By: John E. Settle Jr. • Editor • Focus SB News
It’s in the 700 block of Texas Street on the south side. The picture on the left is the appearance of the building on Dec. 31 of this year.
Yours truly sent an email to the owner, Drayden Dunn, saying that he needed to clean up his storefront in early January of this year.
Within a few days, untreated plywood was tacked up over the door and windows of the building--see the picture below.
The building owner is the vice-president of the Downtown Development Authority. At its recent meeting, he was very outspoken on the need for the Executive Director Search Committee to move fast, and to hire local. Seemingly, that concern is more important to him than the appearance of his building which degrades that entire block.
The 700 block of Texas Street--on both the north and south side--is the most improved block on Texas Street with vibrant storefronts and renovated premises. That is all of the buildings with the exception of Dunn's building.
Pictured below are the buildings adjacent to Dunn's ugly plywood storefront:
I believe citizens in leadership positions should act like "leaders" and set the example for others.
Evidently my viewpoint is not shared by Dunn. He was appointed to the DDA board by his wife as the representative of the African American Chamber of Commerce.
So much for being a good community citizen in the downtown district--and for that matter an appointee of the African American Chamber.