After serving the community for 12 years, Dean Goad stepped down from the Stuart Town Council at the end of last year, after seeking a post at the suggestion of former schoolmate and then mayor, Jimmy McHone.
“I hadn’t been retired all that long. It was just something to do because I was always involved in something at work,” he said.
Goad, who won the first election he ran, said there’s not much competition for town council seats. “I took the position and for the last 12 years, I’ve been on it,” he said.
Throughout his tenure, Goad said the most memorable project was a project to move the Stuart Volunteer Fire Department into the former Food Lion building.
“The town supposedly oversees the fire department because it’s a part of town, and they were going to look at one near the sheriff’s office,” he said.
Goad noted the location would not have been the best for the department due to the troubles fire trucks would have with pulling out, and curves when heading west.
Instead, the town had the opportunity to purchase the former grocery store building. “It was quite a little bit (of money), but we got I think a good deal and we did well doing that,” he said.
Goad’s biggest disagreement was with how the building was purchased.
“We had the money to buy the Food Lion building, and I was wanting to take the money we had and buy it. My point was let’s buy it and fix it as we got the money. Let the trucks get in it and then we can work on it,” he said.
Goad said he was outvoted as the other council members were in favor of borrowing the money and fixing it all at once.
Other notable projects include the creation of a waste-water treatment plant, the Uptown Revitalization projects, improvements to the town’s sidewalks, and moving the powerlines off the street.
Goad said he will miss the fellowship he had with the other council members.
“Arguing with them and disagreeing with them,” he said, joking the council never did so “in public.”
While on the council, Goad added he sometimes liked to play devil’s advocate to get the other members to build and better explain their logic.
Goad also helped persuade Rebecca Adcock, vice-mayor and Executive Director of the Patrick County Chamber of Commerce, to run for the council.
He decided not to run for reelection as he felt he had “got so old I would rather stay at home and sit back in the recliner and not get out at night.”
He also wanted to use the time he spent on council affairs for his hobbies.
“You need to put right much time in it, as far as seeing what’s going on, and I just didn’t want that anymore,” he said.
In his free time Goad plans to focus on collecting antiques.
“I like to trade, buy and sell things. Collecting local memorabilia is probably one of the things that I really like,” he said.