The Virginia Muncipal League is an organization I quickly became more familiar with in my first year serving as mayor.  VML is, “a statewide, nonprofit, nonpartisan association of city, town and county governments established in 1905 to improve and assist local governments through legislative advocacy, research, education and other services.”

Today, I received their Legislative Bulletin, which comes out weekly (see the 2010 list here).  I highly suggest reading over the main story, Report Card: Legislature Risks an ‘F’ on midterm exam, in this week’s Legislative Bulletin to see concrete ways the legislature is continually (i.e. currently) decreasing funding and increasing costs to localities to provide basic services.   You will see specific problematic bills and equally problematic inaction.

As the DNRonline.com has been “paywalled“, meaning people need to pay to read it online, there are a number of added challenges to inform the public on important matters.   However, there’s one with a more direct added financial impact: business leaders from outside the area can’t read about or find economic development news because the news stories don’t show up in search engine results (Google won’t show DNRonline.com pages because users can’t read them).

So, when an article like today’s “Rockingham Plans to be Ready for Wind Farms” is published, the only people that really have a chance to read it are local people with a paid or online subscription on the day it’s printed. The opportunity lost is for people in this industry to get our region on their radar. Of course, I’m not just talking about the wind industry – any industry. All of our comparatively good news printed in the DNR is effectively invisible online.

This, then, puts an added responsibility for regional business development advocates (from local government to commercial real estate to builders to industry leaders) to fill the void with web content that is “search engine optimized”. That’s a fancy phrase for blogging.

And the opportunity is rich. Right now, if you google “Harrisonburg economy business” the FIRST result isn’t the city’s or the county’s economic development website, or the Shenandoah Valley Partnership, or the Chamber of Commerce. Nope. You know what it is? A link on www.HarrisonburgSummits.com about the February 18th Harrisonburg Summit on Strengthening Local Business and Economy. That’s right. An announcement I posted last month as part of my job at the Fairfield Center is currently the online “gateway” to our community’s economic development efforts (at least with those google terms). As much as I stand behind these events and enjoy their visibility, we have to change this – and that means business leaders put more energy into creating content for the web. We are behind the curve.

Former President and Noble Peace Prize Winner Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter will receive the Mahatma Gandhi Global Nonviolence Award on the International Day of Peace, Sept. 21, 2009.  This is the same award that brought Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu to Harrisonburg in 2007.

The City of Harrisonburg and the central Shenandoah Valley are home to a rich tradition of cultures, religions, organizations, and projects that focus on peace-building and democratic values.  Honoring leaders who promote these values is always appropriate, and a local government recognizing and supporting the visit of a former president is particularly appropriate.

This visit will require logistical support from the city staff (police, transit, etc), and the council voted 5-0 in favor of covering those expenses without asking for reimbursement.

» Learn more about the Carters’ visit
» Get your tickets

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged on this site.  If there’s a specific decision about which you would like my thinking on since my last post, feel free to ask about it in the comments.

One of the decisions council made recently was to move forward with a new program aimed at paying for ambulance rides.  The program centers around billing the insurance companies of people who receive an ambulance ride whose health insurance policies cover this expense.  This “compassionate billing” strategy is meant to recuperate funds from insurance companies who offer ambulance as a benefit paying customers, while not asking those who can’t afford it to pay.

At first glance, this is a no brainer: Read Full Post

As most everyone knows, in the last months, the City has been considering a request from a group of citizens seeking to allow residents in Harrisonburg to have egg-laying hens in the backyard.  This topic has generated more discussion than any other issue since I became mayor – by far!

Public debate is an important part of our political process.  Last night, council made a step to have an official public hearing on this issue.  To date, the Harrisonburg Backyard Chicken Project has presented their proposal, and there has not yet been an official public forum for the general public to voice their opinion.  July 28 will be such an opportunity.

I want to commend everyone who has expressed an opinion on this issue for their respectful and thoughtful words.  With only a few exceptions, people are remaining civil and respectful.  I hope and trust that this level of civility will continue as we move towards a public hearing on the topic July 28.  It’s likely that emotions will begin running higher as the decision nears, and that’s ok, as long as we stay civil.

So, what do I think?  Well, I’ve been listening and researching.  City council meetings, reports from staff, reviewing other cities’ ordinances, community discussions, lunch meetings, phone calls, emails, property tours, discussions with poultry industry folks and elected officials, sustainable living experts, impromptu sidewalk conversations, barbershop talk and more – all of this has helped shaped my opinion.

After all these conversations, I agree with most arguments in favor of allowing chickens, including the overall need to make lifestyle changes towards more sustainable living and that certain concerns about chickens are unwarranted.  That said, I am currently hearing a significant majority opinion against allowing chickens, based on a combination of concerns (some, admittedly, more founded than others).

