Canton’s Mayor, Cecil Pruett, was named 2006 Georgia’s Municipal Official of the Year by GeorgiaTrend Magazine in the City Elected category. Mr. Pruett has done a good job in managing the growth and progress of Canton, but his toughest decisions may still be ahead of him as he is faced with over 16,000 new homes being proposed by developers. Let’s hope he continues the great job!
Cecil Pruett: Destination Downtown
Every city has its mundane challenges, from potholes to trash pickup. But when Cecil Pruett became mayor of Canton in 1996, a small town poised to become a suburban hotspot, he knew he would have to look beyond the everyday.Pruett envisioned Canton as a vibrant town, one that balances greenspace and tasteful development, with a thriving city center and new places to play and work. Some 10 years later, the town has grown from 7,700 to about 17,000 – and lived up to Pruett’s greatest expectations.
The city of Canton bought and renovated a dilapidated theater, sparking downtown revitalization. Now, shops, restaurants, brick-paved sidewalks and lampposts surround historic Canton Theatre. Downtown is a destination.
Pruett also saw the untapped potential of the Etowah River, which runs through the town. At his urging, the city launched the Etowah River Greenway project and purchased about 90 acres along its banks. Heritage Park, the project’s first phase, provides 30 acres of walking and biking trails and a natural amphitheater that hosts free summer concerts and other events. Nearby, a new community center offers a pool and other amenities. The 60-acre phase two includes soccer and baseball fields and tennis courts.
But even more important than these improvements, under Pruett’s leadership, the city has actually managed its growth. While its population swelled, the city followed a master plan that designated residential, commercial and industrial areas. Pruett worked with developers and homebuilders to create impact fees, which funded new police and fire stations and other improvements. “You’ve got to be proactive, you’ve got to plan,” Pruett explains. “You’ve got to see things and do things that make a difference in people’s lives.”
Pruett came to Canton about 40 years ago as Southeastern sales manager for Henny Penny Corp., a restaurant equipment manufacturer. He became national sales manager and then bought the Eaton, Ohio-based business, all the while living in Canton. He saw beautiful cities in his travels, and he took new ideas home. For example, the Etowah River Greenway is reminiscent of riverside greenery in Boulder, Colo. (“Our river is much larger and offers much greater opportunities,” Pruett boasts.) He loved the hanging flowering baskets in Abingdon, Va., and Canton’s downtown is being streetscaped with similar flowery plants. He even tried to tackle the notorious suburban traffic. Canton runs a free local bus service, and express buses take commuters to Atlanta.
Thanks in part to Pruett’s efforts, Canton is a partner with the Livable Communities Coalition, which provides volunteer expertise to cities that grapple with rapid growth. Pruett tries to balance the needs of longtime Canton residents with those of newcomers, says Jim Durrett, coalition executive director. “I have been impressed with his genuineness, with his honest passion for trying to do the right things for that community,” he says.
To keep his ideas fresh, Pruett meets with a Youth Design Team of high school students. And though he owns an insurance agency, Pruett & Associates, being mayor is his second full-time job. “I do not take this responsibility lightly,” Pruett says. “I spend 30 to 40 hours every week or more working very hard to make our city a better place. I know we’ve made tremendous progress, but we’re not finished. I’m going to do everything I’ve got to make sure we leave it in much better condition [than when we started].”
That’s something the Pruett clearly has already done.
