By CHRISTINE BOATWRIGHT / Staff Writer

VINCENT – Mayor Ray McAllister is looking to continue what he began four years ago when he first took office.

“I feel like in a period of four years, a new mayor has about two years to figure out what’s going on. At this point, I haven’t completed what I’d like to complete in the town of Vincent,” he said.

McAllister will run for his second term as Vincent mayor during the Aug. 28 municipal election.

“We’ve upgraded our fire department and purchased a new fire truck through a grant,” McAllister said. “In the last four years, we’ve received over $800,000 in grants.

“We have paved one of the worst roads in the country, Autumn Drive,” he added. “Then we have also, in our grants, gotten a grant for a police officer through the justice department and new police car through the LETS Program (Law Enforcement Training Scholarship).”

McAllister noted the long-range plan the town has for its park.

“Once we get it completed and approved, we’ll look for grants to upgrade the park,” he said. “We’re going to expand the activities down there such as a splash pad, new fencing and additional landscaping. For a long-range plan, we’d like a small community center-type building that would function as a storm shelter.”

McAllister said, even with the down economy, the town has been able to keep expenses down to meet income levels.

“I was in business for 40 years and banking for 16 years,” McAllister said. “What a lot of people don’t realize is that a municipality is a business like other businesses. We’re meeting our budgets and plugging along just like everybody else.

“The only job I have is being mayor of Vincent, and I’m dedicated and experienced in the position now,” he added. “I would like to have it four more years.”