Highlands Mayor Patrick Taylor
With another year passed, Highlands Mayor Patrick Taylor reflected on some highlights from the year, what he learned from the year and what he is looking forward to in 2022.
When Taylor thinks back on the year, he said there are a couple things that jump out at him.
“I think about the COVID-19 Vaccination Initiative at the beginning of this year,” Taylor said. “How the community came together. The folks from Cashiers, Highlands and all over came together to deliver those critical vaccinations. That was really life affirming for us to see and how people responded to that situation.”
Another issue that stood out to Taylor, he said, was finally signing the broadband contract after seven years of negotiation.
“I know that there is a lot of movement on broadband now with construction starting in other areas,” Taylor said. “We should be seeing service on that at the first of the year.”
One issue that has taken the town by note is the short-term rental situation.
“This issue is still ongoing, but it is a critical issue that ties in with the other issue of the drafting of the comprehensive community plan,” Taylor said. “Finally, I thought the election was a big issue in the past year. To be frank, the people that won articulated certain issues and won pretty decisively. I think with our board, we have to press forward and address some of these issues that are ahead of us, which will be the short-term rental issue, the comprehensive community plan and continuing to cope and address COVID.”
The thing Taylor said he learned goes in hand with the COVID-19 Vaccination Initiative.
“I think this is a vibrant and responsive community,” Taylor said. “When I saw what we did in addressing the COVID issue with the vaccinations and how people came out and supported one another that kind of renewed my faith in what we can do when we work together. It was just a wonderful response to a very dangerous situation. I am very proud of the people in this community.”
Looking forward, Taylor said he is ready to address important issues facing the town.
“One issue I’m ready to address is the short-term rental situation, although I think whatever the board decides will not please everybody,” Taylor said. “That is something that we have got to address. I am also ready for us to finalize and approve the comprehensive plan. I think that has been a really great process of getting a lot of input from a lot of people. We need to now finalize it, adopt it and face those decisions. Of course, with COVID, I am very concerned with the new variant, Omicron. Not so much that it is disabling people as the other ones did, but it can still cut into our workforce. I think in the next couple of weeks, or a month or so, it’s going to be tough for us.”
- By Christopher Lugo