I had a great tour and gave a talk in Clinton, MO yesterday. Clinton is a town of 9,000 in west central Missouri on the shores of Lake Truman. Clinton’s mayor for 10 years, Gus Wetzel, and their head of economic development, Christy Maggi, spent several hours showing me their community. Mayor Wetzel, also an engaging surgeon, proves that mayors can come from any profession. His father, also a surgeon, was a past mayor of Clinton.
Clinton’s downtown, an original Main Street Town from the mid 80s, is quite impressive for a town its size. Clinton was also an All American City in 2000. The city has built a great new industrial park and is in the process of expanding their airport to help take them into the new century.
I was very impressed with the Benson Convention Center and adjacent City Community Center. This joint project was done with the city and county working together. An aquatic center is in the works on site. I’ve found that too often cities and counties remain in their “silos”, not working together to accomplish projects and help to take their communities to a higher level if they cooperated more. Clinton is a great example of what can happen.
The one downside I saw in the town was when we drove by their schools. I counted 13 trailers that are being used for classrooms. You have to question the long term commitment of citizens that aren’t willing to invest in their kids. Clinton is trying to pass a referendum to solve this overcrowding. I’ll be watching to see how they do.
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2 comments:
yes! in april clinton ,mo passed the school bond that will result in a new high school,remodled middle and grade schools and remove all trailer class rooms !
That is wonderful news! Clinton is on the move.
jack
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