Greetings to the citizens of Douglas. I, Mayor Tony L. Paulk, would like to invite you to read this article, known as my Mayor’s Monthly Minutes. The purpose of these frequent articles is to give my perspective, as mayor, of services, initiatives, and issues of our local government.
This month, I would like to start with a quote by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which is “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward”. Challenges spawn from complacency and an unwillingness to “keep moving forward” in all environments.
In order to be successful, one has to believe in themself and “keep moving forward.” I think these words from Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. should serve as motivation for our local governments and citizens. Citizens rely on the governing body of a city to create a safe environment to raise a family. A safe environment is provided by proper fire and law enforcement protection. Our governing body is responsible for creating an environment for new businesses and existing businesses. We create this environment by working together with Coffee County officials as well as the Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce and Industrial Authority to obtain land for industrial buildings, installing and updating infrastructure, and promoting Douglas-Coffee County as a business friendly community.
We also have the responsibility of creating an environment that fosters a high quality of life. The governing body creates this environment by promoting events within the community and private-public partnerships, such as the Martin Centre, Southern Home Vintage Market and South Georgia BBQ & Outdoor Festival.
In 1983, Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy starred in a movie named “Trading Places.” Basically, the plot of the movie was to prove one of the theories of two very wealthy brothers. The brothers made a bet on the impact of an individual’s environment upon the individual’s life. So, the wealthy brothers destroyed a very successful man’s career in order to place him in an unfavorable environment. Additionally, the wealthy brothers took a street hustler and placed him in a very favorable environment. The once very successful man became a criminal and the street hustler became a very successful businessman. So, the change in environment changed the individual’s mentality.
Almost a decade ago, the citizens of Coffee County passed a SPLOST with a level one project to construct a new jail that ended up costing $30 million dollars. A project with a level one designation identifies the project as a top priority. I would agree that a new jail was needed and so we built it. We allocated $30 million to build a new jail but my sentiments are we need to “keep moving forward” by creating an environment that will have a positive impact on the community and that will hopefully detour our youth and residents from becoming a tenant at the Coffee County Jail.
A few of these type facilities would include, but are not limited to, a sports complex, water park, new and/or updated parks, courthouse and a new city hall.
During the summer, I had the opportunity to visit our City Pool facility. I was not pleased with the deteriorated state of the facility. To stay ahead, for the positive, we have to “keep moving forward” by updating and impacting our environment, that will afford our citizens a greater opportunity for success.
In the paragraph above I expressed a need for a better environment, but how do we really do that for all citizens? Jack Nicholson once said, “I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.” Take Commissioner Roper for instance. He is dedicated to creating an environment for our children with disabilities to play baseball. As a result of his resilience, our city government is having serious discussions about structuring a facility, for children with disabilities, which will cost an estimated $750,000. We believe that all of our children deserve the opportunity to enjoy a higher quality of life in our community.
In my opinion, we must assign the improvement of our environment the highest priority. The Coffee County Board of Education agreed to “keep moving forward” by creating an environment for the Navy JROTC and our community benefits greatly from the services they provide. For example, the Navy JROTC’s presence at Coffee High School has changed the environment of the campus. Our students must learn to function in a very structured and demanding environment, deeply rooted in discipline and integrity.
We need to evaluate our streetscapes for the City of Douglas. As motorists pass through our communities, we want to take pride in our landmark buildings. We don’t need patch jobs or “bootleg” improvements. We need to maintain the historical integrity as much as we can, and whenever we can’t, we should construct so that we create buildings to do our day-to-day operations that aesthetically appeal to visitors and give citizens a sense of pride.
The citizens of Ambrose, Broxton, and Nicholls deserve a city park with updated play equipment. Broxton’s mayor, Darquitta Riley, makes me forget that she is the Mayor of a small city. Mayor Riley’s passion and commitment to making Broxton better is unparalleled in comparison to some larger cities. My hat goes off to Mayor Riley as she strives to “keep moving forward”. As the Mayor of Douglas, I am grateful and humbled by the support of citizens from surrounding cities and I feel obligated to support Ambrose, Broxton, Nicholls, and Coffee County as well as the City of Douglas.
The City of Douglas will “keep moving forward” by adopting a new residential utilities bill, with a format that is easier to read in October 2016. Our intention is to put to rest the perception from our customers that they receive a “light” bill or “electric” bill. We also want customers to know that this is not a new utility increase –just a new utilities bill. Our billing system has always covered an array of services, but we wanted to make it easier to read so customers will realize they are billed for more than just electric.
Depending on the customers, the total bill could consist of a number of any of the following services: electric, water, gas, storm water, sanitation, irrigation, and sewer. It would be too costly for the city to send out a separate bill for each service, which if we did send separate bills, that fee would have to be passed along to customers. At a cost savings to our customers and our operations, we are continuing the tradition of a bill for consolidated services. For an advanced view of the new bill, please visit our website www.CityofDouglas.com or Facebook page for Douglas Utilities.
Our 311/Customer Care Center staff are available and willing to assist customers as they transition to the new bill. Customers can dial 3-1-1 or 384-3302, or stop by City Hall at 224 E. Bryan Street for a face-to-face consultation. Our staff can provide a wealth of information on things such as how to inspect a living place prior to rental or purchasing; weatherization tips; and can set up an appointment for a FREE weatherization inspection.
Finally, we can “keep moving forward” by keeping Douglas beautiful! I have received calls and letters about neighbors with piles of junk in the yards, junk cars, and uncut grass. I would venture to say that I have drove past 100 or more homes to get a view of the yard for myself. The yards in question did require maintenance. A citizen wrote me a two-page letter referencing businesses by name with unsightly properties. So, I spent Labor Day inspecting trash dumpsters behind businesses. The citizens were right! I have instructed our city manager to obtain some information on creating a Keep Douglas Beautiful Committee to present before Mayor and Commission. We encourage our community to take advantage of the Community Residential “Junk Drop Off” days, which are held on the 3rd Saturdayeach month.
The items I have discussed in this release are ways I personally feel that if we team up; we can keep moving our community forward. I challenge every citizen to get involved with local government, to start or maintain your business, to be good stewards by keeping your residence and property clean, and to participate in cultural and quality of life activities.
I ask that each reader find other meaningful and positive ways to “keep Douglas moving forward” as a great place to live, work, and play.
– Submitted by Tony L. Paulk, Mayor, City of Douglas, Ga.