Being Intentional

The above is ad from a New Albany magazine published in April 1945 called, oddly enough, "future". It's an ad from a downtown company promoting and encouraging folks to support downtown businesses.

In order for any downtown to succeed, you have to WANT to go downtown. It's not going to be convenient. It's not going to be your one destination for everything you'll need in the next 12 months. It's not the downtown population in Louisville that makes 4th street live successful, it's the folks from all over the city that want to go downtown, deal with the parking and enjoy being downtown.

The other side of equation is there has to be something downtown for you to do. I believe, thanks to the hard work of people who love this city, Downtown New Albany is really a growing. I fully support Scribner Place, and I'll be one of the first people to sign up at the YMCA once it's opened. I also do not believe Scribner is the "magic wand" that is going to revitalize Downtown. I think downtown is going to revitalize through the folks who want to personally invest in making something happen.

By the time any local government gets involved and offers some real incentives, it will probably be a day late and a dollar short. I think Mike Kopp and the new folks driving DNA have and will do more for downtown revitalization than any coucil member or mayor could.

I'm very fortunate that the business I started on Pearl has so much corporate business that we can be open to the public, but yet not dependent on the local traffic to keep us afloat. It's one more building that isn't vacant.

It's the businesses that need local traffic that need everyone's support.

You have to be intentional about doing business downtown, and yes, I practice what I preach.

First there's benefits to doing business downtown: The people downtown are awesome. It's friendly. You're probably going to be dealing with the owner of almost every company down here. It really is a neat community, and it's a bonus I never thought of when I opened up downtown. It's great to walk down the sidewalk and take time to chat with the folks you've come to know. It gives you a sense of what community is supposed to be like. They say that Walmart's are making small town's disappear. I disagree. I think people just gave up on the businesses that were always there for them for so many years. One of the neat things about reading this 1945 magazine is seeing all the names of downtown companies that are still in business today.

I remember when I first moved to New Albany, I could call Chuck at State Street Hardware and even though it was past closing time, he would wait for me to get there. Try that next time desparately need that plumbing part at Home Depot. From that point on, I purchase everything I can from Chuck. If he doesn't have what I need, then I go right down the street to PC Building Materials. I get something there called service. Knowledgeable service from some really nice folks.

Office Depot has some great sales, and all kinds of cool stuff, but I've made it a point to purchase any office supplies from the Office Supply store on Pearl. The prices are excellent, and there's a really great person behind the counter. In a pinch, I was out of town and my employees needed something but didn't have the company card. They went to the office supply place, explained the situation, and got it on "credit". I'm not saying that's their policy, but it's the policy of good business and looking out for each other. I could imagine the look on the cashier's face at a big chain place if I bought a bunch of stuff and said, "I don't have any money with me, can I pay you later?"

My wife and I have been talking about getting hardwood floors for years, and finally have saved enough money to have one. I guy came into the print shop needing some blueprints scanned in and emailed to him. They had just opened up down the street (on market) and it was a flooring company. I'm very sympathetic to startups, and usually do not charge folks for a while (that will get people running to the shop! I should clarify that you have to be a downtown startup for that perk, and a nice person!). The name of the company is Flooring Solutions, and Greg Knable is the person to see about flooring. We could have gone anywhere for flooring, and we looked at a couple of different places. We might have even saved some money, but it wouldn't be worth it. Actually, the pricing was excellent. In the end I decided that there was only one place that we would purchase our floor from, and that would be a downtown business. I'm glad we did. Greg and the folks at Flooring Solutions are great people, and I love doing business with them. Anytime you can do business with good people you have peace about you purchase.

We just expanded the print shop, and part of the expansion is creating a room where we do fine art reproductions, or Giclees (pronounced gee-clay). We wanted this room to be more of a comfortable living room than an office. An artist will usually spend a 1/2 day with us, and we wanted them to be relaxed and comfortable. We wanted some really nice furniture for this room. My wife went to the new Smiths on Veterens Parkway, and then we went to Ashley over in Louisville where we ate fresh baked cookies and the kids could play video games. It is a very impressive show room and facility. I mentioned all the furniture stores downtown, so we spent a Saturday walking to the furniture stores right down the street. Needless to say, we purchased all of our furniture (she even talked me into a new living room set for the house) right here in Downtown New Albany. I'm probably going to sound like a broken record, but once again it had more to do with who and where I was spending my money with than anything else. The products available downtown are just as equal of those in the big strip malls.

