Not all small towns are created the same; each one is unique. Population, in and of itself, rarely has a bearing on a small town’s character.
Let’s all agree for the moment that the embodiment of a small-town character is Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show. Did you know that Andy Griffith’s hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina, has a population of over 10,000 — double that of Rockdale today; and Surry County, the county this community is in, has a population over 70,000 — nearly three times that of Milam County.
One thing that became crystal clear in the community feedback process was for Rockdale to keep its small-town charm in spite of a growing population.
The new Comprehensive Plan considers this in the implementation section and proposes action be taken in the following areas:
• A clean community
• Well maintained homes and structures
• Community events
• A low crime rate
• An entrepreneur-based economy
• Parks and community gathering places, and
• Arts and culture The plan document addresses some of these items in greater detail — such as parks, well maintained homes and neighborhoods, entrepreneur-based economic development — while other entities will handle other items, such as arts and culture.
“We want to recognize that we did our best to listen to the community when they said they wanted to keep Rockdale’s small town feel,” said Rockdale City Manager Barbara Holly. “ Because small town character is a difficult concept to define, this represents an attempt to move it to action.”
The draft Comprehensive Plan is available for download at RockdaleMidCenturyPlans. com and the community is asked to read over it to provide input.
A public hearing will be held to discuss the plan on June 10 at the Rockdale City Council meeting, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Rockdale City Hall.
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