Well, the good thing is that by making the move to Floyd, Terpenny is in no danger of losing his Virginia retirement. Since both agencies are in VRS, it continues right along. He may have a bit longer commute but a lot less stress. Per Wikipedia on Floyd VA, the 2000 census showed a population of 432, has 238 households, and 117 families. Obviously, this will create a big change, a change that will work well with Terpenny’s management style. In fact, given the growth rate in Christiansburg, Floyd presents him with a scenario far more similar to the environment in which he trained and first worked.
I do wonder how much will happen in Floyd concerning development, growth, and annexation over the next few years. Where as Christiansburg has been big-box business oriented, Floyd is well know for its small, local shops, its arts and crafts, and its general appeal for tourists. I love shopping there myself.
Then, on the other hand there is going to be a hole in town government that has to be plugged. Is this the time for Christiansburg to move into a new era? Is this the time that a new job description and contract will be developed? Will they decided that perhaps it is time for someone with Public Administration background rather than Engineering is needed?
The rapid growth of Christiansburg has created a myriad of challenges for government and the town as a whole. Christiansburg has changed a great deal over the last 15 years. Some of those changes have been ‘good’ and some ‘bad’. As to which changes fall into which category, you have to ask each individual because everyone sees things a bit differently.
In my opinion, two major things have to happen in order for the Town of Christiansburg to move forward. 1) Elected officials will need to develop attitudes that encourage citizen participation, and 2) citizens will have to be willing to put in the time and effort in order to participate.
Selecting the right replacement for the Town Manager is likely to have more to do with whether those 2 things happen or not. Why? Simply because it signifies a new beginning. This is an opportunity for the Town Council and Mayor to begin rebuilding trust with the community, if they wish to do so. It is also an opportunity to choose between staying on the known government path, or to take a chance on making some changes. They can continue to choose to be shrouded in secrecy, or they can choose to ‘open the doors and windows of government wide’ to the public, showing that they are operating in good faith and are willing to listen to the public (all of the public).
However, that street runs both ways. If the town government tries to be open but citizens keep their eyes closed, whose fault is the lack of ‘perceived sunlight’? Government may be able to ‘run’ a Town, but when it comes to community, that takes citizens. When Government and citizens work together, you truly achieve that ‘home town quality’ that so many want to see.
For now, we wait and see what the future holds for Christiansburg and for Floyd.