Then there are the restaurants which are growing in number (thanks Roger!). The food is excellent, the service is great, and again, the folks running them are awesome!

I could say similar things for probably every business downtown. If you're not doing business downtown, than you're really missing out. Don't just come down once or twice, come down enough to where you start knowing everyone by name.

Be intentional. If you say you love downtown and want it to become something, than support those that are here. It's like adding water to a new plant. Add a little sunlight, and next thing you know it's a full bloom.

We could follow the advice from an ad from 1945. I bet there would be more of those original businesses around today if people sacrificed convenience for community.

The Perfect Storm

Wow! it's amazing how time flies by when you're busy. The election is only a week away.

The last time I posted, I realized how much time I really spent volunteering with different projects concerning the underprivileged in the community. I didn't want to paint a picture of that being the only thing I do.

I wanted to write of other things concerning local politics, but i had an internal conflict with my frustration for local government and my personal pledge to myself not to say anything negative about others.

It was that same frustration that eventually led me to stop going to city council meetings. I found myself struggling to keep from gasping in shock, rolling my eyes or shaking my head in disbelief at what i was seeing, hearing, and witnessing in that room.

It's also the same frustration that motivated me not to complain, but to do something about it. It's what led me to run for city council.

The past month or so I've been reading and talking to folks about the way things are going with the city council, and I've been feeling a little discouraged and sometimes wondering what I was doing. Was it going to be worth it? Could I begin to make a change?

This was during the time when mayor Garner went around the council and straight to the board of works to change the hiring conditions for fireman. It was about the same time that one week the council voted not to give the mayor more money to pave roads until he had a list of streets or some type of plan, then a week later the mayor comes back without a plan and they still give him the money. Where's the conviction? If you have none, then why delay it a week? If you have some, then why not stand by it?

It was then that i started thinking about the perfect storm. Not only the thought of the city council and the mayor similar to the destructive storms that come together to do more damage, but I also thought of the Andrea Gail in the movie The Perfect Storm. I picture the tiny ship against a monster storm and enormous waves.

It's not the impossible odds or the adversity of the conditions that inspires me, it's the direction the ship is heading. It's moving forward. It's not turning around. It's not running from the storm for safety, it's driving through the storm to get back to where it belongs.

If you've ever had the opportunity to sail in heavy seas, than you know that you can't do it alone. It takes a crew of like-minded, focused individuals who can concentrate on the task at hand and move the boat forward. The captain of a sailboat only has as much speed as the sail trimmer can give him.

My goal is to hopefully be a member of a crew of people who want to move New Albany forward, even if it's through the storm to get where it needs to go.

This election isn't about me, it's not about the 2nd district. It's about New Albany as a city from downtown to the suburbs.

Homeless in New Albany, revised!

It's amazing the difference a day makes!

In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that I prefer to use a wipe off board and an erasable marker, so that plans can change based on increased knowledge.

What happened today is the perfect example of that. In the most unusual circumstances of events, Roger Baylor of NAC, happened to run into Barbara Anderson, who runs Haven House Shelter in Jeffersonville. Roger had read the posts here about our involvement with the homeless, and suggested she might want to meet with me.

These are two people, that unto today I had never met. My office is right around the corner from Treets restaurant, so Barbara stopped in and introduced herself.

Haven House is a shelter in Jeffersonville that provides meals, shelter, and transitional housing. I didn't have time to get a complete list of all the opportunities that they provide.

As long as we have been doing the homeless trips to Louisville, we have always wanted to serve those closer to home. It looks like we will now be working with Haven House to help feed and support the homeless in our community. Haven House also believes in eliminating homelessness.

