Published: August 02, 2006 07:19 am      

Readers’ ideas for a better Clinton

I asked, and many of you responded.

Two weeks ago in this space, I asked Clinton residents to come up with 28 ideas for a better Clinton (one idea for every 1,000 people). Here were the ground rules:

What are your ideas for Clinton? What are 28 things that ought to happen? Don’t be fluid ( “More frank discussion from our public officials”); be concrete (“Monthly meetings with my councilmen and a school board representative”). Don’t be wishy-washy ( I wish we had better roads”); be demanding (“Every residential street should have curb and gutter no matter the cost”).

I got more responses than I needed to come up with a list of 28, which thrills me for three reasons. One, it helps me write this column a lot faster. Two, it proves people read this space once in a while. And three, it means people really have constructive ideas about the future of Clinton.

But enough about me — I’m sure you all want to hear what everyone else has to say. So what follows are responses (edited for grammar and style) to see if they spark any further discussion. At present, I’ll reserve my comments and let you make yours, either through letters to the editor or comments on our Web site or, preferably, both.

I don’t have room to print every suggestion from every reader, but I’ll try to hit the high points. I’ll also put all the responses online as they were submitted.

On to the responses:

An Arizona resident who moved away from Clinton and comes back to visit her parents said the presence of gambling and shortage of living wage jobs are a major problems.

“Young people will stay in Clinton if there’s a reason. I left 20 years ago partly because there were no jobs. People I graduated with, who seemed to have a lot of promise, are now working on the gambling boat, which I don’t see as such a wonderful thing. If those are the best jobs in town, we have a problem.”

She also wants to see a new library, other avenues for intellectual stimulation of the community beyond the symphony, showboat and art gallery and a real grocery store in Lyons on Main Avenue or farther north.

Another reader, who has lived in many different places but now is locally employed with young children, called for a One Percent for Arts Program.

He says one percent of all new development — city, state and privately funded — “is mandated to be set aside in a public art fund. Moneys in this fund are managed by a City Arts and Culture Council and can be pooled and carried over from one year to the next to pay for projects.” He cites a similar plan in Kent, Wash., that designated an annual $2 per capita in its general fund budget for acquisition and creation of public art as another means of attaining the same goal.

A longtime resident and former school board member offered nine suggestions, including these:

“Expand our transit system to include Camanche and surrounding small cities in the county. Businesses and industry are asking for this and citizens need this option for transportation. Grants are available”; and

“Have the City Council proclaim they have hired the best individual department heads then let them do their jobs without micro-managing. Or replace those non-productive personnel and hire new ones to do the job as their job description should be designed. The members need to get to the job of ‘ideas’ as a group of elected officials, not chest thumping individuals who use ‘I think or I heard’ as their barometer for changes or updates. The brainstorming sessions should include the public and press and could meet monthly. No action taken, just ideas discussed in an open arena, possibly meeting in areas around the community.”

There were other good suggestions here, but I’m trying to get as many people in as possible.

A reader who moved back to town recently ended her list with “this community needs to embrace the younger generation of this town. This town will continue to stay stagnant, or even worse, die out if we don’t do things to keep the younger generations here or give them reasons to come back. Support ideas and programs designed to encourage children, even if you don’t have any or yours are grown.”

A city employee offered five good suggestions, including these: “Walk and Talk Hour — 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. and/or p.m.) everyone in town could walk and talk for a healthier Clinton. If walking is not your thing, put a lawn chair out on the deck or front lawn and be neighborly with a smile and a wave as others pass by”; and

“CC! Spotlight — For the Herald, have a monthly or weekly spotlight on a deed observed regarding one of the Character Counts! Pillars (trustworthiness, responsibility, respect, fairness, caring or citizenship). Authorization from the national office would need to be garnered prior to printing, but it would be a great re-enforcement of what the schools are into and at least for eight months a year there would be adequate storylines. This would be in addition to the ‘Student of the Month’ series the paper already does.”

Point taken.

Another reader, a Lyons resident, write to say “every residential street should have curb and gutter no matter the cost, every yard within 2 miles of a school should have sidewalks and the Lyons boat ramp should have a dock one can stand on to get in and out of a boat.”

A different reader, a frequent commentator on my columns, wants more gas stations: One by Eagle Point Park, one on Main Avenue west of the city limits, one on Second Avenue South west of town but before Mill Creek Parkway and one station on Mill Creek Parkway itself. He also wants a drive-in theater.

Another former school board member suggested a “North and South of the Big Tree” park setting near the site of the old big tree that separated Lyons from Clinton. He said a pocket park with a cottonwood out front and an oak in the back, located about one block north of the Jewel store on 13th Avenue North, would cost about $100,000.

A few people suggested a national chain bookstore is needed. Others called for a shake up of city government with the goal of getting a broad range of young and old, male and female citizens elected to public service. One made the obvious suggestion of maximizing the river, another talked about a 20 to 30 acre lake west of the city.

Many talked about the general attitude of residents in one way or another, whether it be reflected in how they care for their property or how they interact with neighbors and coworkers.

Though no one explicitly stated as such, I could tell by reading that the ideas were submitted by people who truly care about the town and want to see it prosper. The ideas came from such a broad spectrum that it’s easy to see why development is tough work, but it also revealed that no town moves forward without a legitimate plan for the future.

Thanks to the readers for taking it this far. Now let’s keep moving by discussing these ideas and seeing where the conversation leads. Maybe nothing tangible will materialize, but people will be talking. And it’s tough to put a price on that.

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