I want to start out by thanking everyone who attended the citizen input session last week. I think I speak for members of City Council and City Staff when I say it makes the job of running the city much more rewarding when we see that people are interested in what is going on. We did it a bit differently this year than previously, with more time spent on presenting what ideas we have developed and less time devoted to citizen input. I know that when I used to attend these sessions before becoming mayor, I was always frustrated that the same comments seemed to be made every year and then, at least it seemed to me, there was little follow-up or implementation of the ideas presented during the input sessions. So I thought that this year, especially with the fact that the issues of jobs and the economic future of the City are clearly at the top of everyone’s list of concerns, that we should devote more time at the input session to sharing with the attendees what we would like to do in the upcoming year, and less time generating more wish lists, many of which are the same year after year.

That being said, there were some new comments put forth at this input session. One resident asked council to take a position on the possibility of a county landfill being built just three miles outside the city limits. One citizen asked if the residential garbage fee could be changed from one size fits all to one that is based on the amount of garbage a household produces. I thought both of these were valid questions and should be examined by the city. There were the familiar comments of more things needed for the youth, the county tax rate being too high and beautification issues concerning junk cars and the north side of town.

What I really wanted to share with the readers of this column are the items that I believe there is general agreement among council, staff and hopefully the citizens, of city projects that are worth undertaking in the coming budget year.

Regarding the youth, city council has strongly endorsed the idea of forming a Youth Council, which will serve as a means of giving the youth an opportunity to become involved in city decisions in the future. There is also agreement that we need to move forward on some type of community/recreation center in the city in the near future and trying to open some gyms in the nearer future.

Regarding beautification, there is agreement that a master plan needs to be developed to make downtown especially but also the city in general a more attractive place. That we need professional help to develop a comprehensive plan for improving the streetscapes, the historic downtown (has anyone had the pleasure of visiting Bennettsville or Cheraw recently?) some older neighborhoods adjacent to downtown, and the commercial districts. That only with a professionally prepared master plan can we then begin to work towards setting aside funding and obtaining the grants available for the major improvements needed in areas such as lighting, sidewalks, parking, building renovation and demolition. It is my personal view (which I owe largely to my wife’s input) that a very promising avenue of growth for the city is a focus on developing a ‘sense of place.’ That a crucial element for the future of small southern towns is having a physically attractive environment. In my view, this vision very much involves having a viable, historic downtown and that is why I will push for having the community/recreation center, if one is built, downtown. If downtown is ever going to be a thriving place, major attractions will have to be located there and I can think of no better an attraction than a community/recreation center, but we’ll see how others feel as the process moves forward.

In terms of economic development, there is widespread agreement that the city needs to explore building an industrial park close to the city. That in the hypercompetitive industrial/business recruitment world in which we live, having a Class A industrial park with sites laid out and ready to go, with all the amenities the City can provide as inducements (water/sewer/favorable utility rates/broadband) and being closer to the City than out at the Airport, will improve our chances of success in recruiting certain types of industries.

Also, in the economic development department, there is agreement that we need to be more aggressive in the people recruitment arena. That we need professional help with understanding our market of who would consider moving to Laurinburg and how to induce them to do so, such as by working with a developer to build an amenity-enriched retirement village aimed at younger retirees/empty nesters etc.

We also will continue to work aggressively on developing the airport and keeping the city tax rate and electric rates as low as possible.

Again, on behalf of city council, I thank all those who participated in the input session and hope next year to be able to show some real progress in these and other areas.