Too Much Momentum To Lose
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DAVE’S WORLD
By David Howell
Sometimes the ink isn’t all the way dry before the storyline changes.
Such was the case last week, and it was a good thing.
A temporary fix on a bridge on County Road 225 that initially was not thought to be feasible became a reality.
District 3 Supervisor Kenny Harmon reported that, with the help of District 1 Supervisor Cayce Washington and their crews and equipment, they were able to spend one full day working on the bridge and make it passable again with minimal expense.
Initially, Harmon thought the repair could run into the tens of thousands of dollars and we reported the bridge would be closed indefinitely.
He was still tallying the cost when I last talked to him, but he believes it will be minimal, probably several thousand dollars with help from the neighboring district and a long, hot day. An outside contractor would have charged big.
There is a caveat.
Sometime, most likely in 2027, he will have to close the bridge again, this time for a replacement project that will take months. Thankfully, he will be able to provide ample notice.
The story about the city budget is another moving target.
A Tennessee Valley Authority letter arrived just before noon Tuesday and changed the trajectory of the front-page story you are reading this week. It provided some clarity on the PILOT debate, but it certainly didn’t solve the larger problem facing the city.
As I write this Tuesday afternoon, I am hopeful the ink will barely be dry on that front-page story before city leaders begin pulling together during Tuesday night’s meeting.
There is too much good happening in Water Valley for us to lose sight of that.
For several weeks, I have intended to write about the energy and momentum I see around town. It was especially noticeable during July, when it seemed like everywhere you looked on Main Street, something was happening.
The FNB Water Valley bank renovation — need I say more?
It is hard to drive through downtown and miss it. But it is more than one impressive renovation. Buildings are being improved. Businesses are investing. People are taking chances on Water Valley.
And that matters.
Progress in a small town rarely arrives as one giant announcement. More often, it happens one storefront, one renovation, one new business and one investment at a time.
It can take years to build that kind of momentum and surprisingly little time to lose it.
That is what makes the current city budget discussion so important.
There are legitimate financial concerns on both sides of the PILOT debate. The city has bills to pay and services to provide. The Utility Commission has obligations of its own and major investments ahead in the grid. Neither reality disappears simply because the other exists.
Somewhere in the middle, five aldermen, a mayor and five utility commissioners have to find a path forward.
I hope they do.
Water Valley has too much going for it right now to allow a disagreement to become something larger than it has to be.
Maybe by the time you read this, the storyline will have changed again.
This time, I hope the ink isn’t dry.
