These students provide some excellent insights through their work as to how they perceive the Town of Christiansburg to be and what they feel is important/special about their Town. More information on this presentation can be found at: ThinkChristiansburg.com

The Mayor promised these photos would be included on the Town’s website, but this has yet to happen. Here is a quick view of these photos and the presentation by the Mayor on video recording of the town council meeting.

Promises made … should be kept! Not following through on promises made to the public in these types of situations is a sure way to cause people to lose the sense of trust in government that is CRUCIAL for good government.

Please note that this document is part of the official record and as such should be included in any minutes of the Town Council where decisions were made. Hmmmm….I’ve got about $1,200.00 worth of documents from the Town thus far. Guess what I don’t have? You got it. There is not one copy of a Staff Analysis in all of those Meeting Minutes, Ordinances, etc.

So, my questions now become: (1) “If those documents were prepared, who were they provided to? (2) If they were provided to anyone, did they ever get into the hands of the decision-makers (Town Council)? (3) If  they were provided to those decision-makers, why were they NOT included in the official documents? (4) Did Town Council make the decision to stop having those documents provided? (5) If the answer to (4) is no, then WHO did? (5) Why was the practice discontinued?

At the July 21 Town Council Meeting, the topic of staff analysis reports was brought up yet again. Henry Showalter, supported by Ann Carter, Michael Barber, and Jim Vanhoozier, noted that such a report would be very helpful in enabling them to make the best possible decisions for citizens.

While it may be brought up again, the door was all but slammed in their faces when the Mayor essentially turned the matter of deciding over to the Town Manager based upon whether the Town has enough staff to do the job!

Hello! If the Town does not have enough staff to do the jobs they should be doing, then just what the heck is going on???? AND, what is being done about it!!!! Trying to save people a few bucks of tax money when you are costing them a heck of a lot more in decreased property values, decreased quality of life, and increased insurance (just to name a few)…..we should thank you for this?????? Do you really think citizens are that stupid???? Well guess what, we’re not. We can see the $$$$ on the wall!!!!

We apparently do not have enough staff to do inspections concerning erosion and sediment control (even at our own Aquatic Center). We don’t have enough staff for the Planning Department to do what they use to do but stopped doing? We do not have enough staff to insure that elected and appointed officials are provided with all appropriate information necessary to make important decisions?

Mr. Mayor, perhaps in education you found it appropriate to just stop having math or science taught because you didn’t have enough staff? I’ll just bet the parents and School Board would love that approach! Or maybe you’d decide not to send an ambulance out to a vehicle accident because there might be too much work to do? Or, perhaps you would tell the Police Chief not to send an officer out to work an intersection where a traffic light was out because there just aren’t enough officers?????

I doubt it! I think you would take those things pretty seriously and deal with the issues as needed. Well, the issue of landuse is pretty darned serious. The issue of stormwater is pretty darned serious. There issue of codes enforcement is pretty darned serious.

Mr. Mayor, I think it is time to get serious about your responsibilities to the Town. It is not the Town Manager people are coming to with issues. It is not the Town Manager that people elected to represent them. It is not the Town Manager who decides the menu at those Town Council meetings. Let’s start dealing with issues rather than ducking them.

Is it time to change or is it time for change? Guess you are the decider on that part of the equation. Of course, you can sit back, do nothing, be non-commital, pass the buck, and wait for election time to come around. Maybe citizens are already looking around for your replacement since rumor has it you won’t run again. Is that why you don’t seem to care any more?

For more reading on the staff analysis debate:

Christiansburg, VA Comprehensive Plan and Stormwater/Flooding….Interesting Reading

Why is a Staff Analaysis a good thing for Planning Commission and Town Council to have?

Town of Christiansburg Finance Committee Meeting: 1st Budget Discussion.

Christiansburg VA Town Council Meeting Full of Surprises

INFORMATION NEEDED! Where are the staff reports for land use issues?

Comprehensive Plan vs Comprehensive Plan Map, Reading Between the Lines

Planning Commission Recording

A good use of property but a very bad way to allow it to happen. Rezoning from R-2 to B-3

The link above takes you to the entrance of the full website (which contains a lot of other information) and there are links across the top to click on to go to specific areas. The link labeled **Video of Meetings” will take you to a page with all of the recordings that are currently available. (Some of the older ones have been removed to save space on the server but are available, just let me know what you need).

One of the patterns you will notice can be found in the responses of the Mayor: “Let’s wait and see.” Last night he provided a new variation on that theme: “Let’s wait and monitor” or “Let’s wait and watch”. (Based upon a review of the historical minutes, this translates into Let’s do anything we can to pretend we’re doing something until the issue goes away!)

I am starting a list of such statements that appear to be designed to take action by not taking action. This type of attitude has cost the Town a lot…and I am sure will cost the Town a great deal more as times progresses. This is an awful lot like putting a band-aid on a cut without cleaning it and applying antibiotic first. It looks good on the surface, but it can lead to some serious problems later. You can’t hide issues forever. At some point, you have to take charge, show some leadership and start dealing with the issue. (Since this specific issue realted to stormwater, erosion & sediment control, it is nteresting that the Town of Christiansburg is under a Corrective Action by DCR for failure to document inspections related to erosion/sediment control and stormwater.)

Watch the video and you will see some good examples of where those leadership qualities were exhibited by Michael Barber, Ann Carter, Henry Showalter, and Jim VanHoozier. Leadership means being outfront, making decisions, and getting things done. IT DOES NOT MEAN LET’S WAIT AND SEE! Rather than Waiting to See, why not come up with a solution. If a solution is not currently present, then set up some specific critera where followup reviews are done on a regular basis until such time as the issue is resolved. Mr. Mayor, it is time to take some positive action rather than negative inaction!

It is a crying shame that one of our older citizens cannot enjoy her property in her retirement years. People build homes with yards with a reasonable expectation that the property can be used as they wish. Who knows maybe you or one of your family members will be the next person to have such a problem.

2/17/09 Town Council Meeting Video

2/19/09 Finance Committee Video

(Links to additional video and audio recordings of meetings are also available on the citizen’s website)

The Citizen Satisfaction Survey, remains open for your input. Whether you are a resident or a business owner or both, your comments and valuations are important. I certainly don’t like taking surveys myself, but in this case this is about the only way that I have of getting information from you to be turned over to the Town government. Being a participant in your community can mean a lot of different things. This is one way that you can participate without having to leave your home to do so. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey. Thank you.
Carol

By Carol Lindstrom On February 23 at 9:36 PM