Welcome and welcome back. It's another amazing day in paradise. Thank you so much for being here. I want you to know I have thoughts on just about everything. So let's explore what's going on in my mind.
Here I give a tagline, brief bullet points and/or a summary on some of the thoughts I've had about... well everything I've had some experience with. We have been a little bit of everywhere and have talked to more than a few people about things. So I've got a position I'm going to speak on.
I'm grateful I am writing now, because I had the opportunity to engage with several members of our Transportation Department at an event on Wednesday the 30th. They gave me answers to questions I was pretty triggered by.
This covers more than transportation. I mention that to say, our city workers are pretty accessible. We can get the answers we need to questions we have. I'm grateful I know that. Let's go:
Employees/Human Resources: We want our city employees to be healthy and happy at home and at work.* Dedicated internal health and wellness initiative
* Does everyone genuinely LOVE the work they do?
* Does everyone appreciate and/or respect the people they work with?
* Does everyone think and feel connected?
* Does everyone think and feel their needs are being met or will be met if the need arises?
Public Safety: A city should be safe for its officers AND its residents.
* Find out why field ops work 28 days on day shift then switch to 28 days on night shift without a proper break.
* Offer incentive to take parent coach training so officers can recognize when they are in their own fight, flight, freeze or please patterns. Our officers should not be put in positions where they are operating in their sympathetic nervous systems. This is dangerous for them and anyone they are attempting to serve.
* Recognize the true first responders are the 911 operators.
* Make sure there are wellness rooms for yoga, meditation, crying, exercise, etc. and mental health services available on site. Teddy is great but there needs to be more.
* Make sure things are in place for our emergency service providers to debrief.
Fire Department: It's Time to Create a Volunteer Force
* Create the largest company of volunteer firefighters (just because it's not being done doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't be done)
* With over 30K college and university students we can create a volunteer force to support our full time fire department staff (like UVA in Virginia)
* Paid training for students (and other interested residents) during the summer; then volunteer firefighters where they work one day a week or month depending on their schedule (I'm thinking something like the National Guard).
* Paid training for students (and other interested residents) during the summer; then volunteer firefighters where they work one day a week or month depending on their schedule (I'm thinking something like the National Guard).
Solid Waste/Waste Management: Less than 20 years left on our landfill
* Separate glass, pulverize, add to compost (as talked about in this video)
* Incentivize food donations from restaurants and stores instead of creating more food waste
* Partner with an established company (1 or more) for pick up
* Figure out a way to return plastics to companies for refills/reuse; removable labels like Shaka Teas
Sustainability: Carbon Neutral is the Goal.
* Ask, encourage Duke Energy to partner with Regenitech to bring the Earth Power Lodge to deliver energy services to new builds
* Monitor large commercial only builds - more people are working from home or in co-working environments
* Save our ecosystems, trees, naturally occurring wildlife and Southern hospitality
* Ask for developers what green infrastructure they're going to implement like green roofs, rooftop gardens, rain catchment systems (rooftop cisterns for the garden), etc.
* Encourage green spaces on the roof or patios, places where people can connect to nature
* From StormWater Awareness Week: Low Impact Development & Green Infrastructure Implementation Saves Money
BRT: Ask for change, it might be possible
* Can we ask the federal government to start on Capital to shorten service to new, larger amphitheater?
* Separate glass, pulverize, add to compost (as talked about in this video)
* Incentivize food donations from restaurants and stores instead of creating more food waste
* Partner with an established company (1 or more) for pick up
* Figure out a way to return plastics to companies for refills/reuse; removable labels like Shaka Teas
Sustainability: Carbon Neutral is the Goal.
* Ask, encourage Duke Energy to partner with Regenitech to bring the Earth Power Lodge to deliver energy services to new builds
* Monitor large commercial only builds - more people are working from home or in co-working environments
* Save our ecosystems, trees, naturally occurring wildlife and Southern hospitality
* Ask for developers what green infrastructure they're going to implement like green roofs, rooftop gardens, rain catchment systems (rooftop cisterns for the garden), etc.
