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.

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!

At Tuesday evening’s meeting, the council unanimously approved designating the “grassy lot across from the Daily News Record” as a park.  This space, which is by the Farmer’s Marker Pavilion and is where Fund Fest and Blacks Run Clean Day happens, has never officially been designated a park area, and thus has been managed as, well, a grassy lot.  

The city council agreed that designating this space as a park will help preserve it as one of the few green spaces downtown.  A tentative site plan, including stage and permanent bathrooms, was also agreed upon in concept, however no city funds were allocated to adding these capital improvements. If and when funds become available, these structures will be added.  Also left open is the name of the park, which we will determine at a later date.

I know green space and recreation areas are important to city residents, and am pleased we were able to take this action to designate a new park in downtown Harrisonburg.  Any suggestions for names?

Our community is rich with people, organizations, businesses, and projects committed to environmental and energy sustainability. As mayor, I have received more comments, questions, and ideas that fit into this larger theme than any other. Renewable energy, local foods, preparing for a post peak-oil world, green space, bike share programs, energy conservation initiatives, climate change – they’re all part of this conversation. What would be possible by connecting projects, people, businesses, and ideas to intentionally focus on more sustainable living in Harrisonburg and the central Shenandoah Valley? Let’s find out.

Saturday May 30, 2009 is slated for the first Mayor’s Sustainability Summit for Harrisonburg and the central Shenandoah Valley.  More information will be available here as we move forward in the planning.

Currently, I am seeking partner organizations for the event.  Partners commit to being represented at the event and advertising it as they deem appropriate.  I also need a few more positions filled on the steering committee – contact me!

Citizens can be eyes and ears and their feedback is vital for working partnership with government at all levels.

If citizens have a complaint, suggestion, idea, question, or comment related to city utilities, services, open process, staff, council, public safety, ordinances, zoning, policies, environmental stewardship, traffic, or anything else, there is one important way to share it: directly with a city representative.

Blogs, letters to the editor, newspaper websites, and radio shows (without city guests) are all wonderful and important ways to communicate, but do not take the place of contacting the city directly.

I mention this because last night’s public hearing on ABC Cab’s license is fresh in my mind.  There were a lot of people who spoke about a lot of  past problems and complaints that were not directed to the city or the police at the time.

There is contact information for city personnel and departments at www.HarrisonburgVA.gov.  If you’re not sure who to contact, take your best guess and someone will help you get to the right person.   If that doesn’t work, contact me!

Yesterday, I voted with the rest of City Council to approve a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for ABC Cab (see the DN-R article).   All taxi companies operating in the city must have such a certificate issued by city council in order to operate a cab, according to the City Code.  Read Full Post

This election, citizens asked for further steps towards a more transparent government and better enabling citizens to be more informed participants in decisions facing the city council.  Here’s a step:

Beginning with last night’s meeting, all the supporting documentation for agenda items that city council members receive in their packets prior to a meeting are now available to citizens via download in PDF format here.  This information can include staff and commission reports, contracts, maps and schematics, and more.

So, rather than a one- or two-page agenda, citizens can - prior to the meeting - review the details and documentation placed in the hands of their elected officials.  This information was previously on display, and will remain on display, in the halls of the Municipal Building. 

For last night’s meeting, the file contains 125 pages of additional information that provides context and background for discussion like this one. 

Look for the next meeting’s information towards the end of next week.  I encourage the media, bloggers, and citizens to use this as a primary source of information moving forward.  I hope it allows people to answer many factual questions on their own and ultimately result in an even more constructive community conversation moving forward.

As is posted on the agenda for the upcoming Harrisonburg City Council meeting on Tuesday (7pm 409 South Main St), the council will consider the sale of the former Harrisonburg Police Department property to Rosetta Stone.  The consideration of this sale has sparked a lot of healthy and constructive conversation about the direction of downtown Harrisonburg, including an online dialogue at HBurgNews.com, which raises a number of relevant questions in a rather constructive manner.

For this decision, there will be a public hearing.  That means when we reach that agenda item, we will open the floor for the public.  People are invited to come in front of the city council and comment for or against the proposed sale. 

Public hearings are an important part of our local decision-making process, and very often few people show up to participate.  I hear from many people that they would like to see more participation in the decisions facing the direction of the city, and sharing opinions at a public hearing is great opportunity to do just that.  I invite you to come and share your opinion about what to consider in this sale.

I believe this is a valuable opportunity for the city for a number of reasons.  I support incentivizing and supporting a locally-grown business when its track record suggests its ability to successfully fulfill a pledge of 100 new jobs.   Having jobs of this type in the heart of downtown is a tremendous asset towards continuing the downtown revitalization, and should be a boon to downtown living and working.  Putting available property back into the private sector is preferable to me, in general, especially with a commitment to add $500,000 in improvements.  The combined increased property taxes and spending will make up for the lower sales price in the short term.  Long-term considerations about the future growth and expansion of services, like the jail, should be considered, as many have pointed out.  It is my judgment at this time that this project aligns with the economic and smart growth goals for the city, is properly located according to the Comprehensive Plan, and does not unduly compromise future needs of providing government services.

Whether you agree or not with my assessment, I again encourage your input.  If you agree, remember every decision needs at least three votes, so you can share your agreement with me and the other council members.  If you don’t agree, I’ve shared with you some of my thinking above and hope it helps provide you a little insight to what I’m valuing at the moment and what an effective counter-argument would need to address.

If attending Tuesday’s public hearing is not a possibility, individual council members can be emailed using the “Contact” links on each of our bio pages.