At the July 7th Christiansburg Town Council meeting, there was a report on the 2009 Action Plan for using the CDB grant funds.
This is actually a part of a larger five-year plan, and this is the first time the town has proceeded with utilizing these entitlement funds. Why?
Because Brad Stipes made campaign promises, and he's working diligently to honor them.
During the April 2006 League of Women candidate forums, Stipes had been an appointee on the town's Planning Commission since 1999. At that time, he expressed the view that local government "is stronger when more people are involved." He also served as the town's liaison to the New River Valley Planning District Commission (NRV PDC) in a leadership capacity, bringing his expertise in civil engineering to both roles. Asked what he would change in Christiansburg during that campaign, Stipes said "I would like to see more public involvement in the planning and process of our town government, more interested stakeholders providing the input and energy to help us achieve our highest potential.”
Stipes' profession saw him working with the City of Radford in developing their outstanding bike and trail system, and he has since worked closely with the Friends of the Huckleberry to extend this trail further into Christiansburg, as envisioned in the town's Comprehensive Plan. He has been supportive of changing public transportation options for town residents and recently expressed admiration for Blacksburg Transit's expertise and positive growth, seeing this as the single entity able to provide extended service to his town.
Finding a way to utilize the CDBG funds for repairing and extending sidewalks in a small area of the town -- and building the necessary consensus to do so -- along with advancing the Huckleberry project and supporting expanded bus service, Stipes is demonstrating his commitment to the quality of life issues he campaigned on. In talking about these projects, he "gets" the need for balancing finite public resources with sustainable economic vitality and meeting the needs of all citizens.
With his other community commitments, career and family, and council duties, this tenacity and assuming additional duties is approaching "above and beyond" in staying true to his stated intentions as a candidate.
His new partner on council's Street Committee, Jim Vanhoozier, appears aligned with many of these goals. One of Vanhoozier's first requests upon assuming his new role on town council was asking that costs and options for extending public walkways from area neighborhoods to the town's Recreation Center be examined.
Whether you support or oppose any or all of these projects, those who "walk the talk" should be acknowledged.