BD Newsletter

Fourth in a Series…

If you were the mayor of McMinnville and had a magic wand, what three things would you change?

By Brad Durham

The answers reflect potential solutions to things that our interviewees would like to change in McMinnville. Each person I interviewed gave thoughtful responses. The changes suggested below are generally ideas that can change the quality of life in McMinnville.

Hypothetically assuming that one could make changes as a mayor raised another question. How much change can a mayor of a town actually make? Assuming there are no limits on what the cost would be and what could be changed, what would you change in McMinnville?

The following are comments from the people I interviewed…

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Another thing that concerns me is sidewalks. They recently put one on the right side of the street into town from here. But there are a lot of apartments out here, and a lot of foot traffic. Prior to putting the sidewalks in, people walked on the edge of the street, and late at night, if you weren’t careful…I just think there needs to be some infrastructure concerns.

Tony Lawrence

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The first thing I would promote is creation of more greenways, walking trails and bike paths. That would lead to more ways to enjoy the natural beauty of the area. Dr. Wally Bigbee has done a wonderful job of doing just this but there is still much to do to continue what he’s started.

Promoting small business development is important, in businesses locally owned with a workforce of 10-25 people. Those businesses are not going to disappear as quickly as some large manufacturing businesses who have no reason not to pull uproots at some point and we lose 300 jobs at one time.

Mac McWhirter

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I would like to see more culture. The places I have been in the military, has helped me see how things can work together in the culture.

Wayne Wolford

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I would add more law enforcement, and that comes from my background.

Lisa Zavogiannis

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I would like to see trying two-way streets downtown and see how that works. It may give some businesses more exposure than they have right now.

Justin Tanner

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Change? I don’t necessarily use the word change. I would invest in infrastructure, housing, and economic development. I think those are all three keys to future growth, prosperity and for more sustainability for local government to provide the services that people expect. To me, that’s what government is…to provide services. 

Jimmy Haley

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It would be nice to have more businesses for shopping like it used to be at the Mall.

Judith Gomez

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I continue to believe that the city ought to have an industrial recruiting program. There is nothing to stop them. For example, the city of Sparta leased all kinds of land on 111 for industrial recruiting. There is nothing to stop them from doing that.

Todd Herzog

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We need more housing, and that’s a huge issue if we want to grow. People say we need more jobs, better jobs, but they have to live somewhere and the schools would have to expand as well. We need more housing, affordable housing.

Mandy Eller

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I would put more walking trails and bicycle lanes. I would make it more walking friendly. For instance, if you were walking from here to the mall, you would be putting your life at risk, and people are doing that every day. 

Dr. Bryan Chastain

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Well, number one, I don’t want to be mayor of McMinnville. I don’t envy that position at all.

If I waved my magic wand I could come up with clearly defined list of expectations for every segment of our population, and I would enforce those laws and expectations and develop accountability. There is a lack of accountability that we have in our entire world and it affects us negatively here in our own home.

…I think that this area needs a lot more transparency in government as far as taxation and spending. I hope that I am doing my part in trying to bring that out. Instead of being made out to be a pariah in bringing things out in local government, if you question the priorities in spending in the local government, I would wish that we would have the expectation that government officials are questioned and that they expect to be questioned.

Stacey Harvey

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I would in some way wind up with an indoor pool at the Civic Center…I’m not saying what they did was wrong. I’m just saying I would have made sure that was in the project. 

Terry Bell

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The idea of making changes may cause some curiosity about the City of McMinnville’s budget. Nolan Ming, the City Administrator, recently stated that the city’s projected budget for this fiscal year is $26,116,841, and he expects it to come in under budget. The budget does not include a cash balance of $6,091, 466. The City’s entire budget can be seen online here. 

One final thought on the idea of making changes. The cost of an indoor pool was $2 million a few years ago. What would it cost to do it now?  

Next week’s article on May 9, will focus on public education in McMinnville.

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