There were some good posts yesterday about getting along, looking for what is best for the community, and that kind of thing. I thought it was great. Must have been something in the water.
We do need to work toward the betterment of the community. We should also be concerned about what is best for the community rather than just ourselves.
No one wants to pay more taxes. But, if it will get us where we want to go, and is for the good of the community, then it might be worth it.
I do think this is the first step in making progress. We need to have a goal, a bigger picture, to keep our attention.
The bickering back and forth doesnt accomplish anything. The finger pointing doesnt either.
But where do we want to go?
What do we want to be?
These are the questions that need answers.
I think disagreeing on these questions is fine, its probably even good. Maybe we need to learn how to disagree in a more agreeable way.
There's no need to agree on everything.
A little respect for others goes a long way.
Posts
19 comments:
To work together we have to believe in ourselves. We are so often mired in the "we can't' philosophy that we overlook "we can".
This really is a much better community than we give ourselves credit for. It would be fun for people to stop for one week and think about a personal vision for the community and then come together and discuss it.
We want great schools, great medical care, a strong downtown, a solid community infrastructure, community growth but how do we really get there?
We have to communicate with each other, with our leaders and our leaders (on all levels) have to seriously listen.
I feel like in many ways, the town is at a crossroads. We can reinvent ourselves and have a tremendous future or we can keep on as we are and flounder without vision or plans and basically die.
This won't be without sacrifice and many that are so stuck on their own personal territorial issues are going to have to remember that this is not really just about them but about all of us.
I also challenge the Traveler to take on some of the leadership and to seriously look at the issues facing this town. The Progress Edition is a great idea but lately it has shown NON Progress. There will be controversy and discussion but do we as a community have the strength to face the future and meet the challenges?
The Progress Edition is a great idea b
>>>
Hummmm did someone at the traveler write this?
Ill confess to having a negative attitude about the progress edition, simply because i have never ever had a single comment about it one way or the other from the public.
BUT
heres the thing
I think your idea about meeting to discuss vision is great.
If i can get a few people together to help, ill get it rolling.
What is the progress edition?
No problem with the Progress Edition but thinks it points out the fact that little progress has been really made in this community in moving forward. We are stagnant in our thoughts, our goals, and our ability to work as a whole.
I would love to work toward the future for this town. I have much at stake in making this a viable community and no I do not mean financially. No, I do not work at the Traveler but would love to see them help move us forward
I would really encourage anyone who is interested in direction/growth and check out the website www.smartgrowthamerica.org
They have some excellent resources on community planning, development and community involvement.
They key is not to spend time reinventing the wheel there are plenty of non-profit organizations out there who support community groups and offer advice and resources.
Their mission statement is: working towards better choices for our communities. I think it fits perfectly with the current climate in AC.
I believe the education system has to be examined. The cost of education is very high. Public school tuition has been increasing for decades and I am not sure the actual results are keeping pace. This is a difficult situation to bring up, because people lash out with phrases like 'support the kids' or 'its for the children'. This is a community issue, we all love children and want the best for them, including allowing kids to be kids...all while learning responsibility.
I was really surprised by the % of our state budget that goes towards education. I don't have many answers, but I do see possibilities where cost could be trimmed, while education does not slide. This is left to someone more intelligent that I, but we should be discussing school's budgets and how money is being spent.
I think educational budgets may need to be examined but think we need to examine the community vision. Education is a part of that but not the whole picture. We need to look at what we want for a community as a whole. Where do we want Ark City to be in the next 15 years and how do we get there. Right now, we are on a haphazard course with no real direction. People yell about everything both good and bad but we are like a ship with no rudder, no captain and certainly no course for the journey. It is like we have mutiny on board but no one has the solution.
That damn Burford project is really pushing the limits...how do they get to use city dump trucks? My taxes pay for that fuel. And the water draining from the roof goes down into the park between it and the chamber of commerce. It floods everything, you can not even use the steps for the waterfall coming down them. When I fall this winter and break a hip on the ice, I promise to sue the hell out of the city and arts council and plumber that installed it. This has been complained about and now to top it off I will have to travel extra miles just to get to a hospital. This is a bunch of crap.
Self-entitled bunch of hippocrites.
