The Change: Why Tallapoosa Deserves Restoration - Not Reinvention

The Pitch for “Change”

If you’ve noticed, a lot of people are talking about “change” lately. It’s the word that pops up in every meeting, on every flyer, and in every consultant presentation.

Tallapoosa’s new Downtown Master Plan promises to “reimagine” our city, new plazas, streetlights, and sidewalks, all drawn up by outside firms and backed by federal grants. On paper, it looks exciting. But when you really look at it, it’s hard not to notice how familiar it feels.

Because we’ve seen this before — in places like Carrollton, Douglasville, and Villa Rica — and we’ve seen what comes next.

When “Revitalization” Becomes Replacement

These plans always start the same way: talk of “walkability,” “festival streets,” and “new investment.”Then, property values rise, taxes follow, and the small-town character that made these places special slowly disappears under the weight of urban design.

That’s The Change.

It’s not just cosmetic. It’s cultural. It replaces our front-porch charm with big-city ideas that look great on a brochure but don’t serve the people who actually live here.

We’re told narrowing our streets, converting parking lots, and adding café lights will “bring people downtown.”But the people we should be planning for are already here, homeowners, business owners, and families who built Tallapoosa’s identity long before any consultant arrived.

Why I’m Running

Ever since I started my campaign, I’ve noticed something: people who haven’t met me yet often assume I’m running to change Tallapoosa. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

My family and I moved to Tallapoosa because we love what it already is, the small-town charm, the friendly faces, and the sense of belonging you can’t find anywhere else. While the current administration spends hard-earned tax dollars trying to reshape our city into just another urban branch of Atlanta, I’m looking backward to move forward.

I’ve joined the Tallapoosa and Haralson County Historical Societies, and I’ve been spending time listening, really listening, to the seniors who have called this place home their entire lives. They remember what made Tallapoosa great, and through those conversations, I’ve learned things about this city that even many lifelong residents have forgotten, or never even knew happened. Those stories matter, because they remind us of who we are and how far we’ve come. I believe that by learning from them, we can bring back what worked instead of chasing trends that don’t fit who we are.

Who’s Really Trying to Change Tallapoosa?

If you’re thinking that I’m here to change Tallapoosa, take a step back and look at who’s really trying to change it.

It’s not me proposing festival streets, tearing up parking, and spending taxpayer dollars on design concepts that could fit in any metro suburb. It’s not me planning to funnel our historic charm into a “rebranded entertainment district.”

The truth is, the current administration has already started changing Tallapoosa — not by fixing what’s broken, but by trying to redesign what’s already working. They’re pushing for projects that make us look more like Atlanta and less like the hometown we all fell in love with.

That’s not preserving the heart of Tallapoosa, that’s rewriting it. And once we go down that path, there’s no going back.

The Real Fix Isn’t Complicated

The current administration seems to think that “changing” Tallapoosa is the only way to bring in new businesses, because they haven’t found anything else that works. But the truth is, there are much simpler fixes that would make a real difference right now.

Start with the basics:

• Make needed street repairs instead of talking about multi-million-dollar redesigns.

• Add a simple crosswalk downtown so employees can safely cross the street, leaving more up-front parking for customers.

• Use basic marketing to remind people of what Tallapoosa already has.

  
  

If you’re reading this, you probably read my last blog about our golf course. As beautiful as it is, I’ve talked with people in neighboring towns who didn’t even know we had a golf course. That’s not a planning issue, that’s a communication issue.

Take our upcoming Chili Cook-Off, for example. It’s another one of our favorite annual events, yet I’ve only seen it advertised in four places, a single storefront window, the digital sign downtown, a banner at the Civic Center, and a quick mention in the city newsletter.

I understand that budgets are tight. But these are the kinds of changes I’m talking about, not million-dollar street projects, but better communication, better awareness, and better use of what we already have.

Tallapoosa doesn’t need to be remade. It needs to be reminded how great it already is.

The Power of Being Connected

Everyone reading this is online right now, and that alone shows how powerful a digital space can be. In today’s world, how we share information matters. How we reach people matters.

The current mayor just started his Facebook page because he realized he had to compete in that digital space, something I’ve been using from day one to engage, listen, and share ideas openly with residents.

Tallapoosa needs leadership that understands how things are done in this day and age, the importance of visibility, communication, and connection, while still valuing and preserving our history.

I believe we can use technology to bring people together, not to replace the community we already have. That’s the balance we need — respecting the past while communicating for the future.

Whose Vision Is This, Really?

The Master Plan calls for “new tools and incentives” and “a Main Street program”, all good ideas in theory. But the truth is, you don’t need an $80,000 study to know what’s missing from downtown. You just need to talk to the people who live here.

Ask any local business owner, and they’ll tell you the real obstacles:

• It’s hard to get financing to repair old buildings.

• Permitting is confusing and inconsistent.

• The city spends more time planning for new visitors than supporting existing residents.

  
  

That’s not “revitalization.”That’s replacement dressed up as progress.

The Cost of Becoming “The Next Carrollton”

Carrollton’s downtown looks nice, sure, but the cost of living doubled, parking disappeared, and the same small businesses that built it can’t afford to stay. Villa Rica followed suit, trading local authenticity for chain stores and traffic.

That’s not the kind of “change” Tallapoosa needs. That’s how you lose what makes a small town worth saving in the first place.

Restoration, Not Reinvention

Here’s what I believe: We don’t need to reimagine Tallapoosa. We need to restore it.

Restoration means:

• Bringing back the pride and purpose in what we already have.

• Filling vacant storefronts with local ownership, not corporate tenants.

• Fixing infrastructure and drainage before building decorative plazas.

• Cleaning up our parks, protecting our neighborhoods, and supporting our businesses — not pricing them out.

  
  

Real growth starts by repairing what’s broken — not replacing what works.

The Right Kind of Change

I’m not against progress. I’m against progress that leaves people behind. There’s a difference between growth and good growth.

Good growth invests in residents first. It keeps property taxes fair. It celebrates our history instead of rewriting it. It invites businesses that serve the community, not just those that look good on a grant proposal.

Tallapoosa doesn’t need to become “the next anything.”We just need to take care of our own.

In Closing

So when I talk about restoring Tallapoosa, I’m not talking about stopping change —I’m talking about guiding it, protecting it, and keeping it ours.

The “change” being sold to us today might look shiny and modern, but what it really threatens to change is the soul of this city.

And once that’s gone, it’s gone for good.

Joe Glass

Candidate for Mayor of Tallapoosa

The Clear Choice for Family-Focused Growth.