In just the short time that we had the opportunity to talk today, we've arranged to have a meeting at St. Paul's church in New Albany to see how St. Paul's, Haven House, myself, Graceland Baptist Church, Northside Christian, Henryville Community Church, and anyone else who wants to get involved for developing a non-denominational group that is willing to support Haven House.

I love how like minded people who share a common cause can move so quickly for the betterment of the community.

Now, If only our city council could work this efficiently....

Homeless in New Albany

This post originally started as a reply to a comment in an earlier post, but as it grew I decided to go further into detail and let if be it's own post.

It's my position on the homeless issue in New Albany.

The homeless issue is a problem, and the way it's dealt with in southern indiana is the police just take them to Louisville. There are very few resources on this side to the river.

I'm not saying this to condone it, but by not having resources it almost eliminates a homeless problem. Whether it's intentional or by accident, the lack of shelters keep most homeless out of the area.

I actually looked into the possibility of purchasing a home in New Albany for the homeless or for those transitioning back into the workforce. One of the obstacles was where it could be located without affecting the neighborhoods.

The more I've learned, especially recently working with Wayside, is it really takes much more than just food and housing. Wayside has an incredible recovery program for those who are ready to get off the streets. The resources needed to have a successful program are overwhelming.

Here's what I believe it would take to have an effective Homeless solution:

1. It would have to be important, not only to the citizen's, but to the Mayor as well.
The coalition for the homeless in Louisville was founded by two Priests from two churches who met with the Mayor concerned about the increasing number of homeless begging for money. It seems the formula for success were concerned citizens witnessing a problem and wanting to do something about it, and a Mayor who cared about the people of the city to take some action and do something about it.

2. Location. It would have to be located somewhere that had the least impact on the neighborhood. Wayside Christian's location isn't in the best part of town, but they must still be diligent in being a "good neighbor". As large as Wayside is, I found this interesting in their Q&A section:

Q: What are the major constraining factors for the program's implementation and goal achievement (lack of knowledge about cause-effect relationships, the target group, political disputes, administrative factors, etc.).

A: Major constraints would be lack of funds and keeping our business neighbors happy (if we don't keep them happy, they do have the political ties to influence the government powers that be).

I can only imagine the struggles that a shelter would have in New Albany, since it is such a smaller city.

3. People to run it.
It takes people with passion and a love for the lost to run a facility like this. It's not your normal 9-5 job. I don't believe you can hire or appoint just anyone for this type of job.

4. It's not shelter, it's a homeless solution.
The Homeless coalition of Louisville's mission statement is not to take care of the homeless, but more importantly the "prevention and elimination of homelessness".

5. Money, and lot's of it.
Wayside Christian Missions annual budget is over 2.6 million dollars a year. Although some of the money is probably federal grant, Reverend Tim Moseley said they run off of donations.

That's the top 5 things that would need to be established to begin a program in New Albany.

I don't mean to be negative, so please don't take this as "I don't think we should do it". I just don't think we can do it. There's a big difference. I don't think the political climate would support it. I don't think the citizens would support spending money on it. I'm not sure where we could put a shelter without upsetting residents.

I think the best thing you could do for a homeless person is take them to Louisville where they can get help. They have the shelters and the PROGRAMS that can make a difference in their lives.

The bottom line is if you have a shelter and no program to get them off the streets, you're going to have an ugly problem. If you can be intentional, and develop and put in place the programs to help people off their addictions and back in the workforce, then you've really accomplished something. Anything less than that would be a mistake. Not only for the people your providing shelter to, but to the other citizens in the city.

There's not too many homeless in New Albany. That's not to say the soup kitchens are not busy, because there are a lot of poor people in New Albany.

There's all kinds of things you can do to help. Check out some of the local soup kitchens in New Albany. There's one somewhere almost every night of the week.

Contact one of the shelters to see if you can volunteer. They are all in need of more help.
For a list of shelters, you can click here.

If you see a homeless person, buy them some food. DO NOT give them money. You're usually just supporting an addiction. The truth will come out when they're asking for money for food and you tell them you're going to buy them something to eat. All of sudden they won't be hungry and tell you they really just need a couple of dollars for "a drink". The ones that are sincere will gladly take you up on the offer. If you're at a fast food restaurant, walk in with them and tell them to order whatever they want. You'll be amazed at the response.

