OUR TURN: In our march to future, don’t forget humdrum

In the march to a glorious future for Marble Falls, city leaders shouldn’t lose sight of the basic needs of the present.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about a future sports complex, a future road extension project in the Business and Technology Park and a future visitors center to replace the charming one — an old train depot — the city now has.

All of these are paid for by some form of taxes. And they’re all good projects.

But along the way, city leaders mustn’t lose sight of the fact that it’s also important to take care of the day-to-day affairs of the present, namely the needs of area citizens.

In one recent case that serves as a good example, a couple stopped by the Marble Falls City Cemetery Easter Sunday to pay their respects to a loved one, only to find rank weeds and waist-high grass.

They were shocked and disheartened the city had let things reach such a dismal state.

Granted, the Parks and Recreation Department immediately sent a crew, including the head of the department, to begin mowing. That action is to be applauded. Also, it’s common knowledge the city is suffering budget constraints in this sluggish economy.

In fact, Parks and Rec is short four people, which makes it hard to stay ahead of all the upkeep needed in the city’s parks.

But mowing the cemetery should be a routine project. It’s part of the normal upkeep of a city’s infrastructure, which also includes repairing potholes, making sure there’s clean water, facilitating plenty of adequate drainage and so on.

These don’t sound as alluring as a new visitors center or a sports complex. In fact, they sound mundane and humdrum.

And yet, infrastructure is the bedrock upon which everything else is built. It’s what makes a city a desirable place to inhabit.

Maybe priorities need to be shifted a bit. If the city can’t take care of a cemetery, should officials really be worried about a shiny new visitors center or a multimillion-dollar sports complex?

True, the aforementioned projects of tomorrow are being handled by different entities — city staff, the Economic Development Corp. and the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce. But the projects are cooperative efforts with City Hall as the link.

The synergy that is developing and becoming stronger among these groups is wonderful. Marble Falls hasn’t seen anything like it in years.

Their spirit of cooperation promises a brighter tomorrow for Marble Falls.

And city officials say they’re working all the time to improve the appearance of Marble Falls to entice more visitors and tourists, to increase its appeal as a destination site and retail hub.

That’s all well and good. At the same time, however, City Hall shouldn’t forget the little guy of today — the citizens. Everything that goes into the maintenance and upkeep of the city is for them.

And if city officials think this is a harsh judgment, they should walk in the shoes of the couple who only wanted to visit a relative’s grave in an overgrown cemetery.