To overturn public opinion, I must believe a moral imperative or value is at stake.  I do believe we have such an imperative at stake in terms of reducing our consumption of resources and energy in general, however I do not think the specific issue of chickens in Harrisonburg backyards meets my threshold for overturning what I think will manifest as a significant majority in the coming weeks against allowing chickens.  If I’m wrong, and there is majority turnout in favor of this, then I’d strongly consider voting for it.  So, your opinion counts.

I’m leaning against voting for chickens at this time and will remain open-minded through the public hearing on July 28.  We’ll announce the location shortly.  Please continue to share your thoughts with each other as respectfully and thoughtfully as you have to date.

WhyKai.com isn’t the best online space to record what happens at Saturday’s Mayor’s Sustainability Summit, so I created a new website and blog to share information about it and future summits.  HarrisonburgSummits.com is designed such that summits on other issues (e.g. intercultural, health, safety, etc) can also be captured and archived on the same website.

On Saturday, at the first summit, you will see the website in action, as the day’s schedule and reports will begin being adding to the site.  These reports will be submitted by people who attend the event.  Since the reports are in blog form, discussions can continue on each topic during and after that day.

I am also extending an invitation to people who would like to be a ongoing contributing blogger on sustainability issues after the summit.  As other summits on other topics happen, I’ll extend an invitation to people who want to blog on those issues.

I am out of town and unable to attend today’s event in Harrisonburg in support of Senator Creigh Deeds’ candidacy for governor, but I want to add my endorsement.  My endorsement comes for three main reasons:

1. I think he will be an effective governor, able to stay true to Democratic ideas and values while working with both Democratic and Republican leaders to make progress on economic, educational, energy and environmental priorities.  We need a governor who puts aside strict partisanship and works collaboratively for sensible solutions.
2. Creigh will be most competitive in a statewide race.  To build on the Warner-Kaine tradition, we must field the most electable candidate we can.
3. On a local level, Harrisonburg and the central Shenandoah Valley can benefit from a governor with an innate knowledge of our concerns and people. Creigh has that. And that bodes well for our local transportation and infrastructure needs, as well as our business and environmental concerns and opportunities.

I believe Brian Moran’s dedicated work for women, civil rights and open government are inspired and I believe Terry McAuliffes’s emphasis on economic development is timely and informed – and all three candidates for the Democratic nomination for governor would make us proud and keep building the traditions established by Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.  However, for reasons stated above, I believe Creigh Deeds is the right candidate for this race.

For Harrisonburg and the Shenandoah Valley, I endorse Creigh Deeds for governor and urge all local Democrats to turn out on the June 9 primary to vote for him in the primary.

So, what does a editorial’s title have to do with being mayor – and why would I comment on it?  After all, someone wise said, “Never pick a fight with a man who buys his ink by the barrel.”  In normal circumstances, I’d heed that advice.  But the Primate Obama headline in the Daily News-Record (our only local newspaper of record) is such an inexcusable and offensive example of being out of touch with the values and sensibilities of the constituents I serve that I feel compelled to comment.  It’s outrageous and hurtful for many in our community, including myself.  Any explanation about the double-meaning not being intended must be dismissed as too hard to believe or highlighted as shocking incompetence given the author and editor is a professional wordsmith.

As mayor and council member, I’m working with my fellow council members, the city staff, and our residents to create and maintain a constructive environment in which we can convene our community’s conversation about how we move forward.  Racism is perhaps the most deeply rooted, least discussed, least understood, and most potent issue facing us (yes, we’ve made progress; no, we haven’t finished the conversation).  To wantonly fan this flame as an editor in the only paper of record is beyond inexcusable.

There were a number of possible options to take at the council meeting after the Harrisonburg Backyard Chicken Project presented its proposal Tuesday evening for allowing city residents to have egg-laying hens in their yards.  One option was to not move forward in exploring the issue at all, another could have been to actually adopt a new ordinance allowing chickens.  Of course, neither of those would have been the most prudent without further exploration.

The council voted unanimously to refer this issue to the Planning Commission for further review.  This will allow a number of things to happen: staff can prepare a presentation for Planning Commission on the related considerations they have in considering chickens being allowed, planning commissioners can make a recommendation to council and explore how such a change would relate to landuse and zoning ordinances, and everyone has the opportunity to find more answers to the questions around the issue.  If council moves to vote on allowing or denying chickens, there will be a full public hearing at a council meeting. 

For me, this is a prudent move to allow staff and planning commissioners to give their input and to continue asking and answering related questions.  I am still undecided about the issue and look forward the results of this referral.  Thanks to everyone for your input – even the person that showed up to the council meeting dressed in a full-body chicken suit!