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Pruett won’t run again
Published November 6, 2007
Albertville Mayor Carl Pruett survived two strokes in office, but he remains focused as he heads down the home stretch of his first and only term.
The 71-year-old retiree from Gold Kist had his first stroke nine months into office in July 2005 followed by another one more than a year later, in October 2006.
Pruett said his mind is as sharp as before the strokes but his speech was affected.
“I have what the doctors call apraxia — a motor speech disorder in which the motor planning part of speech is impaired,” said Pruett. “Basically the message that the brain sends to the articulators to form words is mixed up and the words come out wrong. After the second stroke, doctors believe they were brought on by a sleep disorder called sleep apnea.
“I now sleep with a CPAP machine and feel great. The strokes have not affected my mind or decision-making. On occasion I may have trouble with my short-term memory as far as remembering a name or place right off hand, but then it quickly comes to me.”
Pruett said the strokes not only affected his speech, but his perspective on life.
“I certainly thank God for every day I have,” he said. “I appreciate life more than ever and know that you cannot take it for granted. God has truly blessed me.”
Pruett does not plan to run for mayor again and is just about ready to enjoy a real retirement with Nel, his wife of 25 years.
“I said in the beginning I would only be a one-term mayor,” he explained. “Even if I had not had health problems, I would be 75 years old at the end of another term. As much as I have enjoyed and loved every moment I’ve been in office, Nel and I are ready to be retired and spend some time traveling and visiting with family.”
Pruett provided some insight into his first three years in office and what he hopes to accomplish in the final year in an interview with The Reporter last week. --- 1. What is your biggest accomplishment during your first three years in office?
Pruett: During my first year as mayor, I had to become familiar with the inner workings of the city and implemented some minor restructuring to some of the city’s departments.
The additions of an airport manager, IT director and director of accounting were made, and each of those has proven to be assets for the city. I believe we have a great group of employees working for the city, and I am very proud of all that they do.
Over the past three years, I feel that we have been able to accomplish quite a few things. The city is more financially stable than in years past, having been able to pay off a major loan, that the previous administration acquired the last few weeks of their term, in just a short time.
Also AIC (Aerospace Integration Corp.) coming to Albertville and bringing numerous jobs and potential for future industrial growth around our airport is another huge step for our city.
During the building process at our airport, we were able to purchase property around the area and use those resources to help with various projects and save a large amount of money.
One of the most important items we have been able to accomplish is getting groundwork started for the new high school, having the funding options implemented and getting the building process under way. --- 2. What has surprised you most about the job of mayor?
Pruett: The reluctance of people for change. People want change but do not want it to start with them. In the past there seemed to have been reluctance from existing business for competition from new ones, and I believe this hurt the city’s growth at that time.
But now everyone has a more welcoming attitude for progress and the city has gotten back on the right path towards economic growth. --- 3. What do you wish you could’ve done by now but haven’t been able to?
Pruett: I wish we could have gotten more retail businesses and restaurants. It takes a lot of time and negotiations and just does not happen overnight.
You just have to be very persistent and continue to pursue these developers. Sometimes you don’t see the rewards for several years down the road. We just have to continue working towards convincing developers that Albertville is a prime area.
Also, I wish we could have gotten more on cleanup. Even though we have made a big improvement, there is still a lot to be done. --- 4. What is the biggest issue facing the city of Albertville?
Pruett: I think the roadblocks that we have faced in recruiting new businesses to the city have been one of our biggest issues. I have a lot of pride in our city, and we have to continue to work on selling the idea of Albertville being a great place for businesses.
Also, I believe we still have some areas of town that still could use some improving and cleaning up. To help with this problem we have formed a junk automobile ordinance and rental ordinance committee to work on solutions that can be incorporated into our ordinances. These committees are made up of council members, the building inspector, city clerk and ordinance enforcement officer.
Another issue I believe facing all of us is the need for acceptance and better communication with our Hispanic citizens in our community. We have to come together to work to make our city a great place to live for all of us.
If we could combine our resources and backgrounds, there is no limit to the things we could accomplish for Albertville. --- 5. What do you hope to accomplish in the last year of your term?
Pruett: I want to see new retail businesses and restaurants began to locate in Albertville. I am excited to see the work being done for the new Walgreens and restaurants that are soon to open such as Dakota J Café & Bakery and Wild Bull Steak & Grill.
I welcome developers to look at our city and see what we have to offer for them. It would be great to see development being done in Albertville, and I plan on continuing to work towards this as long as I am in office.
This is a great city to live and work in, and I believe that if we just keep working it will happen with in the next few years.
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