By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher
SEPT. 11, 2018 | The cities of Gwinnett are reminding me of the way high-ranking military officers act. If one arm of the services gets a newly-developed weapon or procedure, all the other services feel that they cannot continue as they should unless they have a machine-weapon-idea or procedure like that!
General Gizmo thinks: “Wow, that’s an amazing vehicle. We could sure use one of them!”
Admiral Onslaught feels likewise: “If we had a weapon like that, why that would be the ultimate.”
And on and on. Unfortunately, most of the time the services get these duplicated gadgets, often not needed by that particular service. That’s what lobbyists are paid for!
So to turn to the Gwinnett cities.
The cities are in their own arms race., with each city trying to outdo one another with what they offer citizens.
When one municipality comes up with a good idea, suddenly the other cities of the county take notice. “We could use one of those __________ (fill in the blank…….splash pads, new toddler play area, dog park, zoning for new town houses and apartments, greenway entrance into the city, auto fest, beer fest, wine fest, Coca-Cola fest.)
Other thoughts from the cities:
“So and so has a parade for _______ (season). Why don’t we have a parade?”
“(Some town) has a new Babylonian restaurant. Why don’t we have one?”
“Yes, we need a farmers market, too.”
“How about we get one of those newly-popular town greens?”
“So and So City has a grits festival. It would work here, too!”
“Say, roundabouts are nice. Others have one. Why don’t we?”
“Street sweeper? Never thought of that. We could keep our streets cleaner that way.”
“Peachtree Corners is talking about its own bridge. Where could we put one?”
“Some communities have cemeteries. Why don’t we?”
You see where this can lead…..on and on to make one community pretty much the replication of the next one. Makes you wonder why the cities have their own names. Might as well call them Town One or Town Thirteen, etc.
It can eventually mean that we seriously live in a homogenized society, all the same, all within a short drive of our house. But does every Gwinnett city really need every amenity that one of the other cities has?
What Gwinnett’s 16 cities don’t celebrate as much as they should is the uniqueness of each of these geographic areas! They all have their own distinctiveness and individuality, their own charm, and their own special facilities. That’s what makes them interesting.
Remember, too, that only about 25 percent of the Gwinnett citizens live in one of our 16 municipalities. The bulk of the people in Gwinnett live in unincorporated areas. And many of them enjoy the same services that often the cities provide.
What each city council person must recognize is all these services cost taxpayer money, even though it may be SPLOST pennies. The council members need to make sure every proposed additional service is worthily needed. To keep adding on amenities just because another city has that idea first, who is to tell one city from another?
Let’s celebrate our uniqueness, not try to be like everyone else.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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