* Encourage green spaces on the roof or patios, places where people can connect to nature
* From StormWater Awareness Week: Low Impact Development & Green Infrastructure Implementation Saves Money
BRT: Ask for change, it might be possible
* Can we ask the federal government to start on Capital to shorten service to new, larger amphitheater?
* Add an express service that runs every 10 minutes from Downtown to Wake Med and Walmart instead of tearing up New Bern Ave.
* About bus service in general, stop penalizing drivers for missed trips; incentivize other aspect of services instead
Amphitheater and Hotel/Convention Center Expansion: Not Downtown
* Amphitheater should remain Downtown as it is. It should be opened up to the community to use at a discounted price when used for cultural celebrations and performances
Amphitheater and Hotel/Convention Center Expansion: Not Downtown
* Amphitheater should remain Downtown as it is. It should be opened up to the community to use at a discounted price when used for cultural celebrations and performances
* Expanded amphitheater and hotel should be in Triangle Town Center for convenient travel from the airport.
* There should be multiple arenas in the city for people to access and experience entertainment, not just Downtown
* Because the hotel will be an island (meaning there are no actual stores or restaurants around it), people will not explore the city. Luxury hotels will have their own amenities on the lower levels and those are the businesses that will be patronized.
* There have been thoughts shared with me about people in Heritage Park working at hotel and amphitheater. The reality is that HP will likely be the most affordable place Downtown that city workers will be able to live. It won't be hospitality and retail workers as it might have been historically.
* There should be multiple arenas in the city for people to access and experience entertainment, not just Downtown
* Because the hotel will be an island (meaning there are no actual stores or restaurants around it), people will not explore the city. Luxury hotels will have their own amenities on the lower levels and those are the businesses that will be patronized.
* There have been thoughts shared with me about people in Heritage Park working at hotel and amphitheater. The reality is that HP will likely be the most affordable place Downtown that city workers will be able to live. It won't be hospitality and retail workers as it might have been historically.
* Downtown should become more family friendly in order to encourage more people to visit and increase revenue for small businesses.
Community Engagement: It goes two ways
* Gotta be where the people are; People need to get engaged too
* Wisdom Walks - getting children outside to walk and play together (which they do naturally), parents engage with one another
* Neighborhood Knocks - get to know your neighbors on purpose
* COR Swag Welcome baskets for new homeowners - getting our real estate agents involved so our newest citizens can get involved
* Any city events and/or courses (like RNC, CLA and Planning Academy) should be offered with childcare, healthy meals or snacks plus incentives for residents - gift cards, swag, etc.
Community Engagement: It goes two ways
* Gotta be where the people are; People need to get engaged too
* Wisdom Walks - getting children outside to walk and play together (which they do naturally), parents engage with one another
* Neighborhood Knocks - get to know your neighbors on purpose
* COR Swag Welcome baskets for new homeowners - getting our real estate agents involved so our newest citizens can get involved
* Any city events and/or courses (like RNC, CLA and Planning Academy) should be offered with childcare, healthy meals or snacks plus incentives for residents - gift cards, swag, etc.
Connecting Citizens to Create the Community We Deserve
Many of the things people are asking the government to do were historically done by the community. And historically whenever people came together to take care of one another those communities were destroyed. If the city takes on these requests, taxes will have to go up to pay for the services.
Now that people in all demographics are suffering it’s time to genuinely come together to help one another without fear. This not only about CACs being reinstated. It's more about building a new system of compassionate citizens that care for others.
CACs: Citizen voices matter.
* We need more CACs!
* Minimum 10 CACs per district, based on population density
* Combine apartment complexes to create a CAC
* Every tenant in an apartment complex should be given a card that introduces the city leaders, their district, their specific council member and how to get involved with their local CAC.
