A Culture of Maintenance

“The visible details create confidence in invisible processes. - Dennis Snow”

I can tell a lot about a town within 30 minutes of my arrival.

The entrance to a community sends a message. The maintenance of its infrastructure and assets all tell a story – regardless of whether it is intentional.

In his regular and deeply interesting Substack posts titled “The Country Gentleman,” Casey B. Head recently wrote about A Duty to Place. Place is a topic all of us in leadership positions across the spectrum  should explore more intently and seriously, because place matters.

Mr. Head speaks of “stewardship” as our duty to place – not just to our world, but specifically to our community.  When we have ownership of our neighborhoods, we can develop a culture of maintenance-a responsibility that rightfully belongs to every resident, not just the few, in caring for our entire city. Otherwise, states Head, we will establish “a general culture of disposability, [where] mass abdication of responsibility is the norm.”

And it is in such places—where abdication of responsibility is allowed--that we find what Wendell Berry, one of our most notable fellow Kentuckians, calls “the tragedy of the commons.” Put simply, in local government we call it neglect, vacant lots, or blight.

The mayor’s Growing Home initiative and the city council’s most recent budget addresses the importance of place with increased funding for code enforcement, grass cutting, demolitions and staffing to manage vacant lots in our city. And, I couldn’t be more thankful to our local elected officials for the foresight and the willpower to put treasure to deed. But…government funding and staff initiative is not enough. The city needs to establish a “culture of maintenance” with every resident who calls Hopkinsville home; without it, our efforts will fail before we begin.

The ancient Greeks studied the concept of concentric circles – multiple circles sharing a common center. In his post, A Duty to Place, Mr. Head believes such circles emanate from “care of the body, family, home and community.” Consequently, if a smaller circle is neglected for the sake of a larger circle, it all falls apart.

This is our moment. It is our time. The success of future generations demands that we all make sacrifices to establish a thriving community—one that Hopkinsville’s descendants can be proud to choose and call home. If we don’t take up the burden of responsibility, make the hard decisions, and sacrifice now, it will all fall apart.

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