SARAH CHENOWETH
THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR A PROGRESSIVE PITTSBURG
I have happily chosen to make Pittsburg my home, and I have chosen to make the ultimate investment in my home--the investment of public service. My academic education and my involvement in leadership roles in many different organizations has taught me the importance of thorough examination and consideration in the decision making process. My experience working with people as a business owner and a teacher has taught me how to listen, to communicate clearly, and to trust the instincts of the individual.
As city commissioner I have given a thorough examination to all matters presented before the commission, and I directly consult the data presented before I make any decisions. One such source of data is the Imagine Pittsburg (IP) 2030 strategic plan which, through a community led steering committee, identified the following issues to be of highest importance to the growth and development of our City. Given this methodologically sound data, here are my thoughts on those key issues.
KEY ISSUES
Economic Development * Infrastructure * Public Wellness * Education * Housing * Marketing
Economic Development
Market to targeted industries
Mitigate local skills shortages
I want to see Pittsburg lead the state in creating a more self-sufficient economy by centralizing more of our economic and industrial production to create a more symbiotic relationship between businesses, industries, education, and government.
Think of it this way--"one man's junk is another man's treasure"--one business's output is another business's input. This creates a sustainable economy less related to fluctuations at the more macro levels.
I would specifically like to see environmental sustainability considered in the development of new businesses and industries. We need to attract manufacturers that make products out of recycled materials (plastic, paper, etc.) and send our household and commercial recycling to that local effort, rather than off to China. We need to produce more food locally for our restaurants and citizens to buy--the production and then transportation of commercial food has a huge carbon footprint. Let's bring in companies that make solar panels and invest big in local municipal and household power production; let's teach our students at CTECH to install those panels and students at PSU to innovate in their design. And then let's hire those students, or better yet help them start their own businesses, keeping our graduates in the City by offering the opportunity for good paying jobs and the local amenities families need to thrive.
By investing in our local economy in this way and allowing our citizens to own the control of their own futures in a way we haven't done before, we can continue not only to grow, but to be on the cutting edge of a new age of growth that is more sustainable and just.
Infrastructure
Create a sustainable electricity solution
Land use plan
If the data bear out that creating our own municipal electric utility is the best way for the City to lower rates for our residents and businesses, then we must act on that creation--to not do so would be irresponsible; a decision rooted in the fear of change and not in careful deliberation. If you aren't familiar with these efforts, contact me--I love to talk about it! Or read about it [here] on the City's webpage. Creating this municipal utility would be a great step towards the ideas I lay out in the "economic development" section above.
A comprehensive land use plan is vital to ensure that as the city grows, land development remains efficient and ethical. "Among other things, this process seeks to identify, articulate and satisfy the basic social/human needs of a[n] [area's] population within the context of available economic/financial resources and technical knowledge (source)." Ideally this would be a plan developed in cooperation with the County with the growth of the larger region in mind. The City has engaged consultants to begin the process and that process, as well as the results we will ultimately generate, needs to be supported by the City Commission.
Public Wellness
Mental health resources
Outdoor activities
The U.S. office of Housing and Urban Development estimates that around 46% of adults staying in homeless shelters have some form of serious mental illness and/or substance abuse disorder. According the the latest Kansas Economic Review published by Wichita State University, Crawford County has the second highest poverty rate in the Southeast region, and is among the highest in the state. It is absolutely imperative that our community address these issues and make mental health services more readily available to all our citizens in need. I would support any viable effort made through private or public means that approached solutions to poverty through expanded mental health support, and that addressed the general lack of care options in our community.
Access to quality outdoor recreation is so important to a healthy community! From maintaining our golf course, farmers' market, pool, and many parks, to constructing new trails that increase walkability, Pittsburg really does make an outstanding effort to get people out and moving. Sidewalks are a huge priority for me in part because of recreation, but also because of our relatively high poverty rate and income gap sidewalks are the way many of our citizens navigate the city. I will continue to support the construction of trails throughout the city, as well as other innovative ideas related to physical health and fitness and the creation of community outdoor spaces.
Education
Workforce Development
Availability of quality child care and pre-k
I talked a bit about how workforce development fits into the larger picture in the "economic development" section above--I think we should not only be training students to work in existing local businesses and industries, but giving them the encouragement and efficacy to be entrepreneurs and innovators in their chosen fields all whiloe giving them a reason to stay local. In my time on the City Commission I have voted for resolutions to strengthen the national award-winning partnership between the City and PSU, as well as for CTECH, and I will continue to support viable efforts made through private or public means to keep our community educated and well employed.
Families should neither have to work just to spend half or more of their check on childcare, nor be forced to delay employment because they cannot afford to leave their child with a caregiver while they go to work. There just are not enough childcare options for parents in Pittsburg, period. The Family Resource Center is an incredible asset to our community--the model for childcare in the region--but the wait list is very long and they just aren't able, at this time, to expand their services to serve all the people who need served. A piece of the solution, as I see it, would be for employers who are able to to be innovative and offer corporate childcare options for their employees with children. Again, I will support any viable effort made through private or public means to try and solve this critical problem.
Housing
Create planned neighborhoods
Encourage infill development
With growth comes an immediate need for housing. Even if we stayed right where we are now, currently 2/3 of people who work in Pittsburg do not live in Pittsburg, citing a lack of suitable housing options as their number one reason for doing so. We need solutions to both low and mid-income housing, as well as housing for seniors. The most efficient use of the land we have available to expand into is to create planned neighborhoods. Infill development involves revitalizing old properties already in established city neighborhoods. One way the City encourages this is through the Land Bank program, which works with homeowners to demolish dilapidated structures and resell the land for an improvement to the property--namely to build a new house on the lot. I would love to see some of these available Land Bank empty lots transformed into mini neighborhood parks, gardens, and positive public spaces as well as houses.
Marketing
Continue to tell our story
Continued communication of IP2030
Pittsburg could be the greatest community in the state, but if we can't communicate that to people in a way that makes them want to move here or stay here, then the effort as a whole has less impact. I'm a natural storyteller, a skill honed with degrees in English and
communication, and I understand the power a well crafted narrative can have, most importantly in this case to create a shared community identity. This is how we move forward together. I will continue to support the Imagine Pittsburg 2030 strategic initiative to create a community lead vision for Pittsburg of which we can all be proud.