Phyllis Smith -- First Woman City Council Woman and Queen of City's Downtown Revitalization

 

Phyllis Smith might have been born Ohio but a good part of her life was dedicated to  Punta Gorda. In 1985, she became Punta Gorda’s first City Council woman and in that role pushed for beautification of the city’s downtown. Like another Punta Gorda woman who came from another place, Marian McAdow, Phyllis wanted her adopted home to be more lush and beautiful.  Among the  many things we can thank her for is our Downtown Clock.  

In her first year on the council, Phyllis  initiated a streetscape program to beautify the downtown area, which, at the time, looked like an ugly duckling. Smith told her fellow council members that the downtown area needed a facelift if they wanted to attract new business and people. The council approved the idea and left the rest up to Smith.  She formed an ad hoc committee, the Punta Gorda Revitalization Committee, on July 8, 1985. She then hit the pavement, offering to speak at every meeting that was taking place anywhere in Punta Gorda to sell her ideas. She also attended the Florida Redevelopment Association state meetings to get ideas of how other cities in Florida had revitalized their downtowns. 

The committee applied to the Florida Main Street program for funding, but got turned down twice. So the city decided to bite the bullet on the first part of the downtown improvement project and put up the money for the 100 block of West Marion Avenue to be revitalized. The cost of the first streetscape in the 100 block was $190,788, and included old-fashioned lights, brick planters and flowers and improved landscaping, but it did not include money for the replica of the old town clock that Smith wanted. Smith found a company that made replicas of old clocks, but the cost was $25,000. Smith called on the community and they responded with donations. Within 10 years over 35 city blocks were revitalized under the program Phyllis initiated.  

 

Because of  Phyllis's efforts, the city has a  CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) which has enabled the city’s revitalization for many years. She also served on boards of the PGI Civic Association and Charlotte Regional Medical Center, was president of the Peace River Republican Women's Forum,  named Woman of the Year by the Rotary and was an elder for her church, Burnt Store Presbyterian.