Generally, Columbus city council meetings are attended by familiar faces, a small group of citizens who regularly monitor the meetings and, on occasion, speak during the citizens’ input portion.
Tuesday’s council meeting was different. Joining “the regulars” was a group of about 15 new faces who sat together near the back of the council chamber. One of the group, 28-year-old Kate Spitz, addressed the council, asking for the city leaders’ help in establishing a community garden in the city, an idea the council members seemed to support, although they said they needed to do some research before moving forward with the idea.
Spitz is a newcomer to the community, arriving in town seven months ago with her husband, Joe, who is in the pilot training program at Columbus Air Force Base.
The Wisconsin natives moved into a downtown apartment so that they could be more engaged in their new, if temporary, community.
Spitz is a member of the Rising Tide Society, a national grass-roots movement that seeks to bring young entrepreneurs together not only to improve their business prospects, but to strengthen their communities through community service and engagement.
Since her arrival, Spitz has watched the local Rising Tide group grow to include about 50 members. The group gathers informally once a month for a “Tuesdays Together” meeting where they exchange ideas. The community garden idea emerged from one of those meetings.
The success of the community garden project remains to be seen. Previous community gardens efforts have failed to take hold, although the climate for this kind of project has improved in recent years as communities begin to embrace healthy living, including fresh locally-produced food.
Perhaps even more important is not the specific idea, but the larger benefit that comes from an infusion of new faces with new ideas in our community.
While taking nothing away from the contributions of the faithful few who have long sought to connect with the community and bring positive changes, the arrival of new community advocates brings a new energy to our area.
We applaud and encourage these new arrivals.
Welcome to town. We’re listening.
To learn more about the local Rising Tide group email Kate Spitz at [email protected].
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.