Lying just southeast of Raleigh, Garner is not a little town anymore. With 26,500 residents and a growth rate of over 3 percent a year, it’s very much a part of the Triangle, within commuting distance of larger cities and big businesses.

With growth comes demand for more town services, and in an enlightened community a need to do more than just keep up. Toward the goal of improving downtown and maintaining and improving the quality of life for all citizens, Garner town officials will ask voters on March 12 to approve authority for the town to issue up to $35.7 million in bonds.

It’s a worthy aim and clearly justified.

The bond money would finance improvement in public safety and services facilities, parks and recreation areas, streets and sidewalks and redevelopment, such as the purchase of blighted areas to boost downtown. The maximum impact on property owners, and that maximum might be lower if the improving economy means more revenue for the town, would be about $27.50 a year for every $100,000 in property value. That’s a bargain for what would be delivered and for the positive impact of planned improvements in the community. Those improvements, of course, would be likely to boost property values.

Garner, in other words, has a lot going for it. The point of the bonds is to keep going.