Yea! I’m positive! Maybe not quite as positive as Harry Mayer and certainly not for as long as Harry, who was honored in part Tuesday night by the Rotary Club for his positive spirit. But I am positive that Meridian now has a chance to stop its 40-50 year decline. First and foremost because of the wonderful people of Meridian and Lauderdale County. They have always been among the world’s best community supporters and unquestionably the best for volunteerism. But I’m also positive because of the growing tourist potential.

Yea tourism! The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience is open and operating and the Mississippi Children’s Museum-Meridian and the Threefoot Building are on the way.

But now we need some “Yea Sports!” Like “Yea State Games!” Everyone knows how big sports are, not only in Mississippi but in the South and all over. We need more sports attractions such as the State Games of Mississippi to bring in more families, more often, to take advantage of our many other attractions and add to our potential as a “destination city.” That’s what a central sports complex and an upgraded tourist attracting Lakeview Golf Course would do.

Families spend weekends at these travel-ball locations and many parents like to play golf when their kids aren’t competing. And of course, families all together would love to visit The MAX and the children’s museum. It’s called synergism – the total value of several combined, being greater than just the sum of the individual ones.

But admittedly my optimism is cautious. With our area’s latest “controller,” “good ole boy” Bob Luke in the middle of both groups of our elected officials, the city’s master plan and county’s courthouse architect, it’s most certainly better that we concentrate on some other attractions for growth besides private companies. Large business owners like transparency and good governance in areas where they locate a facility and a few hundreds of their employees’ jobs along with it.

Our area’s reputation for those considerations was destroyed a long time ago. That and Mr. Luke’s “That’s the way we roll” guarantees that it’s not changing any time soon. That comment was made by Mr. Luke after clarifying with a compliant County Administrator Chris Lafferty that a meeting with him and Bonita Lakes mall owner Andy Wiener should include only two supervisors instead of three or more. Just two would not constitute a meeting, which should be open to the public and require an announcement of such.

Under Mr. Luke’s “that’s the way we roll” rules the board of supervisors now hold all their debate and meaningful discussions in secret executive sessions – unless he decides to use that infamous two-on-two approach – two now and another two later. Our county’s BOS were found guilty of violating the open meetings act by the state’s Ethics Commission in 2013 for that exact same behavior, while passing the $14 million bond issue.

Now they have even dispensed with publishing legally required minutes of their public meetings on the county website as pointed out in March 1’s Crowns and Frowns editorial in The Meridian Star. They certainly wouldn’t want something so “threatening” as a written record of all of their official acts, to come back to haunt/contradict them. Minutes posted on their website would just be too easy to access. As Mr. Courthouse Architect Luke says, “That’s the way we roll.”

And of course all of that is approved by board attorney Rick Barry, or it wouldn’t be happening. The supervisors had already made their “default” setting to Rick Barry’s position of borrowing with bonds whatever amount they can get away with. He helped them develop their “junky” like habit of bonded borrowing so they can do things he and they can’t afford through their normal operating budget. With his approval and promotion, that is now up to $64 million in bonds since 2006, costing $5 million to $7 million a year in debt service. All that taxpayer money with no new jail, courthouse, or any long term project to show for it. Benefiting quite nicely with every bond issue, their routine refinancings, and required annual reviews, are Mr. Barry and his firm, his friends and politicians in Jackson, the Butler Snow law firm, government consultants, and from time to time some of his favored local business operators.

For about 20% of that money, $14-$15 million, they could have funded a world class central sports complex, the Longcreek reservoir dam repair, and the renovation of Lakeview Golf Course into a great tourist attraction. Plus, the larger portion, $50 million, would have paid for a new courthouse and a new jail. What an irresponsible waste of $64 million.

Frankly, that’s my biggest concern and a codicil to my new found optimism for our area. What kind of damage will Barry and Luke, both being comfortably “in charge,” end up costing us.

Tommy Williams is a resident of Marion. He is acting director of Lauderdale County Citizens For Responsible Governance. Call him at 601-479-5110 or email lccfrg@gmail.com.