Fort Scott is moving forward to the future.

At the Quarterly Downtown Meet and Greet on April 19, the Fort Scott Chamber Executive Director Lindsay Madison led the discussion on all the activities that are planned for the downtown area. There are many.

This Friday the downtown division of the Chamber is facilitating the community downtown clean-up in preparation for all the activities that will be happening.

Bailey Lyons, chair of the committee, told the attendees there will be curbing and striping on National and Scott Avenues, benches painted and three murals going up, among many of the activities that will be going on.  So far 150-200 volunteers are scheduled to help.

The three murals are 1) along the north face of Angie Dawn’s Boutique on Scott Avenue,

2) along the south face of the Structure Hair Salon on National Avenue,

and 3) along the old cable office building on 2nd Street.

The third mural is a collaboration of art teachers in Fort Scott, Lyons said. “This is student-driven,  and will be literary-themed.”

To volunteer to help out in this community project, one must sign a waiver from the City of Fort Scott by today,  April 19. This day is also the last day to pre-register to be able to receive a free t-shirt, commemorating the clean-up. Contact the Chamber at 620-223-3566.

Fort Scott students and FFA members will be working in the 1-3 p.m. time frame, with the majority of the volunteers working from 3-6 p.m. Workers will be fed supper from a Healthy Bourbon County Action Team Grant with Marsha’s Deli serving the meal.

City Manager Kelly Zellner told the attendees that there are plans in the making for a  canopy at Skubitz Plaza for the Fort Scott Farmer’s Market and also signs that help visitors find their way around town.

He said the city is also working on parking issues downtown that will provide designated parking spaces for residents living downtown, which will clear up spaces for businesses.

The goal is to make the area with a “more comfortable traffic flow for people to be willing to come in and visit us,” he said.

Other info from the meeting:

Papa Don’s and Sharkey’s Restaurants now have a “Toast” app for ordering available.

There is a Civil War Encampment this weekend at Fort Scott National Historic Site.

There are resources available at the Small Business Development Center at the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team office on National Avenue. Contact Dacia Clark.

Mark McCoy, former business owner and former interim city manager, is available for entrepreneurship mentoring through  Bourbon County Regional Economic Development Inc., which is located on the second floor of Landmark Bank.

There are e-community loans available through the Chamber of Commerce for help with signage, HVAC, and other business needs.

There will be a Red Cross Blood Drive at Buck Run Community Center on April 20  from 12:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. and April 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Volunteers are needed for the NICA Kansas Mountain Bike Race for youth at Gunn Park Trails this weekend to set up the infield on Saturday and course materials and parking on Sunday.  To sign up: https://signup.com/go/oFWBuyG.

More stories of upcoming events will be featured on fortscott.biz in the near future.