GREENVILLE – The newest member of the Greenville City Council is Greg White. White grew up in West Milton, Ohio, and has a strong business background, working in the Dayton automotive industry, manufacturing, and more.
“I was afforded the opportunity to do a lot of neat things, a lot of different jobs,” Councilman White said.
His business experience led him to the philosophy of doing the right thing for the right reasons to get the right results.
“Not all decisions are great decisions, but a good decision is better than no decision,” White said.
He came back to the area about ten years ago. After he retired from his last job in Kentucky, he moved to Greenville to be close to home and help care for his mom.
While he didn’t have experience with something like a city council before, White decided he wanted to contribute to the future of Greenville.
“I don’t consider this politics, I consider this public service,” White said. “Every decision that I will make will be trying to determine what’s the best for the people of Greenville. Not any other motives. What’s the best for the people and the city? Even if it’s not popular, what’s best for the people in the city as a whole.”
Recently, a vote passed 5-1 in the City Council to re-zone for new affordable senior housing. White explained that when he got onto the council, he looked at what was being discussed and got as much information as possible.
“I knew this zoning issue was a hotbed,” White said. “It was an old lingering issue that seemed to be going nowhere and seemed to be in a deadlock.”
While looking into the issue and talking to everyone involved, he realized everyone seemed to have a different idea of what was happening. He decided to do his own digging to figure out the facts of the issue.
“There were a lot of differences in the information I received; it didn’t sound like we were talking about the same thing all the time,” White said. “So I just dug in to say, okay, what are the facts? What’s the whole story?”
White and Councilwoman Delores Ely met with the developer in one of their facilities to ask questions and address their concerns. They were there for over three hours, talking with the CEO and two management team members.
They currently have 37 operating facilities that are all successful. They are well taken care of and maintained. People living there shared they enjoyed the facilities and were glad to be there.
White noticed the confusion about whether or not this would be low-income housing. He discovered that it is not low-income housing but affordable senior living.
“This is what they call affordable living, or a limited income living,” White said. “This isn’t for the rich and famous, and it’s not for the low-income subsidized housing. It’s paying a reasonable rent, which is capped and not subsidized by the government.”
The housing is specifically affordable senior living, meant for those 55 years old and older within a specific income level. It’s very similar to Fox Run, which is also here in Greenville.
“If you look at Fox Run, which is a similar type of facility, it has a 2-year waiting list,” White said. “So there’s people who want or need that kind of living but can’t get it. So why don’t we do it?
White is confident that when the housing is ready, it will be filled up quickly.
Newest Councilman White is looking forward to his future serving Greenville and the people of Greenville.
His plans as a councilman include learning the ropes, approaching things with a clear head, and sticking with his belief in doing the right thing for the right reason to get the right result.
“I plan to approach things with my eyes open, avoid bias, and continue to ask the question of what are we doing, what are going to do for the betterment of the city of Greenville and the people of the city of Greenville, and why aren’t we doing more of it today, what’s preventing us from doing it now,” White said.
