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'Hard decisions are what takes leadership,' says Day
"The city has done $2.5 million worth of work downtown - a lot of that through grants. We're about to start Phase Three of downtown revitalization. There has been over $10 million in private investment." Mayor Day spoke on the quality of leadership Oct. 18 to the current class of "Leadership Clarke County." "By this time next year there will be over 50 residences downtown - either in upstairs and loft apartments or new homes being built along the railroad." Day said the historic character of downtown Thomasville needed to be preserved. It is a dream born over a decade ago, he said. "It took a lot of hard work - a lot of convincing. There were a lot of people who said that 'downtown is dead; bury it.' If you took a vote of the people about downtown back in 1992, you would have had 60 percent of the people saying don't spend money down there." In every small town there are "cavemen," he said. "Citizens against virtually everything….We all have people in our community like that. "Leadership in a community is about doing what's right for the community….no matter how bad people are against something or how tough it might be. Taking the tough road is the best road for a city or a community. "…It's easy to make the easy decisions, but the hard decisions are what takes leadership," Day said. Not all community leaders are out front, the mayor said. They are not all looking for glory. "They are just willing to do what it takes. "A lot of communities depend on a small group of people to get things done. In a lot of clubs and organizations there is a duplication of the same people. "…What you've got to do as leaders is reach out to those who aren't helping in some capacity but who have the ability to make things happen," Day said. "They're waiting to be asked, but they are not going to step out front. "…In Thomasville, we try to find people who are passionate (about the library, schools and other institutions). "You can't sit around waiting for things to happen," he said. "…People say our schools are not as good as they need to be. What are you doing about it? ….This building is empty. What are you doing about it? 'Well, I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. Sometimes people's feeling need to be hurt. I've probably hurt some people's feelings over the last several years here in Thomasville….It wasn't intentional, but they paid me to lead. They didn't pay me to pacify. "…Sometimes in the past, our communities have grown to a certain point - then they fall back. I remember Grove Hill - 15 years ago they were doing downtown revitalization, building parking lots and landscaping and all that kind of stuff. What happened? You grew to a certain point. We reach that optimum age, 'oh, we're perfect. Let's just leave it just like it is. "…We've got to let our communities grow," Mayor Day said. "We've got to let them experience some new things. It takes leadership. It takes a lot of effort….We've got to have leadership that makes sure our citizens are ready to accept change and move forward." Much of Thomasville's development strategy and the work of the Clarke County Development Foundation was based on ideas taken from the City of Tupelo, he said. "It's taken six to seven years….It's been at times a rocky road because we have personalities…. Everybody has their strong beliefs on how they think things are. We found that when we work together (including different arts councils working together)….Instead of trying to do things by ourselves as individual communities, we're looking at a more regional and county approach. That's healthy because we gain more ideas, and we gain more resources." The mayor also revealed last Thursday that a playground site behind the new Community Center will likely be the new home of the Thomasville Public Library. The library construction will be a five-year project, Day said. "I'm going to Washington in January to begin asking for money," he said. "…Some of the projects we've done it's taken us two to three years to get grant money." It will have taken seven different grants to get a new water project moving, the mayor said. Library Director Gina Wilson said the library board will have to approve the site before it is officially chosen. "The library is more attractive to do in the near future because we have a prime piece of real estate the library is sitting on right now (on Highway 43)," the mayor said. Sale of the current library property could fund a third of the cost of the new library, he said.
Day hopes a half-million in private funds can be raised to help furnish the new building.
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