Arnoldsville Mayor Danny Morcom is ready to officially embrace the position in 2024 after serving as mayor pro tem for almost nine months.
Morcom and Arnoldsville City Council members began tackling issues facing the city in the first city council meeting of the year on Jan. 18.
They emphasized the importance of the City of Arnoldsville Water Department throughout the meeting.
"The biggest thing we have going for us is the water department," Morcom said. "It's an excellent water department, and it takes up most of our time."
The department has over 700 customers, Morcom said, providing for people all over Oglethorpe County — beyond the 446 people in the city.
Morcom and the council members also discussed building a second fire department location. Several firefighters live on the other side of town, so building one closer to them would provide more efficient response times throughout that part of the county.
A pending agreement to build subdivisions and commercial real estate on 100 acres of land purchased near Arnoldsville City Hall will be another key issue in the coming months, Morcom said.
"They basically have agreed to do it," he said. "We have been working on it for two years but, you know, we have a lot to iron out."
Morcom said approval could double the population of Arnoldsville.
The new mayor has been a part of local government for most of his life. He lived in Virginia for 40 years, where he became the youngest person to be elected to a county's board of supervisors.
After moving to Florida and staying for 26 years, he made his way up to Oglethorpe County, where he served on the Arnoldsville City Council for eight years before being elected and taking over as mayor on Jan. 1.
City council member Joyce Sniff said Morcom was going to retire, but he impressed residents during his time as mayor pro tem.
"I think he loves the town, and he has vision and is dedicated," Sniff said.