Maryville: Let’s keep this ball rolling
Phil Cobb
I hope you didn’t miss Tony Brown’s piece in last Wednesday’s newspaper titled “Area factories in need of trained workers.” If so, stop by the office, and we’ll give you a copy.
This challenge, and how it relates to economic development, affordable housing, and quality of life in Maryville, fascinates me to no end.
During his visit a few weeks ago, Ron Drake, a man who, according to his website, rondrakeconsulting.com, “is all about the quality of life in small town America,” said on numerous occasions that Maryville is very close to “something really big happening.”
I don’t know if that’s a revelation, but it’s certainly a validation to those who have spent the past several years with their primary focus being on just that.
It seems that a very small segment of the population possesses the ability to create a vision. And an even smaller group can carry that vision to reality.
I can’t say enough about what the City of Maryville has accomplished over the past several years.
I will admit I’m more than proud of the visionary leadership set forth by my good friend, former executive editor of this newspaper, and former mayor of this town — the late Jim Fall.
The crown jewel of his efforts is now coming into focus at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park.
And I’m so pleased to know that his efforts toward that development will be memorialized appropriately.
If you have not seen what is going on out there for yourself, you really owe it to yourself to become familiar with the project. It is instrumental to the future of this city in so many ways.
City Manager Greg McDanel and Assistant City Manager Ryan Heiland will be happy to show you the aerial images made possible by local drone photographer Jerod Downing of Northwest Missouri Aerial Photography, who is making a monthly pictorial record of the progress.
The privately owned and developed Boulders Inn & Suites, located at the entrance to the Mozingo Lake golf courses, is complete and will begin housing guests on April 1.
The footprint of the municipally owned conference center and golf course clubhouse can be clearly seen from above.
The conference center will be able to accommodate up to 500 guests in its banquet facility and is designed to include a full-service restaurant, as well as a much larger and much improved golf course clubhouse, and indoor cart storage.
Looking at the footprint, it is clear that much thought was given to enhancing views of the Watson 9 and Sechrest 18 golf courses, as well as Mozingo Lake.
Visible from inside the clubhouse will be Holes No. 1, 9, 10 and 18 of the Sechrest course and Holes No. 1 and 9 of the Watson layout, as well as the newly designed driving range, making for much better management and supervision of the entire facility.
All of this to say that the quality of life in Maryville is improving by leaps and bounds.
And no, it’s not just at Mozingo.
In a recent presentation to Maryville Host Lions Club, McDanel and Heiland highlighted a long list of capital improvements that have taken place throughout the past nine or so years.
Closest to our hearts at the Maryville Daily Forum is the improvement to South Main Street right outside our front windows.
Remember how bad that use to be? Motorists literally had to dodge the potholes in front of our office to preserve the integrity of their vehicles.
We take the smooth ride for granted today.
A couple of other projects that really stand out to me are the improvements to South Munn in front of the high school, and 16th Street from North College Drive to Country Club Road.
Both used to be nearly impassable, and now are perfect.
Fourth Street from downtown to the Northwest campus has undergone significant improvement both for motorists and pedestrians as the result of that award-winning project.
On the April 4 election ballot, the City will be asking voters to approve the continuation of an existing one half of one percent capital improvement sales tax.
The tax was approved by voters in 2008 and has helped to make possible the projects mentioned above, as well as many others, including but not limited to Depot Street, several segments of the city’s trail system, storm siren replacements, fire engine replacement, street sweeper refurbishment, dump truck and snow plow replacements, and Peach Creek drainage improvements.
Also during McDanel’s and Heiland’s presentation to the Lions, they spelled out plans for continued and critical improvements to the city’s infrastructure, including a new public safety police and fire facility, improvements to the South Main thoroughfare from South Avenue to South Hills Drive, and a continued effort to mill and overlay more than 11 miles of city streets.
Maryville has come a long way in the past 10 years and we have a long way left to go. The approval of this sales tax is vital if we want to keep Maryville moving in the right direction.
I can’t personally vote for it because I don’t live in the city limits, but I encourage the voters of Maryville to vote “yes.”
I will gladly continue to pay the tiny amount — we’re talking about 50 cents on a $100 purchase — to continue to see the kinds of improvement we have seen over the past decade.
The great thing is, you’ve already been paying it for 10 years … and be honest … you didn’t even notice it.
Phil Cobb is the owner and publisher of the Maryville Daily Forum and The Post.
