FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The mass shooting at a Dr. Martin Luther King Day event final week forged an unwelcome highlight on Fort Pierce— a city that for years has been working to enhance its picture.
Tuesday, city leaders took on the following steps to vary hearts and minds of residents and guests.
Bob Hodgins had spent the final a number of winters in Stuart however he’s involved about overcrowding and visitors.
When he couldn’t discover something there this season, he headed north, to Fort Pierce, and actually preferred what he discovered.
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“It’s like a new experience, we’re finding all kinds of places to spend time,” stated Hodgins.
It’s that type of sentiment that’s music to the ears of Mayor Linda Hudson.
“It is a city that we’ve learned, if you come here and visit, you say this is a great place,” Hudson stated.
The mayor and city fee engaged in an all day strategic planning session Tuesday to map out the city’s imaginative and prescient within the coming years. A unfavourable notion of the city is listed beneath Long Term Challenges and Opportunities.
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“I’ve always said the most important thing to me is that we have a safe city and we do have a safe city,” Hudson stated.
While the city’s violent crime price is increased than the state common, FBI knowledge exhibits the general crime price is falling, a pattern that would rework its picture.
Right now, there are a selection of transformative tasks already underway within the city.
The Kings Landing undertaking will deliver residences, retail and the primary lodge to the city’s downtown core.
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Business proprietor Becky Demanuel at Chic and Shore banked her future on Second Street in Fort Pierce 10 years in the past.
She’s optimistic the city can rebound from this month’s tragedy.
“It’s a lovely place to visit eat, shop, sporting events— everything,” Demanuel stated.
As for Hodgins, if he comes again to Florida subsequent winter, it simply is perhaps Fort Pierce once more.
“We’re really enjoying it,” he stated.