Town PRIDE

It's been a busy week

and it's only Tuesday!

Ok,

it was a busy day yesterday.

LOL

After a full day at the office I needed to

attend a Town Council meeting at Town Hall.

My monthly committee meeting starts at 6:00.

I thought their meetings started at 7:00.

I was wrong.

They don't get started until 7:30.

Which was ok.

Gave me an opportunity to chat with the

town treasurer.  We've been used to walk

in the woods together.

But then we both got super busy.

And I got to chat with our new Town Administrator.

I'm REALLY impressed with him!

My committee started working on getting an 

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) restroom

at our trail head FIVE years ago.

(Well, actually six and a half...)

It took five years to win a grant for the $.

We FINALLY did everything right and won the grant.

Then we started getting the silly thing built.

(And it's actually delivered completely built - basically

a plug-and-play thing...)

But we had to do all the site prep.

It has been a year and a half.

We are STILL at the "on paper" stage.

(We are just a committee - no power to make decisions

or spend any money... we can only make recommendations)

The new Town Administrator was hired

the first of November.

He spent the first couple of weeks learning

about our little rural town.

Then he got down to business.

We had a three hour on-site meeting with all the

subs and committees and Pizza Hut.  (lol)

Then he took that information back to his office.

Yesterday he handed me a spread sheet with

a complete job timeline.

Starting today there is SOMETHING scheduled

every week.

The building is being delivered the first week

in March with final inspection the first week in April.

FINALLY!

Somebody with a construction / management background

who knows how to communicate with the trades

and isn't afraid to stand his ground and get things done.

Last night's meeting went until 11:00.

*And I thought OUR meetings were long!

But I learned a LOT about our little town,

the people who are running it (we have a 50% new

town council and a new-ish fire chief) and a 

Mayor who was the Mayor 30 years ago!

(and has been mayor 4 or 5 times in the middle)

And a bunch of "good ol' boys" whose response is

typically "that's the way we do it here".

Yup.

That's the way we used to do it here.

And if it still works, we'll keep doing it that way.

But if it doesn't work or if it's not necessary

for the good of the town,

that's gone.

I'm not a big government person.

I'm a Canadian Libertarian.

(Is there any such thing?)

But I believe in using your resources responsibly.

I don't care that we've always done it this way

because it's your brother in law and he 

needs the business.

If he isn't getting the job done (see above)

then find somebody who can.

I also chatted with our new Fire Chief.

He's running a "combo" department.

3 part time paid lieutenants and the rest 

are volunteers.

When he was hired, he did an inventory and found

no bunker gear (the clothes fire fighters wear) newer

than 15 years!

And we are sending people into fires in that!

He immediately started filing for grants and 

pounding the pavement for every dime he could find

and our entire department has decent equipment.

Not the latest and greatest

but SAFE.

His ENTIRE volunteer department showed up last night.

Every one of them wearing a "uniform" and a SERIOUS

case of PRIDE in their department.

As a previous volunteer fireman, I was so impressed by them!

(Chief said that for the first time EVER, we have a WAITING LIST

for people who want to be volunteers!  That means unpaid, AND you

have to have a Fire II training / rating which means weeks and weeks

of Monday night meetings before you even qualify to work for free!)

Our town has always been awesome.

But I see GREAT things on the horizon!