Everybody understood we couldn't come back here with 130 projects.

There are several of these a year. We have one of these every month in a different location. It's just an opportunity for elected officials and staff from every city and all of the county to come together, get to know each other and talk business.

If we recycle the trees, we give ourselves a present.

When you talk about 50 tons of anything, that's a lot. We used to throw all of that stuff into the ground.

There's an understanding on their part that unless we can provide additional transportation infrastructure, at some point, we won't be able to develop anywhere. We'll be so mired in traffic.

Sometimes you have to be empty. That is one thing I have truly learned in all the rebuilding projects. At some point, you have got to take a punch to the gut that just empties all the arrogance or pride or false hopes, and then you realize we better face up to who we are.