* Community rooms in apartment buildings might allow CAC meetings, especially if a tenant is heading one (something city council could ask if buildings come before them)
Community Health and Wellness: Make Raleigh Blue-R Zone
* Join the five original blue zones – the places in the world with the healthiest, longest-living populations, including Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California. Now there are countless others.
* Become a Blue Zone
* Encourage the Power 9
* Introduce Community Walks
Commission on Compassion: Acknowledging and meeting needs to the best of our ability
CACs: Citizen voices matter.
* We need more CACs!
* Minimum 10 CACs per district, based on population density
* Combine apartment complexes to create a CAC
* Every tenant in an apartment complex should be given a card that introduces the city leaders, their district, their specific council member and how to get involved with their local CAC.
* Community rooms in apartment buildings might allow CAC meetings, especially if a tenant is heading one (something city council could ask if buildings come before them)
Community Health and Wellness: Make Raleigh Blue-R Zone
* Join the five original blue zones – the places in the world with the healthiest, longest-living populations, including Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California. Now there are countless others.
* Become a Blue Zone
* Encourage the Power 9
* Introduce Community Walks
Commission on Compassion: Acknowledging and meeting needs to the best of our ability
* Was established under former mayor Nancy MacFarlane
* Re-establish it under council instead of mayor
Homelessness: It doesn’t exist.
* Churches have cottage courts with their buildings as the meeting space (change zoning)
* Mixed communities with individuals, families and seniors
* Increase types of ADUs, encourage off grid tiny homes (with rain catchment systems, solar panels, compost toilets)
Affordable Housing: The Solution is in Our Communities
* Make sure people understand - what does affordable housing mean? How is it calculated? Who calculates it?
* How can the concept of Open Source tech be reinvented to serve housing?
Food Sovereignty: No one should be hungry, adult or child
* Gardens (boxes, in ground, rooftop) in every complex, house and/or neighborhood (city council could ask)
* Invite people to raise chickens
* Rain catchment systems: gardens, barrels, cisterns
* Compost bins
* Partner with Parks (R & CR), WC libraries and schools to host seed libraries
* Rewild urban areas with pollinator friendly plants so all types of bees, especially those who bore holes in the ground to live and lay eggs, can have places to live, food to eat and can pollinate the foods we eat
* Redesign our community center kitchens to be used as places for food instruction (preparation, canning, freezing, drying, etc.)
* Churches have cottage courts with their buildings as the meeting space (change zoning)
* Mixed communities with individuals, families and seniors
* Increase types of ADUs, encourage off grid tiny homes (with rain catchment systems, solar panels, compost toilets)
Affordable Housing: The Solution is in Our Communities
* Make sure people understand - what does affordable housing mean? How is it calculated? Who calculates it?
* How can the concept of Open Source tech be reinvented to serve housing?
Food Sovereignty: No one should be hungry, adult or child
* Gardens (boxes, in ground, rooftop) in every complex, house and/or neighborhood (city council could ask)
* Invite people to raise chickens
* Rain catchment systems: gardens, barrels, cisterns
* Compost bins
* Partner with Parks (R & CR), WC libraries and schools to host seed libraries
* Rewild urban areas with pollinator friendly plants so all types of bees, especially those who bore holes in the ground to live and lay eggs, can have places to live, food to eat and can pollinate the foods we eat
* Redesign our community center kitchens to be used as places for food instruction (preparation, canning, freezing, drying, etc.)
And there you have my mind map, brain dump... whatever you choose to call it. This might actually cause you to not vote for me but at least you know where I stand.
I hope something I shared will compel you to write my name as your preferred candidate for the next mayor of Raleigh. Thank you again and in advance. Enjoy the amazing day you’re creating. Peace…
#WriteMyName#MommaKaiforMayor
#RaleighNeedsaMatriarch
#KaraLynnSanders
#MommaKai
#CompassionandNeuroscience
#ToPeaceFromWar
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