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Since the start of his first term as mayor, Bell said that accomplishments have been made in recruiting new businesses to Lebanon, providing new places for kids to play and putting more regulations on developers.

“There’s more work to be done, and I would like the honor to continue to work for the people of Lebanon and build upon what we’ve already accomplished,� Bell said.

Looking ahead, Bell has goals of continuing work on the Lebanon sports complex, bringing in more dining and shopping opportunities, if re-elected.

“Economic development is a huge aspect of what we’ve been doing,� Bell said. “When I ran the first time, people talked a lot about wanting to be able to stay in Lebanon to shop and to dine and to have entertainment. It’s my goal to make that happen.�

Continuing the process of controlling development is another one of Bell’s goals for the future.

“So far, we’ve placed over 30 new regulations on developers,� Bell said. “We’ve increased impact fees and that’s something that needs to continue to make sure that we keep a tight rein on what actually gets built here.�

Over the last four years, Bell has learned that many aspects of city government affect people’s lives every day.

“There’s the sanitization department that picks up sanitation from every house every week,� Bell said. “Police and fire are here for our safety, and we’re out in different community events and different functions around town. There’s a lot of city government that’s public, but there’s also city government that’s internal — the way the city operates, the way it functions.�

Ensuring that the internal workings of the city government operate efficiently is something that Bell says he wants to keep moving forward.

“The employees of the city of Lebanon work hard every day and it’s my job to make sure that we’re working in a good direction,� Bell said. “That’s something that we started working hard on for the past four years and I’d appreciate the opportunity to continue that in the future.�

According to the Wilson County Election Commission, the first day to pick up nominating petitions is June 17. The qualifying deadline for November’s general and city elections is Aug. 15 at noon, with the withdrawal deadline being Aug. 22.