Kindness and Respect
I believe everyone should be treated with kindness and respect. Our community must allow people to be themselves and feel safe. I applaud our city manager and police department for providing Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) to many of our officers. I would seek out funding for more training, so that on any shift there are trained officers to help calm persons in mental health crisis situations.
Listening
I will be available to citizens who have concerns about our city. I'm grateful that our current council has public meetings and work sessions plus listening sessions in their ward. Meetings and work sessions are also recorded live and archived. Unfortunately, not many people take advantage of these opportunities, so perhaps we need to find other ways to listen. I favor of creating online surveys to try to get more feedback. People don't tend to talk about everything that is going well for them as far as city services, and it is usually just the complaints that surface. We need to address the complaints, but we should also hear about what the city is doing well. We might also solicit ideas from people who have noticed other great strategies adopted by other cities.
Water
Water and waste-water services are probably the most important function of any city. As population density increases, wells and outhouses/septic systems can no longer handle the volume needed. We are lucky to have two sources of drinking water in Laramie: the Laramie River and the Casper Aquifer. Protecting these sources of water that require little treatment before flowing to our taps is crucial. Some compounds are very difficult to remove and would require very expensive treatments. I can evaluate the scientific reports pertaining to our aquifer because my doctorate in ecology (UGA, 1988) and my undergraduate work required many years of studying the complexities of aquatic ecosystems, including nutrient cycling.
Recycling and Solid Waste
I started volunteering at recycling centers when I was in sixth grade and went on to run the club that ran the recycling for the University of Maryland while I was in college. I'm keenly aware of the economics of recycling because our college club was self-sustaining. (It was before the Universities started their own recycling programs.) I have followed these issues all my life. I was able to help bring glass recycling to laramie and would like find a way to provide recycling to apartments. Landfill space is expensive and we need to divert recyclables so they are not taking up precious space. We could do a better job with construction waste as well. Some municipalities have places where construction material can be picked up by others. I understand there are liability concerns, but we're burying a lot of wood and tile currently.
Economy
I'd like to see us promote our local retail businesses. A dollar spent in Laramie moves around in our economy and provides benefits locally. I am also interested in encouraging existing businesses to stay in Laramie. Instead of always competing for outside companies who have no loyalty to our town, I'd talk to local business owners and ask what might be holding them back. I know personally that finding affordable health insurance for employees is hard for small businesses. Could the Laramie Chamber Alliance find a way to provide an umbrella group health insurance policy? I think it would allow people to take risk with starting new startups.
I believe everyone should be treated with kindness and respect. Our community must allow people to be themselves and feel safe. I applaud our city manager and police department for providing Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) to many of our officers. I would seek out funding for more training, so that on any shift there are trained officers to help calm persons in mental health crisis situations.
Listening
I will be available to citizens who have concerns about our city. I'm grateful that our current council has public meetings and work sessions plus listening sessions in their ward. Meetings and work sessions are also recorded live and archived. Unfortunately, not many people take advantage of these opportunities, so perhaps we need to find other ways to listen. I favor of creating online surveys to try to get more feedback. People don't tend to talk about everything that is going well for them as far as city services, and it is usually just the complaints that surface. We need to address the complaints, but we should also hear about what the city is doing well. We might also solicit ideas from people who have noticed other great strategies adopted by other cities.
Water
Water and waste-water services are probably the most important function of any city. As population density increases, wells and outhouses/septic systems can no longer handle the volume needed. We are lucky to have two sources of drinking water in Laramie: the Laramie River and the Casper Aquifer. Protecting these sources of water that require little treatment before flowing to our taps is crucial. Some compounds are very difficult to remove and would require very expensive treatments. I can evaluate the scientific reports pertaining to our aquifer because my doctorate in ecology (UGA, 1988) and my undergraduate work required many years of studying the complexities of aquatic ecosystems, including nutrient cycling.
Recycling and Solid Waste
I started volunteering at recycling centers when I was in sixth grade and went on to run the club that ran the recycling for the University of Maryland while I was in college. I'm keenly aware of the economics of recycling because our college club was self-sustaining. (It was before the Universities started their own recycling programs.) I have followed these issues all my life. I was able to help bring glass recycling to laramie and would like find a way to provide recycling to apartments. Landfill space is expensive and we need to divert recyclables so they are not taking up precious space. We could do a better job with construction waste as well. Some municipalities have places where construction material can be picked up by others. I understand there are liability concerns, but we're burying a lot of wood and tile currently.
Economy
I'd like to see us promote our local retail businesses. A dollar spent in Laramie moves around in our economy and provides benefits locally. I am also interested in encouraging existing businesses to stay in Laramie. Instead of always competing for outside companies who have no loyalty to our town, I'd talk to local business owners and ask what might be holding them back. I know personally that finding affordable health insurance for employees is hard for small businesses. Could the Laramie Chamber Alliance find a way to provide an umbrella group health insurance policy? I think it would allow people to take risk with starting new startups.