Argyle is growing. Maintaining a connected feel while managing the town’s expansion is a goal Mayor Peggy Krueger is determined in reaching.

Gaining the attention of many developers as a center of growth is the latest challenge for Argyle. Krueger regards the participation of the community an essential measure in understanding what the town wants and discusses the advantageous implications of taking the reins of progress.

“We have to understand that growth is coming to our community,” Krueger said. “We can either manage and embrace it, or we can let it happen on its own and not have a plan.”

As the economy fluctuates, its behaviors directly affect the town’s status. In 2007, the town council began a tactic to give a vision for Argyle’s future.

“We started on our comprehensive plan of what we wanted to look like when we grew up as a town,” Krueger said. “Then the recession hit and nothing happened. Now all of a sudden we are beginning to get a lot of proposals.”

Krueger expressed her determination in negotiating with developers to accommodate the values of the town. Through these efforts, many future developments will offer new dynamics to the community.

“I don’t want you to have to go out of town to go to Denton or to Roanoke,” Krueger said. “I want Argyle to have a place to go to after a football game or a place to listen to some live music on a Sunday. Argyle is such a family oriented community that these places would bring us together. Connectivity and community are just really important to me.”

Krueger hopes members of the community recognize benefits of allowing developers and businesses to settle in Argyle.

“There’s pros and cons to all developments,” Krueger said, “but people need to understand the revenue they bring for the town.”

Residents may also experience perks with new developments.

“We will have more employment here, meaning many job opportunities for the youth in the community,” Krueger said.

With any change, Krueger recognizes some residents are reluctant in accepting it.

“There’s a lot of exciting things in these proposals, but with the excitement there’s also things that people aren’t going to like,” Krueger said. “Every single proposal that we have on our commercial corners has a proponent of residents. I know people don’t want more residents, but that’s how all these developers support to build the commercial.”

There are multiple steps taken in order to clarify and inform residents of issues being voted on.

“We have town hall meetings and publicize by social media,” Krueger said. “Before we decide on any development, we usually have something up [at the town hall] where there are different stations set up so people can come and go, ask questions, go see [development] proposals on a map, and tell us what they think.”

According to Krueger, the lack of community involvement is a very discouraging issue.

“We recently had five meetings on the same project, so we could offer different times of the day on different days,” Krueger said. “We only had a handful of people show up.”

In response to some personal criticism she and other town members saw online after a recent town decision, Krueger discussed her concerns with the accusations.

“All the council, we love this town; we live here too, and we’re not moving,” Krueger said. “I wish people would come and help be a part of the solution and give us ideas instead of waiting until something comes up and then criticizing.”

With all the recent development proposals, Krueger believes that the community sharing their voice is crucial to maintaining a successful town.

“Towns fail because of not having plans,” Krueger said. ” What matters is [the community] lets us know their opinion. We’re just people, and we need your ideas.”