Williamson to hold ribbon cutting events

The city of Williamson will celebrate recent growth and improvements with upcoming ribbon cutting events. The Williamson Whistlestop, Papa Johns, Subway and The Rustic Lantern will host a Grand Opening event Thursday, Aug. 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a ribbon cutting set for 10 a.m. Refreshments will be offered during the grand opening, including pizza slices and hot dogs as well as other refreshments.City officials, Williamson residents and local children will celebrate another advancement within the city limits as the official ribbon cutting is held Aug. 25 for the new playground. The Williamson City Cookout will be held at the Walking Trail Pavilion at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25. ’We have seen great growth in the past year in the city of Williamson and luckily the mayor and council, planning commission and city staff have gotten ahead of growth by implementing policies and procedures to keep the atmosphere of Williamson as we would like it with the small town feel and aesthetics,’ said mayor Steve Fry. ‘We are trying to promote the railroad theme for Williamson and the Williamson Whistlestop does that perfectly.’In addition to the new gas station, restaurants and shopping, other types of building have greatly increased in the city in just the past year or so. Between 2008 and 2016, the city of Williamson only issued three building permits. In 2017 alone, the city issued 34 building permits. Already in 2018, around 20 building permits have been issued. ’We are trying to keep the town quiet and beautiful,’ said mayor Fry. ‘We recently paved the walking trail and now we have a new playground. We want to get people together to meet their neighbors and have more ownership and pride in the town.’Fry said the Friends of Williamson group was recently reactivated. It’s a group where concerned citizens can get together and address issues in the city. Williamson’s plans for the future include rebuilding a replica of the city’s old train depot for use as a community gathering place.