and young minds here. These are true millennials, but the best and brightest of them. That can be hard for some of us, but they are here to help us into the future. Change is not easy, but this is the perfect time to bring in these young minds, when things are tipping between the new and old ways.”
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