(And a Whole Lot of Potential)
I watched the latest Fairfield County Council meeting on YouTube.
Yes, YouTube. County council meetings are on YouTube now. We’re living in the future.
There were meaningful moments. A moment of silence for Brittany Goodwin. Recognition for two citizens who saved a life on New Year’s Eve.
That’s Fairfield County at its best.
But somewhere between heroism and infrastructure updates, something quietly powerful showed up on the screen:
Fairfield County has 27 vacant buildings and multiple land parcels that no longer serve a county purpose.
Twenty-seven.
That’s not just a number.
That’s a small neighborhood.
That’s a Main Street waiting for a Monday morning.
That’s potential … with the lights off.
Before anyone thinks this is criticism, relax. Running a county isn’t like flipping a switch. It’s more like untangling Christmas lights that have been in the attic since 2003. There’s history involved.
Still, this is worth imagining.
In the same meeting, we heard about over $137 million in new investment and more than 200 projected jobs. That’s good news. Real progress.
But economic development isn’t only about what we recruit from the outside.
It’s also about what we activate from within.
Twenty-seven empty buildings mean twenty-seven chances to bring property back onto the tax rolls. Twenty-seven opportunities for small businesses to plant roots. Twenty-seven spaces that could become storefronts, creative hubs, or the office of the next entrepreneur who’s tired of waiting for “somebody to bring jobs here.”
Every empty building tells a story. Some represent seasons that ended. Some are waiting for a new purpose.
And if there’s one thing Fairfield County has proven time and time again, it’s this:
We know how to get excited about things we can see… whether they’re there or not.
Remember the “Angel in the Tree” twenty years ago?
Seeing is believing around here.
So maybe that’s the challenge.
If we can see the future clearly enough, we’ll rally behind it.
Vision doesn’t require hype. It requires clarity. It requires someone willing to connect the dots between what we have and what we could become. Not with slogans. With strategy.
In a county where many residents are looking for opportunity, it would be a shame if opportunity were sitting in plain sight with boarded windows.
Growth isn’t just what we recruit.
It’s what we unlock.
And while we’re imagining things… can I make one gentle suggestion?
Can we make county council meetings just a little more exciting?
They’re informative. Important. Necessary. But if we want more engagement, maybe we rethink the format. Democracy works better when people want to show up.
Fairfield doesn’t lack passion. Or imagination.
Twenty-seven empty buildings doesn’t discourage me.
It excites me.
Because the question isn’t whether we have potential.
The question is whether we’re ready to bring it to life.
Kenny Robertson, an educator and comedian, is a native of Ridgeway.