Ever feel bad about the guy at the off ramp of the expressway? Tempted to give them money? Wondering what job you can give them so they can work for that food? A couple of years ago, my son (8 years old at the time) knew we should be doing something for this person. He came up with the idea that whenever we saw someone, we should give them some food. It was the beginning of what we called the "homeless bag". My son put together a "homeless bag" consisting of a bottle of water, some vienna sausages, chips/crackers, toothpaste, toothbrush, poncho, and I think even nail clippers. Purchasing most of the items at Dollar Tree, he assembled the bags for just a couple of dollars each. We kept these in the car, and whenever we would take our exit on state street, we would roll down the window, and he would bring out one of his homeless bags and hand it to the person. It was actually the beginning of our families involvement with the homeless ministry.

****Important Note****
For safety's sake, when I mentioned above that the best thing to do for a homeless person was to take them to louisville, I am in NO WAY suggesting that you, an individual person , be the one to give them a ride. Call Wayside and they can send someone out. I'm not saying all homeless people are bad, but there is a percentage that are homeless to stay off the police radar. Use your own discretion, but be advised and be careful. The same goes for buying them a meal. If you're at the restaurant, go in and pay for their meal. If you're not, then buy it and bring it back to them.

good samaritan patrol

A few weeks ago I was asked if I was interested in doing the "Good Samaritan Patrol" for Wayside Christian Mission in Louisville. Some of the people who usually do this were ill or travelling and they had some openings for early in the week.

The Good Samaritan Patrol is where you drive around in the Wayside red Jeep, going to the camps and to the various places where people try to find refuge at night. The job is to take coffee, sandwiches, and whatever warm clothing we can find to the folks who may not want to stay in the shelter. We'll also give anyone a ride to the shelter if they decide to go in for the night.

The key to safety here is the red jeep. Everyone knows the red jeep. Most of the folks who do not stay in the shelters are too in love with their addictions than their need to be warm and safe. Some of the folks you may run into may not be at their best capacity. Calling at someone to see if they're alright might antagonize them. I'm always amazed that someone may be startled up on edge at first, but by the time the recognize the jeep, they come up to you as if you are a long lost friend.

I just finished another Samaritan run. The weather was warmer, but raining. Most of the usual camps I visit were vacant, and the usual places were people hang out were empty as well. The second street folks were there, but not as many. It's troubling because you know they're out there, but you just don't know where. You try to find as many overpasses as you can, looking to see if they are taking refuge right below the expressway.

I heard it all changes as the weather warms up. The camps that are deserted during the winter become populated when the weather breaks.

It's kind of peaceful while you're driving around. It makes you appreciate everything you do have. It also makes you look at things in a totally different way. I can't drive over an expressway without knowing that I just went over someone's home. I know the symbols and paths that lead to camps that thousands of people drive by everyday not having any idea there are people living there.

There's an odd irony to how many restaurants are literally right across the streets from camps. The irony of how much food is thrown away, and there's a guy across the street who hasn't eaten all day.

The next generation for change

This is one of those proud papa moments.

My 8 year old daughter has some friends in her Sunday School class that recently moved here from Kenya. After hearing what life was like for them in Kenya, she felt burdened to do something about it.

She came to my wife and said she felt led to raise a $1,000 for an orphanage in Kenya. She didn't know what orphanage, but she knew the money needed to go there. She asked Graceland's senior pastor Scott Miller (who is also on the board of Mustard Seed International) if he would find an orphanage to send the money to.

It seemed cute at first, and as a parent you see your children excited about something, and then on to something else after a short period of time. This was different. She invited some friends to join in what she named the "Saturday Service Club". Her concept was that friendships could grow while serving a common cause. She produced her own brochure and asked if I would donate the printing, and came up with the idea of selling Valentine's day gifts for $15 a piece that would include a velvet rose, a stuffed animal, a handmade greeting card (with room for you to put your own note) and "homemade sweets and confectioneries".

