Areas of Focus
What does an energized approach look like?
It’s an individual who works hard, not for notoriety, but for the good of one’s community. Any time I am asked to help lead a project or campaign, I first think long and hard about whether the outcome will be good for the whole. Then I work tirelessly to make it happen. Service over self is paramount in my leadership roles.
Forming connections and relationships with community members is my primary goal. Bryan is a great community to live in, but there is room for growth and improvement. The County Commissioners own some of our most precious downtown space in Bryan. Working with them and the Chamber to help promote the downtown area with fresh ideas and innovative approaches will only expand what we offer to young adults, families and older generations to come together and celebrate our City. The Bryan of our youth is different than the Bryan of today and we need to work hard to put ourselves back on the map.
Let’s talk about blight!
Unkept homes and properties is probably one of the hottest topics I’ve been involved in as a council member. Our community certainly has its hidden treasures as far as homes go, but there are some areas of concern. Anytime a community member approaches me about a property, we address the concerns. Are we slower than some may like? Yes, but here is the reason. First, government works at a slower pace. Second, some of these homes are in our CHIP program receiving grant monies towards improvement. That’s a good thing!
While our neighborhoods and main sections of town have some areas of concerns, we must be aware of the impact we are leaving among ALL residents. We all want to be proud of Bryan, but is it worth making a family homeless because they haven’t quite recovered from the economic times of struggle? Talking to the residents is a great tool in understanding the real reason someone isn’t mowing the lawn or replacing a bad roof. Can we be a bit more prudent in our efforts? We can, but it takes communication from the top down.
We have great employees who have servant’s hearts. From the Street Department who will walk up to an elderly person’s home to collect trash from a porch because they aren’t able to carry it to the street to the officers who can be found playing football with a group of kids or talking to citizens who can’t quite perform the yard tasks they used to. Communication with service groups about people needing help should be happening. It can happen. Our parks are some of the best in Northwest Ohio. Sure, sometimes vandals come around more often than we’d like. Stricter enforcement, but also better relations with our youth is starting to happen.
Technology!
We need to utilize it every chance we get! Most times, when a business is looking at our area, we won’t even know. We need to have a welcome presence within the cyber community. We need to embrace social media, website design and the like to create a footprint of our City for those interested in locating here. A younger generation of leadership brings that knowledge and gets the City up to date with the times we live in. I’ve heard many times from our local corporations that their market has expanded to a global one. Let’s bring the City of Bryan up to speed to level the playing field.
Sidewalks, Bike Paths and Walkability!
We need to plan for tomorrow while not losing sight of what we need today. Quite simply our City is not easily accessible or safe to travel by foot or bicycle. The City budget cannot fund this cause alone. It’s going to take community investmest and discussion to make this plan a reality. It’s worth talking about and exploring. The decisions should not be made by one person alone, but I do think to add growth within our community, adding bike paths or sidewalks needs to be brought to the discussion table and explored.
Distrust in Government
We all know it’s there. That deep seeded fear that government is bad and everyone is hiding something. Let’s elect a person of high ethical standards, who knows how to listen! That person is Carrie Schlade. Government was designed for work for the people. I have always felt that no matter what happens on a state or federal level, local government is the most important as it has the largest impact on you as a local resident. Together, we can make Bryan reach it’s potential.
So, what’s your agenda?
It’s simple. I love this community. I have been working for you on a volunteer level for years. Imagine what I can do for you as Mayor. Energized leadership, smart daily decisions, conservative spending, connections with other local agencies and government officials. I bring all of that to the table.
I’m aware of our local budget issues. We are at a crossroads where we must start working with Bryan Board of Public Affairs, Williams County Commissioners and local State Officials to look at some cost savings. Does this mean getting rid of great employees? NO. It does mean we really look for potential cross-categorical positions when employees retire or leave the City. It means looking at ways to share and pool our resources in a way to benefit multiple entities.
The fact is capital improvements are essential to growing our community. We must maintain monies in our budget to pay for the upkeep of what we currently have and add room for growth.