Hello Gardendale.

   I was sitting here looking over my blog trying to figure out what I haven’t discussed. The song “My Town” was playing in the background and I started comparing the song to our little peace of heaven here. It is very similar to the town the artist was referring to.

   Gardendale is unique because we are very fortunate to be able to worship in whatever way we feel led. We have Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Church of Christ, Independent, Mormon, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Church of God churches in our city limits. I am not saying all forms of worship are right or wrong (I am a Christian, raised in a Baptist Church), but I am saying that we have options. Many men and women have died in the last 250 years so we have that right. Each denomination seems to be thriving, and every where you look, churches are moving into bigger buildings or adding on. That is something that we can be proud of.

     We are also unique in that there are many places to eat and shop. We have franchises like Chic-filet, Dairy Queen, Wal-mart, Autozone, and Milos. We also have the individually owned places like Our Place, Main Street Café, Bento, and Foodland. But, Gardendale has fewer businesses right now than it did 2 years ago. There are more “for lease” signs in our city than ever before. Our budget for 2008 is operating $300,000 in the red. Something must change.

   I look at the current councilmen’s fliers and doorhangers, and they all talk about the things that have been accomplished in the last 4 years. They mention the new High School (the council and Mayor had NOTHING to do with this). They mention the splash pad and tennis court improvements (the first major Improvement in Park and Rec. in 3 years). Is there any coincidence it was an election year? Last but not least, they bring up the fact that we have $9,000,000 in reserve and this makes them “fiscally responsible.” But, if they had spent 2,000,000 of that stockpile on new businesses and opportunities, our reserves would be MUCH greater than the 9 million that they boast about.

   Right now Gardendale still has many attributes that are positive. We are still a great place to live. The problem is that we are beginning to slip. We are beginning to lose retail and food outlets to other cities. Our tax base is dwindling and so is the amount of money coming in. This election is critical to the future of our city and I believe we need some energetic, aggressive people to change the tide and get Gardendale going back in the right direction. I ask that you give me your vote on August 26, 2008. I will passionately go about getting "MY TOWN" headed in the right direction again.