BRUCE CAPPS: Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful fails to articulate its vision

A month ago, several Dougherty County commissioners expressed concerns about the accumulation of litter in Albany. At their Feb. 12 County Commission meeting, KADB (Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful) responded to the concerns with a presentation that was largely self-congratulatory and free of detail.

Most of the presentation was a recitation of the ordinance establishing KADB, followed by long lists of programs and initiatives. The presentation, led by various KADB board members, was well presented and emphasized again KADB’s very admirable success with volunteerism in Albany.

Indeed KADB apparently has a long and successful history of motivating volunteers for which KADB and its executive director should be proud. According to their calculations, the annualized value of volunteer services is $3.4 million.

Unfortunately, that was one of only two sets of statistics included with the presentation, with the other listing a seemingly impressive number of awards and designations. But there should be a cautionary note attached to the awards and designations. It may be likely that many awards and designations accepted by KADB are requirements-based, rather than results-oriented.

For example, to be designated as a Tree City USA, a municipality must meet a relatively low threshold. In fact, the designation can be awarded without the recipient actually planting trees.

As for litter reduction and abatement, during the presentation, members of the KADB Board listed many programs, but gave no details about implementation, nor did they suggest any reasonable measurement of the success or effectiveness of these programs.

A few weeks ago, it was suggested that the KADB was working on and would soon be presenting a comprehensive litter plan. Regrettably, during the Feb. 12 presentation, no plan was offered, discussed or even promised. This would strongly suggest that KADB and its board are satisfied with the success of their current efforts. Given public sentiment to the contrary, this posture is hard to understand.

The absence of a comprehensive plan for litter reduction, one that would ideally incorporate the remainder of KADB’s programs, is indicative of an ad hoc approach to its mission. KADB has a very broad and comprehensive list of duties that should have a significant impact on the city and county. And the ordinance that established KADB gives that body an enormous amount of latitude to carry out its duties.

Its budget from the city and county alone is around $200,000. Furthermore, as a not-for-profit 501(3)(c), KADB has raised funds through donations, grants and gifts. The executive director of KADB even controls and uses the City Tree Fund. Despite this, it is unclear from the presentation that KADB is realizing its potential.

By failing to quantify the effective use of funds and by failing to articulate a vision around which to focus current and future efforts, KADB has considerably limited its impact on Albany.

And sadly, despite the slide-show, KADB’s operations remain an enigma. Attendees at the Feb. 12 County Commission meeting should be forgiven for knowing little more about KADB at the end of the presentation than they did at the beginning.

Bruce Capps moved to Albany five years ago after living in Atlanta for more than 40 years. In Atlanta, he had a long career in insurance and was a founding partner in an insurance claims adjusting company. He has an MBA in marketing and insurance from Georgia State University and an undergraduate degree in history. Now retired, Capps is pursuing a lifelong interest in historic preservation and urban revitalization.