I am beginning to wonder if my involvement with city meetings and such is going to make people dislike me and possibly ruin any chance I may have of making a positive difference. The last thing I want to do is come off as negative or inconsiderate! That is just not me.

As I attend all the different city functions, my opinion is usually not totally in line with those of the East Ridge City Council. I see things that I don’t understand because much of it is written in “legalese.” I want to help give a voice to those who don’t attend yet express their frustrations on East Ridge Facebook and East Ridge News Online website.

I am a “numbers” person, so I am learning a lot of what it takes to run a city.  When looking at the budget, at a glance it  is overwhelming. I am looking forward to the release of the 2017-18 budget because then I will be looking at a clean slate. Right now it is too late for me to say much since we are close to the end of this fiscal year.

Am I going to be labeled as a person that stands in the way of what the city council wants to accomplish? Well, I do care if they listen, but they may not listen. There are so few people attending the city council meetings, I stand out like a sore thumb. In a perfect world there would be 150 people there. But it’s not a perfect world.

I know the council is thinking about trying to improve the image of East Ridge. I am not sure $3 million spent on a freeway “Beautification” project at Exit 1 will be worth all that!  I would like it if the Bachman Tunnel leaving East Ridge could be improved, kudzu and all.

I was so happy that so many East Ridge residents attended the recent CARTA meeting at the Community Center. CARTA had a wonderful presentation about the options that we could adopt for our city’s future bus service. The part I am most concerned with is the Care-A-Van option. We have many wheelchair bound citizens that need reliable transportation to doctor’s visits and possible other errands. Remember, you are one broken hip away from being in their shoes. If your family is available to transport you, great! Not all our citizens are that lucky. This is a MUST service for our disabled residents!

I try to keep my motivation up even when I feel frustrated and defeated. I wasted enough time before I started learning about the city and what makes it tick. Do I have a right to complain about things in East Ridge if I do not take part in the process? The answer would be a big, fat NO! Now I can see that everything is all tied together just like a puzzle that I can’t seem to finish.

We all have the right to ask questions of the council members when attending council meetings, and I don’t feel shy about it anymore.

Please help East Ridge promote positive growth by getting involved and let your opinion be heard.