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Anniston: One City, Still Two Visions

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Over the past week I attended two excellent workshops, which were part of Anniston’s One City, One Vision project. The first one was at the Anniston Meeting Center last Thursday night; the other, last night at the Hodges Community Center in Golden Springs. Both were so well attended that more tables had to be set up to accommodate late arrivals.

Don’t get me wrong. Essentially, I am extremely impressed by the consensus regarding what has been and is ailing our Model City and what needs to be done about those problems. And, when asked what people like about Anniston, just about the same answers came from these two disparate groups. So, why am I emphasizing that there are still two visions – not one? The answer is in the demographics and the needs and expectations of the attendees.

The two groups were somewhat different demographically. The first group was more economically diverse and had a better representation from the lower income areas of the city. The second reflected a more financially advantaged area of the city. (The workshop at the Carver Community Center will be held tomorrow night. I have no doubt that the results will be similar – albeit more profound – to what I observed at the meeting center.)

Although there was a tremendous amount of commonality between the two groups when it came to the core issues and their affection for the city, at the Anniston Meeting Center there was slightly more emphasis on economic development and jobs, with education concerns being a close second. I also felt that there were more comments that solutions need to occur regardless of a lack of a source of funding. However, at the Hodges Community Center, which is nested in a community with average-to-above-average value homes and where the citizenry generally enjoy an above average level of household income, the emphasis was on common sense ways to fix our education system, with the economy and jobs being of (close) secondary priority. It appears that when your household income and dwelling are below the city median, there is more emphasis on immediate issues such as survival, opportunities for upward mobility, and adequate housing rather than on fixing the longer term problems of our underperforming and financially inefficient public school system. One group understandably wants to survive and improve their lot; the other wishes to stop paying for inefficiencies. One group seemed to focus more on unfulfilled needs; the other, on solutions. If this One City, One Vision initiative is to work, it must respect, accommodate, and satisfy these divergent views and realities. I trust that it can.

When it comes to economic development, the opportunities at McClellan and the need for a balanced approach, which effectively addresses all levels of skills and education, were at the top of the list in that category. Top heavy economic development, which helps our area primarily by producing an income infusion from high paying positions, must not our primary goal or end result. For too many in need, provided that public transportation is fixed in a way that helps workers travel to potential jobs, it merely tends to create more part time fast food and low-paying retail jobs while failing to provide much opportunity for those who seek betterment for themselves and their children. Such jobs result only in underemployment at a level where minimally adequate housing is not affordable. Additionally, top heavy development increases the taxpayers’ burden when it comes to funding civic and social services. Unfortunately, this is normally fixed by increasing sales taxes, which is an anti-business, regressive approach which hurts economic development while increasing the burden on those who need assistance the most. A balanced economic development approach is best for everyone.

Regarding education, the desire for better parenting and increased parental involvement was emphasized. Teacher standards, community financial support, and relooking at the curriculum, which we use in our public schools, were also discussed. However, at the community center there appeared to be much more of an emphasis on resolving the problem of having six different school facilities for only roughly 2,000 students. The meeting center group did not seem to emphasize a similar concern. This leaves me to believe that group places more value on the convenience of having accessible schools in their communities even if they are financially inefficient.

One of the striking commonalities that I observed was faith in the city’s leadership. Although leadership had been included as a discussion category, most people to whom I talked emphatically stated that that was an issue mainly because of the antics and ineptitude of the previous administration. They felt that the popularity of and confidence in Mayor Vaughn Stewart’s leadership together with their faith in our highly effective and responsive city council are clearly among the city’s current strengths. The One City, One Vision project is proceeding smoothly and resulting in a level of excitement and harmony that I have not seen for at least over 30 years. Most definitely, this is a strong testament to the positive transformational quality of this elected group and their ability to inspire leadership within the community. With that said, if ever there was a time to succeed in changing our city, it is now.

Other common major concerns included the need to improve county-wide public transportation and the strong desire to enhance the city’s internal and external image through more effective marketing. (The latter concern is what motivated us to create Anniston.WDNG.net in association with the already highly successful WDNG.net and propose the City of Storytellers Video Competition.)

My current assessment is based solely on my participation in group exercises at each workshop, closing comments made by a few group leaders, and personal conversations. It is not as scientific as what will be presented at the mid-November follow-up session. Nevertheless, I think that my observations and assessments are very valid. Although I am excited about the potential of this transformational program, I also realize that we must take into consideration the full spectrum of interests in our city. I trust that the final Action Plan will do just that.

by Tim Brunson, WDNG Media, Online Editor

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Keywords: One City, One Vision, One City One Vision, Anniston AL, Anniston, Anniston Alabama,

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