Published: January 03, 2007 09:52 am            

Making a list, checking it twice

Based on the results of last week’s online reader poll, I’m certainly not alone when I say I have no New Year’s resolution.

At the time of this writing (Tuesday afternoon), “no resolution” and “lose weight” were tied, each with 34.01 percent of the 141 votes cast. I used to try to lose wait, now I focus on maintaining. My weight’s pretty normal, as far as I can tell, and I haven’t grown out of the pants I bought three years ago, so that’s good news.

I just wish I could turn some of the pudge from the middle into anything resembling an upper body muscle. But, until they figure out a way for chasing a 2-year-old around the living room to convert microwave popcorn calories into 24-inch pythons… well, me thinks I’ll play the hand I’ve been dealt.

But just because I don’t have a resolution for myself doesn’t mean I can’t come up with some for other people. As I wrote in January 2005 — it’s always more fun telling someone else what to do than actually getting off your own butt and making something happen.

In this case, I’ll be crafting a list of goals for the Clinton City Council. And yes, I do know that the council crafts its own list at a planning session each January. This is just a list of what I think the council’s priorities should be. If you don’t care what I think, then head on over to page 4B and work on the Cryptoquote. It’s a doozy.

Anyhow, the council’s top priority should be hiring the best city administrator available. The rest of the items on the list are very important, but they’ll all be much more complicated without a strong leader at the top of the food chain. Acting City Administrator Matt Brisch has, by many accounts, acquitted himself quite well in his post. But the man has barely been the city attorney for a full year, and that office demands plenty of his own attention.

Beyond that, Clinton Mayor LaMetta Wynn has said she won’t seek re-election in November, which means a stable presence in the administrator’s office will be even more important. Wynn, Kooistra and retired City Attorney Bruce Johansen worked together for more than 5 years, and now all will be gone in the span of 24 months.

Deciding the No. 2 priority is a little more difficult. But it seems the city will be deadlocked, at least in part, until voters have resolution on the pressing issues of building projects for the police and fire departments and library. Without trying to disparage the library, public safety should take precedence.

That means making quick decisions about where to put a new police station, then telling voters what it would cost and getting a vote scheduled. Ditto the new Lyons fire station and expansion of the Chancy facility. But a library decision mustn’t tarry. That board can’t plan any more without knowing if money will be available, and the council has yet to indicate if it will bother proceeding with a bond issue referendum.

For too long, our city leaders have either been unwilling or unable to address these facility needs. And while the state government passed out Vision Iowa money to help rehabilitate the marina, baseball stadium and showboat, our police, fire and library building needs have been steady at best, escalating profusely at worst. These issues must be addressed now before another (City Hall, Ericksen Center?) joins the list.

Of course, none of that talk begins to scrape the surface of the needed changes at the Water Pollution Control Plant. I’d hope that by this time next year the people of Clinton and Camanche have very solid information about the joint facility the towns plan to build and operate. But the federal government will almost certainly intervene somehow, so it’s tough to fault the city for any delays on this topic.

After the facilities needs, the next biggest issue is crafting a tangible plan for improvement of residential streets. The worst quality streets ought to be addressed first, regardless of traffic, and each ought to be built with concrete, curbs and sidewalks. Some of our streets are in such bad condition that they must be fixed as soon as possible. Busier streets in less bad condition can survive a bit longer, but allowing horse trails to pass as city streets in 2007 is an insult to property tax payers.

There are other issues of course, but these seem to be the top three. And I’m sure many council members would agree with the issues, if not the order. But again, it’s just my take. What’s yours?

Scott T. Holland’s column appears every Wednesday in the Clinton Herald. His e-mail address is scottholland@clintonherald.com.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.