Happy New Year!! It’s been a long, interesting 2016. What a good feeling it is to hit the reset button, take a look at ourselves, and set some new goals for how we can improve in the coming year. No one is perfect, but what if every day you made a pact with yourself to be a little bit better? Most of us focus on improving our health, finances, careers and our commitment to helping others. But what should a city do? No doubt that a city that reflects on itself and strives for improvement will have a positive impact on lives of its citizens. Beginning with our new Council in January we will be working every day to strengthen the Village of Pinecrest. Our ultimate focus will be on maintaining our character and enhancing our quality of life. Here are some of the things we might consider as a village.
Eat right and exercise more. That’s always at the top of the list. What better way to start than continuing to improve upon our Farmers Market? This is a delightful place to be healthy inside and out. Every Sunday we can gather there to socialize, strengthen our bonds as a community, and enjoy the healthy fresh fruits and vegetables that are all around. The expansion of our Community Center will provide improved opportunities for us to get some exercise. New paths and covered trails in Pinecrest Gardens will further enhance this already unique environment in which to walk, think and relax. Upgraded playground equipment and athletic fields in our parks will enable our children to stay active, and by expanding the ability for our dogs to come with us we will get them in on the healthy action.
No list of resolutions would be complete without figuring out how to improve our finances. Being deliberate about what we do and when we do it is critical. This winter we will be undertaking strategic planning sessions, so that we can reexamine our priorities, set new goals and figure out the best ways to achieve them. This will inform our project lists, and contribute to our budgeting process that will occur during the summer. It will also provide ample opportunity to consider ideas as a community, so there are no surprises. We will keep the good ideas and jettison the bad ones. I believe that we wouldn’t have enough resources to implement all the projects that we have consensus on, so arguing about issues where there is no consensus would be fruitless, and potentially damage our ability to move forward as a community on the positive steps it takes to achieve our long term goals.
The real challenging resolution is having the courage to look inside and identify our own strengths and weaknesses. This year we will be examining the services we provide, how we provide them, then strive to do better. By most accounts we do things well, but we can’t rest. We also will strengthen our relationships with our local, county and state partners. We will be developing our legislative agenda so that we are doing what we can to improve our water, drainage and sewer systems, while always keeping an eye on the changing environment.
Being kind to others is our responsibility. No doubt that people will have differing opinions on many of the issues we will face during the year. As controversial topics arise we will assure that our neighbors and council have complete and accurate information, ample time to consider it, and the opportunity to engage in debate. Then and only then can we be certain that we’re able to make the best, most thoughtful decisions possible. The council chambers will be a safe place to discuss any of our ideas. And we will respect our charter and the responsibility of our highly qualified and accomplished staff to implement the policy that the Council sets.
Happy New Year! Good luck with your resolutions.
