(Editor’s note: Dr. Pat Boone is a psychologist and 2015 graduate of Gwinnett Senior Leadership. Before returning to the Atlanta area in 2013, she lived for 20 years in Colorado, where she was active in civic life. She was chairman of the Colorado Springs Airport Advisory Commission; Vice-Chair of the El Paso County Highway Advisory Commission; Vice-Chair of the El Paso County Board of Adjustment (Zoning Variance Board); plus appointed to the El Paso County Department of Human Services Advisory Commission and the El Paso County Community Services Block Grant Advisory Board. She is also an author, minister and speaker. Her books include “How To Get What You Want in Any Language, and Tips, Tricks and Secrets from Professional Travelers.”—eeb)
By Pat Boone, Duluth, Ga. | A resident of Gwinnett for three years, here are the three suggestions I have for improving the county.
Boone
First, the county should raise the littering fine, and make it a dollar amount or as an alternative, allow the litterer to pick up trash. For example, let them decide to pay $1,000 or 10 hours picking up trash. It’s been my experience that people who pick up other people’s trash stop littering.
I know it looks and sounds good to have signs on the roadway that such and such a business is keeping a part of a street or highway clean. However, as a psychologist, I can tell you that these signs make people an enabler, when you do things that enable poor behavior to continue. The ones cleaning should be the ones littering. That is the only way the behavior will cease or diminish. However, until this suggestion might be adopted, the sponsorship of roadways and streets by companies that will keep them clean is an excellent program from Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful.
Second, we should stop overloading the infrastructure with high density housing. I’m not talking about condos and retirement communities: I’m talking about apartments. The schools and other public services are maxed out in Gwinnett County, with Gwinnett’s growth, and it needs to stop, even temporarily, so we can continue with the high quality services we have had.
And third: the Gwinnett County Boards and commissions should have a way to get more people interested in governmental affairs. In Colorado, interested citizens signed up for specific advisory boards they were interested in, and the county commissioners or city council selected the members to fill those boards. There was a lot of citizen participation. It encouraged people to help the commission find solutions, to specific problems, not just complain.
Should the county adopt these proposals, this will mean a better Gwinnett!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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