For many years, I served as head coach of a travel fast-pitch softball team based out of Seymour.
They were notorious for getting down a few runs before they decided to start playing up to their capabilities.
During those pep talks, I would always ask a variation of this question: “How do you eat an elephant?” Now before I explain how that has anything to do with serving as mayor, I will share my weekly update in the next several paragraphs.
This week, I joined INDOT Commissioner Joe McGuinness, District 44 Sen. Eric Koch, District 69 Rep. Jim Lucas and many others for the ribbon cutting of Interstate 65. I had a chance to travel through the new three lanes just a few days before this ribbon cutting, and it is much nicer than before.
I didn’t realize until Commissioner McGuinness said it, but 30% of the traffic through our section of I-65 is truck traffic hauling freight. I believe that number will continue to grow as the city of Seymour does, as well.
I had a chance to visit the Daughters of the American Revolution meeting and proclaim the week of Sept. 17 to 23 Constitution Week here in Seymour. I hope you will take a chance to reflect on how the Constitution is the foundation for our way of life here in America but also take a chance to look at the historic events that led to the framing of the Constitution in 1787.
The Mayor’s Youth Council met for the first time recently. After icebreakers with Terrye Davidson, we started into what everyone’s hopes and dreams are for the group. I walked out of the meeting in awe of how bright our future really is. The youth of Seymour pay more attention than many realize and with a little encouragement are willing to share what they see. How we harness their potential is yet to be seen, but I am sure they are chomping at the bit to get started.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. My role as mayor is very much to keep tabs on all of the different areas and plan which bite comes next. This year, for example, we have purchased several new police cars and are creating a true replacement rotation. This will allow us to keep better watch of our finances over the long haul.
Later this year, you will see the arrival of a new ladder truck replacing the over 20-year-old Ladder 1. I try to make sure those bites come from all of the areas of city government and not just one department.
Many times, what you don’t see is the planning and the meetings that go into the front end of these decisions. It is often easy for a citizen to decide that a decision is wrong and complain. Sometimes, we talk and are able to help them understand more background of how we got to the decision that was made. Other times, they don’t want to hear anything but what they believe, and no amount of conversation helps.
Even in those situations, we will keep chipping away at those bites. Since we don’t have $10 million of a $21 million budget to dedicate to road work, next year, we will continue to complete what we can. Since we can’t afford $1.5 million in new trash trucks, this year, we will create a rotation and replace them over several years.
My continued approach will be to plan and prepare for the next bite. We will eat the proverbial elephant one bite at a time from all areas to help build a better tomorrow for all the citizens of Seymour.
Matt Nicholson is the mayor of Seymour. Send comments to [email protected].