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Published on: 6/13/2008
Last Visited: 6/13/2008
Buena Vista Mayor Todd Jones: his final mayor's report was made to the public on Thursday, June 12, 2008.
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At the Thursday, June 12, 2008 Buena Vista City Council meeting, mayor Todd Jones delayed the regular "mayor's report" until the end of the session so that items of normal business could proceed as usual, whilst giving him a bit more time at the end to digress on significant events council has dealt with since he began service on it about ten years ago.
Jones looked at his fellow councilmen and noted that this was his last meeting, thanking them for their service."Everyone has worked hard for the city," he said, and he continued by thanking the city's dedicated staff.
"Sometimes we do an excellent job, sometimes we let things slip," he said, but indicated that he believed his fellow city councilmen were dedicated to doing a fine job for the city.
Jones said that he believed the last two big projects were the creation of the new Parry McCluer High School and the construction of the golf course (Vista Links), both of which, he opined, "taught me how to get things done."
With respect to Parry McCluer High School, "it was a long, public process," he said.
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"The result is beautiful: it's a first class project," Jones noted.
Jones said that he believed the city's "got lucky" on a couple of items, one of which he cited was the development and expansion of Southern Virginia University.The school was "a non-conforming use" at one time, he said."It has become a major economic influence on Buena Vista" now."I thought we faced the zoning changes well."
The mayor noted the city's big expenditure on a new, $3.5 million water system, financed by bonds."If you neglect your infrastructure" trouble results, he said."It is a pay me now or pay me later" situation, Jones said.The opined that the proposed new wastewater treatment project will be a "big challenge" and that there are no quick fixes available.
Mayor's Last Piece Of Advice
"The best decisions are those with seven people sitting down and all participating," Jones said.
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We took a beating that night," Jones remarked (speaking of a meeting at the firehouse when about 500 angry citizens showed up to protest, with council telling them that there was nothing that could be done about the decision at that time)."Staring at 500 angry people wasn't pleasant," he noted.
The soon-to-be ex-mayor quoted an old Quaker proverb: "Proceed as the way opens" and then thanked what he claimed were the community's two local newspapers, the Advocate and the News-Gazette for their good news coverage.
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