Merry Christmas and an Interesting New Year

What a long, strange year it has been. Winter has not officially established itself in the Lower Cape Fear region. It was 70 degrees F on the first day of winter and a white Christmas looks like a long shot with the projected high in the mid-60's. Folks always look for a deeper meaning when weather patterns are turned on their head (global warming! it's gonna be a freezing spring, the collards won't be good, etc.). Actually, that last one is true in that collards need that first frost, but we'll manage. My read on the unseasonable weather? Enjoy it.

The 2012 looks to be a significant one for Southport city government. We'll be hiring a new city manager, which will have more impact on the city and our citizens than anything else we'll do as a governing board. 2 bits of good news on that front: 1) At our preliminary thinning of the herd, the agreement by the board on the top 10 prospects was unanimous, and 2) We have a good number of qualified, experienced candidates. Expect a decision sometime in January.

Chez Buchanan et Karn, Winter 2010

The new city manager will have to jump right in and hire a new Public Services Director (an extremely critical position in our city). The budget planning process will also begin as soon as he/she arrives. I'm excited to work with whomever the new manager will be, but it has been a dream working with Regina Alexander, our City Clerk and interim manager. I feel that nobody fully appreciates the incredible job she has done over the past 11 months. Above and beyond doesn't even begin to describe her efforts and achievements.

Other things to look forward to during the first part of 2012 include:

• Getting the Department of Tourism and Economic Development up and running, which includes moving the Visitors Center to the Garrison House, development of the historical exhibits in the redesigned space, and implementation of our new director's plans for promoting Southport as a destination for visitors, potential new residents and businesses.
• A new committee will be evaluating all of the fees and deposits charged by the various departments in the city with an eye towards making them as fair and affordable as possible. This has never been done in Southport and it's high time we took on this task.
• Begin remodeling, reconstruction and repair on all of our city buildings. City Hall is first on the list. It will take a great deal of planning, money and patience but it is something that has been overlooked for far too long.
• A solution for managing the odor problem from our sewer pump stations, most notably the central station on Burrington and Leonard. It may take a while because of the complexity of the problem, but we're on top of it now and hope springs eternal.

I'm jazzed about the potential to see meaningful improvements accomplished for the City this year. I sincerely hope that you'll pitch in and help us out as we cannot do it alone. Whatever expertise you may possess, there is a project that can use your help. Our new city website, which is due to launch in January, will enable citizens to have unprecedented access to information on just about everything related to Southport's government. It will also improve our communication with citizens so that getting involved and staying up to date is simple and right at your finger tips.

Here's wishing each and every one of you a Merry Christmas, a happy and prosperous New Year, and a joyous and peaceful holiday season.