In my travels around the community I’ve heard a fascinating rumor. I’ve heard that there were people who want to be the political saviors of Holly. I suppose this has to do with the water and sewer rates, and other recent debacles. This is wishful thinking.
I don’t have an axe to grind and I’m not running for office, but I am a concerned citizen and taxpayer.
Holly doesn’t need a political savior. Chances are someone would step forward only to suffer what every other politician has – the bullets and arrows of many would-be experts and wannabe politicians. The chances of somebody finding the right document to save us is as slim as walking to the outer edge of the universe in five minutes.
No, what Holly needs is economic. It’s quite basic. We need several thousand good paying jobs. I know, I can hear you snickering. Consider this: U.S. Presidents have been tossed out of office because of the economy and others have been elected because they used the economy to their advantage.
Our problem is quite simple. We have a lot of empty lots and homes. Our governments were expecting people to buy those homes and they would reap the benefits. We all know that isn’t what happened. Oh, yes, we have the lots and we built to service them and then the economy collapsed. Nearly everyone in the Village has watched their taxes on their home go down over the past few years.
If we had several thousand good paying jobs, people would buy lots and build. That’s what we need. So while the government bickers about who did what and when, the real problem goes unsolved. We need people in office, both elected and appointed, who know government and know what to do.
The person, persons, or organization who could provide all of these jobs would truly be a savior. It could be more than one. There is no rule that says it has to be one. It could very well be hundreds of small businesses. The question is: do we really want this to happen? Are we willing to make it happen? What would it take?
Our local governments would have to start protecting and promoting the community and not their own turf. We are divided and lack focus, not only in terms of government– Village and Township, but community groups as well. Everyone has their own focus: the DDA, the Chamber of Commerce, and other service clubs and groups. They do great things, but nothing appears to be coordinated. We have to start thinking in terms of what is best for the whole community.
Thank goodness Simonson didn’t have to deal with the Village when he brought Crapo’s RR to Holly in 1864. He stole the line from Fenton and the Holly people embraced it. If he had to deal with today’s government, the RR would have gone to Fenton. The RR brought jobs for Holly people and caused growth.
Good paying jobs allow people to own homes. If they own a home and pay for the services, they help ease the burden for the rest of us. In addition, their kids would go to our wonderful public schools. I’m all for that. But it’s frustrating to drive by the areas where houses should be. The infrastructure exists, but the people don’t. Unfortunately we still have to pay for it.
If you were going to bring a business to Holly that employed people, you would want to know if Holly will support your efforts. Businesses go where the tax burden is the least and the community is supportive. Businesses also attract other businesses. What a great thought! Why should we wait for some other community to do this and reap the benefits?
Luring businesses to our community doesn’t have to be a big secret. Why not make this a community effort? Show them what we can do and what they could do here. We have the land, we have access to the major highways, we have recreation areas, and we have an industrious population. We have great public schools.
Once we get them here, how do we keep them here and help them become prosperous? Getting a business here is only part of the battle.
Sadly, we don’t have a local newspaper. We can’t showcase ourselves. Until a few years ago Holly was served for over century by hometown papers. These papers provided invaluable services: advertising, regular news, event coverage, sports, obituaries, social news and much more. Most importantly they focused on Holly. Now we have to rely on outsiders. We have suffered because of it. The community wasn’t very supportive of the last newspaper. We have one good online newspaper, but it doesn’t touch everyone. Even the magazine this column appears in doesn’t touch everyone. Not everyone has a computer. That figure might be as high as fifty percent.
I’ve heard it said hundreds of times what a good thing it would be if Holly had a newspaper. A newspaper would be a fantastic tool to bring the community together and start building the culture we need to attract some economic saviors.
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