LULA -- Lula leaders heard Tuesday about the importance of being able to say yes whenever possible.
During a more than four-hour retreat at Lula City Hall, City Manager Dennis Bergin encouraged the city council to always keep an open mind and to try to find ways to say yes to ideas more often.
Recently, the city council visited Sugar Hill at the invitation of city leaders there.
While in Sugar Hill, Lula officials learned how that city got to where it is now with an enhanced downtown with venues for activities. Similarly, the Lula Downtown Development Authority visited Sugar Hill to see what can be done when city leaders at all levels have an evolving vision.
"Sometimes they bought property and didn't know what they were going to do with it," Bergin said.
But that property ultimately played into the overall redevelopment of that city, and having leaders who realized the importance of allowing their vision to evolve was critical to that city's success.
One concern expressed repeatedly during Tuesday's retreat was the need for more parking in the downtown Lula area, an area officials say they will continue to examine going into the future.
A question raised was about the extent of use of the ballfields at Rafe Banks Park, and whether the park could be better used by Lula area residents as a soccer complex, event/festival venue, or in some other form.
City leaders again expressed their desire for a full-service grocery store, though they realize it likely would have to locate on the Ga. 365 corridor rather than near downtown.
"I think the council had a chance to kind of revisit some goals and opportunities they have," Bergin said. "Probably more is going to come out of this meeting that would suggest how you ascertain those goals and are we moving fast enough and do we fund them more? If we can accomplish that, we'll move mountains."
Bergin said Lula leaders can't be afraid to say yes to sewer lines along Ga. 365 and in other targeted areas within the city's service delivery area, nor can they afford to immediately say no to sometimes radical ideas.
"Whether it be community-related or whether it be the services that we provide, obviously paramount was that as residential development takes place that needs to couple with employment opportunities and commercial retail opportunities, as well as parks and services along those lines," Bergin said. "Very encouraging."
The discussions aren't over yet. In 30 days, the city council will hold a similar meeting for a couple of hours to further discuss ideas that came out of the retreat.
"We'll begin to prioritize some of those needs, whether it be year one, year five or year 10, and that's a very smart approach," Bergin said.
