The Mayors Corner: What Has Been Accomplished & What Needs To Be Done

When first elected in November 2006, this administration promised to address several issues that we thought needed immediate attention in order to move into the future with an improved quality of life for the citizenry. \”Work is the soul of progress\” and your Mayor and council have been working long diligent hours and days to provide our promise to you. The four years seem to have flown by and we all have learned much. We’ve learned that we don’t have all the answers but that surrounding yourself with good people and listening to ideas and suggestions is a much easier and successful road to travel. We’ve learned that governmental agencies are merely roadblocks for success and that it’s not necessarily what you know or what you want to accomplish but it’s who you know and what professionals you employ to complete the task at hand. We’ve learned that there is no such thing as free money, there are always strings attached, and somehow there is never any left over when the jobs complete, someone is always there standing in line, to collect for a change order that should have been documented when the job began. We’ve learned there’s too many rules and mandates in this state that are costly but never funded. We’ve learned that governing is a difficult task and that sometimes unpopular decisions have to be made. These type decisions affect us all personally and they are not made arbitrarily but are made after long hours of contemplation and reflection. We’ve also learned that experience is the best teacher and it’s imperative to become a student of the game, because at times that seems to be what it is. So as we move forward a yard and a pile of dust at a time, we hope that what we have learned in the past will make us more successful in the future. Some of the projects we have accomplished shine a light on what we have learned and what direction we intend to move into the future.