By Martha B. Jacob –
Georgetown Councilman Andrew Clift took his seat on council in January after being elected into office in November last year. Running for the seat was not just a whim for Clift, he had very specific goals in mind if he won his election.
Clift said he personally has a passion for historic preservation in the village of Georgetown, specifically on Merchants Row, and that was what his campaign was based on.
Clift said that many of the old buildings on Merchants Row were built as far back as the 1800’s, including the courthouse. He said the area is a true treasure and needs to be preserved.
“I have suggested passing a maintenance ordinance for our historic district,” Clift said. “A maintenance ordinance works to help keep the area looking its best. If paint is peeling and looking bad owners would have to fix it immediately. The National Historic Registry sort of lays out guidelines and parameters but our village also needs to have the guidelines defined somewhere, we need our own legally defined historic district,” he said.
Clift continued, “Georgetown’s economic business developer, Doug Moormon, who was hired by council last year, is diligently looking for ways to market our village. When I moved back here, one of the first things I noticed was how the village had pretty much stayed the same. It hasn’t progressed like it should have. The Shopco closed, the hospital was gone, we don’t have a major retailer, I felt like it was worse as far as growth goes, worse than when I left, and that concerned me.” Clift continued, “Georgetown is a village ready to explode with growth and we have a strong council that is ready to make it happen.”
