1. Downtown Salisbury. Ideas or solutions to revitalize our Downtown Plaza?
I believe that we need to continue, and perhaps expand, some of our current programs such as Third Friday. We need more "Riverfest" type celebrations along with development and promotion of the arts and entertainment options that exist downtown. But more than promoting what we have, we need to make a concerted effort to expand the downtown and riverfront areas together. Personally, I would like to see the unfinished condo building converted to retail, perhaps with a hotel on the upper floors. I would like to see a couple of big anchor stores brought into the building and begin to develop that area as a riverside shopping mecca. Then we create safe, well-lit walking paths to the downtown area and link the two together. Make the focus of both areas arts and entertainment. Having both within walking distance of the (potentially) new and existing hotels (Holiday Inn) as well as restaurants, pubs, comedy and theatrical productions will be beneficial. All of that will take time, investment, and vision as did the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. Yes, I am aware of the condition of the properties in the surrounding area, but I am also aware of the condition of the harbor before someone had the vision and ambition to revitalize that area. It can work.
In the more immediate future, I would like to see a public/private partnership project such as the one that Cambridge did last fall. The program that MainStreet Cambridge used downtown is a great example in that the private owners of the storefronts waived the rental fee for a few months and got three long term tenants in return. The public part came from MainStreet Cambridge marketing the contest, accepting, reviewing, and selecting the applicants’ business plans to select the winners. Similar partnerships could work in Salisbury to bring several businesses downtown all at once so that one or two businesses don't struggle to start up alone. Opening several businesses at once gives rise to greater opportunity for all because more people will venture downtown if there are many new businesses to see at once rather than just one or two.
Parking is also an issue that we must address. We may need to eliminate paid parking with the exception of the parking garage. Perhaps we need to open up the plaza to head-in, diagonal parking on one side of the street to improve access to the businesses on the plaza. Both of these options are considered in the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
1. Your thought on Crime In Salisbury and plans to combat it.
It is obvious to even the most casual observer that we have a significant crime problem in Salisbury. It is costing us psychologically and monetarily. We are paying to police our city and we are missing opportunities to attract residents and businesses to Salisbury because of our crime rate. The Mayor and Council must work with the citizens and the police department to make sure they have the tools and the support they need to make solid community connections and to ensure that they can make strong cases against offenders that will remove them from our community, not just displace them to another sector or community. That’s easier said than done but where do we begin?
· The Council must create and pass effective legislation that is enforceable and addresses the specific problems of Salisbury. Many of our current ordinances have been rendered ineffective because the courts have been unwilling or unable to enforce them when the cases came before a judge.
o One thing that is happening now is that all department heads are reviewing their sections of the Code for effectiveness and efficiency. Since our police chief has a law degree, I have no doubt that the review of the criminal codes will be productive.
o Another avenue being pursued is the neighborhood legislation package that will give landlords and rental agents the ability, and the responsibility, to remove troublesome tenants from their properties without violating Maryland tenants’ rights laws. Parts of this package have become quite controversial, largely because of misinformation about what it actually does and does not propose. I encourage everyone to read it for themselves, ask their own questions, and form their own opinions. o Another issue that we must address is officer retention. We spend upwards of $20,000 to put an officer on the street, including training, uniforms, vests, weapons, etc. Often, the officers work for the City for a couple of years and then take a job with the County or State Police for more pay (and sometimes less work). While it is unlikely that pay parity is a possibility in the near future, we must also recognize that salary is not the primary reason that people remain in their jobs. Recognition and appreciation are far more motivating. However, the reality is that officers have bills to pay just like the rest of us and when it comes time to purchase a home or pay for their children’s education, they have to consider a move. I propose that we work with area agencies to help officers purchase homes in the City they are policing and with our colleges and universities to devise a way to help defray tuition costs for the officers and their families. I am not the first to mention the housing idea, but I strongly support the cause. Having a local officer in your neighborhood is a crime deterrent in and of itself, but add to that the community connections that officers establish with long term service in the City and we have the potential to make a real difference.
· I believe that rebuilding our communities will be a tremendous help in reducing crime. It starts with our youth. We need to restore their ability to dream of a better life for themselves and create a sense of worth within them. A child in poor living conditions, attending an underfunded school, with little or no extracurricular activities available to them will begin to believe that they are worth only what they have: nothing. We, as a community, must stop complaining about everything that is wrong with Salisbury and start offering our ideas, our time, and our resources to help fix it. No one is coming to save us. We are the Calvary.
o Let’s work together to create more constructive activities for our children because if we don’t engage them, the gangs will.
o Let’s work together to help those that we can to improve their living condition and post the before and after pictures on our City website. Rather than displaying the “Problem Property of the Week”, let’s post the “Most Improved Property”. When you improve even a single property in a neighborhood, others often follow suit and work to improve their own properties. It’s our competitive nature.
o Let’s get more people involved in mentoring our youth and their parents when needed and helping them see that there is a way out of a life of poverty, or crime, or abuse, or dead-end jobs, as the case may be.
Those are but a few of my thoughts on how we can address our crime issues, but I think you see where I am going. This is a systemic problem. We must treat the cause and not just the symptoms if we are to make any real progress in curtailing the criminal activity in Salisbury.
And most important to me can you get along with others? Even if they disagree with you? I want people who can walk in without a tag team with another candidate and discuss the matters professionally.
Yes, I believe that I can work with any of the candidates and remaining council members effectively, even when we disagree. I made a concerted effort to meet with every candidate and current council member to open the lines of communication in hopes of creating an atmosphere of open dialog and communication. (I have not yet been able to meet with Mr. Comegys.) I do not agree with any of the candidates or councilpersons on every issue, and I don’t need to. What I can do is talk through my differences with any one of them. I have made a conscious effort to remain very neutral, not because I do not want to work with this person/group or that one, but because I want to remain open to talking and working with everyone. I have been doing what I call “Show me your Salisbury” tours. I have ridden around Salisbury with many people from many walks of life and various industries with diverse interests in the City to see Salisbury from their perspective. Let me tell you, it has been very enlightening. I can see the same thing with five different people and get five different perspectives. That is the kind of open minded approach I would bring to the City Council. It does not matter what I see or what I want for Salisbury. It matters what the citizens want and what is best for Salisbury and all of its stakeholders collectively.
