I am usually not much of a New Year’s resolution maker. I’ve had the same ones for 20 years, drink more water and eat more vegetables. I never do.
And while there aren’t any resolutions here, I can’t express how much I am looking forward to the next year in Watonga. I believe great things are going to happen.
I don’t love that the biggest recent boost to our economy is from a detention center. I don’t like that we need detention centers. But I am very glad we have detention centers, because not everyone is good and kind.
I do love that there are 400 jobs to be had there. I don’t know how many have gone to locals. A handful that I know of personally. It’s good money.
I love that some of the new hires are going to move here and rent or purchase a home. I love that even those who commute will buy gasoline and food and snacks for their lunch boxes on the way to work and maybe groceries for supper and beer for after supper on their way home.
I don’t love that the city isn’t selling power to Diamondback. But I do love that the parent company is paying an impact fee to the city to help keep the streets in good repair. I love that there is a significant amount being made on water and sewer services to the facility.
I love that there are houses that have been sitting empty and neglected which are now being remodeled and brought up to standard so that there are places to rent in town. It is wonderful that the city council has decided it is permissible to rent out trailer homes.
I am super excited about the work going on at Watonga airport. Maybe that doesn’t seem like much to those of us who do not fly, but it is big. When it is easier for business owners and managers and decision makers to get into and out of town, often on their company aircraft, they think more kindly about that town. A 20-minute plane ride is way better than an hour and a half in an automobile. Even a two hour plane ride is better than a six hour car ride. When the new terminal is completed, there will be some kind of eatery there. We can all utilize it and those folks coming in on planes are bound to eat there.
The icing on the cake, though, is our new city manager. Here is a guy with degrees out the ear, a boatload of experience and who wasn’t actually in need of a job. He had one, probably a pretty good one. And instead of just riding it out, he is coming here.
Why? Why would anyone want to come to crummy old Watonga, with its sketchy infrastructure, sad Main Street, next to no jobs and not much new coming its way? To a place where a prison reopening is good news?
Because he thinks he can help. Let that sink in for a minute. I have it from several good sources that during the interview process, that is why Leroy Alsup said he wanted to come to work for the City of Watonga. He thinks he can help.
A guy who could go nearly anywhere and who didn’t have to go any place at all. A guy with all that know-how under his belt, a guy who knows what it takes to start the turnaround we desperately need.
I don’t know if there could be a better answer for us as citizens than a humble ‘I think I can help.’
He doesn’t want glory, or a huge paycheck. His expectations are normal for the job description. But the work he can do here is boundless and I believe there are brighter days ahead.
It won’t be immediate. We won’t look like Yukon by February. But I betcha Watonga looks cleaner, slicked up, its sleeves rolled up ready to do the hard work to make the change we need.
So, Mr. Alsup, welcome. If you need a hand, drop by the office. Let us know if we can help.