Change: Ready or Not! (PART 1)

I am in the middle of my second term. I really wanted to use my first term to get to know the city, budgets, council, and citizens. I was quite new to this area, and I wanted to be respectful of the voters who put me in office by facilitating discussions on where we want to go. We took a lot of time to gather input and get a clear direction. I think it is paying off thus far.

A lot of things have changed this year in Clarissa. So much I'll do two parts on this subject. I have encouraged and worked for parts of it, and some came out of the blue so you have to deal with it.

• We passed Clarissa's first Comprehensive Plan. It is a lengthy document that myself, the council, and citizens of Clarissa built from the ground up over a year and a half. It is a plan for the next two decades and what our priorities are. I was so pleased to have it done because I'm a big believer in long term planning. I think any plan puts you on offence. In politics offence gives you an edge because you have more control over the agenda and where your going if you're following a plan that everyone agreed on.

• After the plan was passed the work begins. We purchased a dilapidated building downtown and have it slated for demolition this fall which will give a visual example to the skeptics that we are accomplishing something. This will be the first major change to our downtown in many years and I hope it will encourage others to become apart of our process.

• We also hired a building inspector to survey the city using the ordinances we have on our books. I expect a number of buildings within the city will be condemned and scheduled for removal. Clarissa is over 100 years old and the last major overhaul occurred just after WWII. This will be where fireworks will fly, and implementation of our plan gets more interesting because change often comes hard. Make sure you renew your subscription to the Independent News Herald so you don't miss out on the news.

• A change that caught our city by surprise was the closing of our manufacturing plant here in Clarissa. It's moving to Detroit, Michigan. It originated out of a Clarissa residents idea for a rock picking machine, and progressed into a company that has been a staple of Clarissa for decades. It's a loss of jobs, history, and some personal pride.

A SIDE NOTE: I've been in discussions with the company and State of Minnesota about the facility once the closing is complete. I am cautiously optimistic about filling the building with another business quite soon. We'll all know more soon.

It's been a busy year and I will elaborate more soon.