Town Council Meeting February 2023

The monthly Town Council meeting was held on February 14, 2023. The meeting agenda can be viewed here.

As part of the celebrations for Black History Month, Brittany Davis shared with Town Council the history of the Shake Rag/Carline community in Tazewell. Located on the original path the trolley travelled from the Tazewell Train Station to Main Street from the 1890s – 1930s, which then followed Tazewell Avenue and Fincastle Turnpike, the area developed into an African American community that remains through today. The origins of the name for the Shake Rag neighborhood, officially named Carline for its location on the trolley “car line,” has multiple accounts – from the practice of shaking a rag to flag the trolley for service to the wash days when laundry would be hung from clotheslines to dry. Brittany explained that though it was historically an offensive and derogatory expression, residents have taken that negative connotation and turned it into a positive one showing pride in their roots. The neighborhood hosts frequent fun events for both residents and the general public, such as reunions and block parties, celebrations for Juneteenth, Independence Day, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas.

Luke Allison and Jarrod Burton introduced Town Council to their development project for the property at 320 Main Street. The extensive renovations to the former Tazewell Equipment & Motor Corporation building will result in multiple commercial spaces and up to 18 apartments. A Tazewell native, Luke is excited to bring the skills in redevelopment that he has honed in Pulaski to his hometown.

Mayor Michael Hoops read a resolution in support of “Twin Community” status with fellow “Tazewell” community, Tazewell County, Illinois.  John Ackerman, Tazewell County Clerk & Recorder of Illinois, proposed the partnership after a visit to Tazewell. In Twin Community programs, each locality shares information about their partnering community to help build a relationship fostering growth and understanding. The resolution stated there are only 4 counties/communities named Tazewell in the United States, each named for either Senator Henry Tazewell or his son, Governor Littleton Waller Tazewell, both of Virginia. The shared naming creates a unique historical bond between the locales. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower inaugurated a peace program to advance this bond, also known as “Sister Cities” or “Twin Towns”, with his citizen diplomacy initiative that was developed to strengthen and build world-wide connections through exchanges of cultural and educational communications between communities. Town Council voted unanimously in support of this resolution and looks forward to partnering with Tazewell County, Illinois, in this process.