Did someone forget to take their happy pill today? Sue a bunch of volunteers that are working without pay to restore a building for the community. They are about to finish cleaning up pigeon poo and all the other fun gunk upstairs so they can put in windows and new space for more programs to benefit even crabby people like you.
Go volunteer or at least speak to those working to make a difference before you get so hateful. Your tax dollars may pay for a tank of gas but they will not pay for the workers, the windows or the materials being used. If the building is destroyed because no one gave their hearts to restore it, the city would pay a lot more in your precious tax dollars to tear it down.
Quit your complaining and make some use of your negative energy.
We had a group, a very diverse group here in this community once before called the Ark City Huma Relations Board, which at onetime consisted of 23 people from across the community to sit a discuss with city officials about what thewy need to do to better our community. Then came the new commission and cut the size down and also they did not everr sit down to listen to what was being said by the members. SO to make a long story short the unapreciative attitude of community voleenter's they cut the number and did away with those who had a good relationship with part of the community they would not take time to talk too. To bad they lost a great deal of input that would have helped them some.
A former board member!!
I would like to get involved in the community. I just don't know how.
Where do you start?
Go to meetings
talk to commissioners.
Then get involved in an issue or a project.
some people say get on boards ... maybe, but some boards are worthless.
they just think big thoughts...
but.
go to meetings, ask questions.
pick out a project to either get involved with or start your own ... then go forward.
but who is byte daily
Human Relations Board was about to become defunct as I understand it. They couldn't even get enough people together to have a vote. They were falling apart and couldn't even get their members together for 4 measely meetings a year.
It was not who was at the meetings of the ACHRC but the communication that the city leaders needed to know of from the diverse group of people. Had the city leaders used that group in the right way alot of the city would be in more support of the projects they want to do. information to that committe made it's way back to people who represented others better than the traveler and when Mr.Freeland was on board he LISTENED to us and there was goood communication about what people wanted in different parts of our community and we were able to go back and say to others who would not go to city commision meeting that your thoughts have been heard and responded to by our city manager.
Just a fact not everyone of your city commisioners make all of the set up meetings nor do they all read the pre-set up meeting note they alot of times get the info from talking to one another and concluding that if he says it is good it must be.
Try some time to get one of the commissiooners to come out and spend time with you before they sit down to say yea or nay and show them what is actually at stake when they do want to change something for one it made a big difffernce on the drive way deal, he/she found out that what was going to happen effected more than want they aimed at. The ACHRC brought that to city hall regardless of how many showed up because we were they for the people and the city and gave them something they do not have time to do and that is get close to the people they represent
ACHRC past member
What everyone should want and wonder is how often does the three major governing bodies get togather and work on something to help move the city in a forward direction? (City government,USD470,and the CCCC Board of Trustees) lot of things going on with all three that pulls projects or money in different direction. Like how come the USD470 will be spending so much money on the schools but will not help fix 15th street one of the city's proposed progect with the half cent sales tax, or why did the USD470 board not go in with CCCC on building the sports complex years ago with a cost must lower to both and the land for that facility was donated then also.
You see I think if they want us the people to come togather for progress then those governing body should do that to and do not forget the banks fighting each other for your dollars instead of working togather like at the Wilson Park rotunda USB should not have to foot the whole bill I am sur that people from home national will be using it also
Enough said for now THINK ABOUT IT ANDFIND OUT WHY then we will come closer to working togather
like at the Wilson Park rotunda USB should not have to foot the whole bill I am sur that people from home national will be using it also
>>>
The Wilson Park rotunda was USB's idea. It is their project.
They didn't have to do it at all, and didn't have to pay for it.
They offered to because it was something they wanted to do.
Hmmmmm
Doing something good for the community at your own expense.
The gall of some people !!
The gall of some people !!
They did it because the city failed to keep it up as they should have and they were emberrassed to have their 100 year celebration of the former 2 time governor of the state of Kansas, business have a big party inviting people from all over the state to see something happing so good had to be done in a run down public facility.
Yes the community will benefit some and will most likely be charged more to reserve it for use, but it was done more for them than us.
concerned citizen
but it was done more for them than us.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
Some people can find a negative in anything.
Yea, its more for them than us, but they are paying for it. and they are giving it to the community.
Its not in that bad of shape now really.
Post a Comment