When the dust had settled on the assembly line of putting the baskets together, Sophia raised $1,100 for the orphanage in Kenya. $100 over her original goal. Pastor Scott Miller has arranged for the money to go to the Rafiki Foundation, which has a location in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Courier-Journal even did a story on her project:
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070307/NEWS0201/703070772/1026

Much ado about nothing

I hope Shakespeare forgives me for borrowing this title. It seems appropriate to use this as an introduction to my position on the topic of lack of code enforcement when it comes to housing/rental properties in New Albany.

Now, before you misunderstand the title to think that I'm saying there's not a problem, take the title and apply it to the level of activity that you see taking place from New Albany's city government. There's a lot of talk, especially now that there's an election coming up, but what is REALLY being done? NOTHING!

I've made a promise not to say anything negative about fellow candidates. I don't believe it's necessary or warranted. I believe an incumbents actions speak louder than anything I could say about them.

It's been said that we are known by the fruits of our labor, and the truth is looking around New Albany it's easy to see trees are barren and not producing fruit.

This might be long, but I believe this is a multi-faceted problem that needs to addressed at different levels. The bottom line is that it needs to be addressed in a timely manner. There is also nothing etched in stone. I prefer to use an erasable marker and a wipe-off board, not so that I can waffle on an issue, but so that it can grow and be more inclusive based on the knowledge of those closer to the issue.

Let's jump in, shall we?

1. Find out what the heck takes so long after someone files a complaint and action is taken.
I understand there's red tape in government, so let's get the scissors out and start cutting. It's New Albany, not Chicago and I'm guessing it can't be that hard. I'm going to step out on a limb here, because I'm not close enough to the position to have all the facts yet. Here's one thing I can tell from what I do know: The job is not getting done in a timely manner.

It could be from lack of funds, or lack of personnel, or lack of resources. It could also be lack of initiative. It could be that there's not a level of performance required of this department, nor is there anyone for them to be accountable to for lack of performance.

As a business owner, the best way to find out where the problems are is to roll up your sleeves and get involved in the actual production. I wouldn't mind shadowing this department to see exactly where the hold up is. It would be a worthwhile investment of time to be able to resolve the issues.

In addition to shadowing to understand the problem, here are some ideas that can solve some of the other reasons:
Not enough money: Simple. Generate revenue to support your department. You need money, enforce the codes. Those that do not come into compliance are fined. Collect the fines. Increase the fines. Have a habitual offender? Create stiffer fines if the same person is guilty of the same offenses. We do it with criminals, I don't see why this should be any different. Put liens against the property. Take ownership of the property if penalties are not paid.

Not enough personnel/resources:
I would have to tap into the power and passion of so many people who invest so much of their personal time trying to improve New Albany. I'm talking about the Home Owners Associations and the bloggers that love this town and their neighborhoods. If we can make an average citizen a volunteer fireman or policeman, why not a code enforcement officer??? Most have already done all the legwork, we just need to tap into their knowledge to get things done faster.

2. Increase the efficiency of the street department/ sanitation department.
It appears to be part of the problems is apathy for certain neighborhoods. I live in the second district, and for some reason the trash, no matter what it is, is always promptly picked up. It really shouldn't take anything more than a phone call to the street department/sanitation to get something done. It shouldn't have to appear in the Tribune for it to be important. It needs to be important simply because it is, and the level of service needs to be the same no matter where you live.

3. Get tough on the habitual offenders.
We need to send a message loud and clear that if you're a slumlord, this is not the town you want to be in. There's probably more effort to run adult dvd place on main out of town than there is to do something about the way slumlords steal from this city. Not every landlord is a bad one, but the ones that are bad need to go. Need a precedent? Use the "3 strikes you're out" that they use for criminals. Is a slumlord any different?? I'm not saying they're going to jail, but I think the city needs to actively pursue condemning property for those that refuse to comply fully. Some people may say this is extreme, but if you look at the map of worst offenders (I can't remember the link! sorry!) and see the same names over and over you feel that SOMETHING must be done.

4. Rental Inspection Program.
This is a hot topic already. I'm laughing at the incumbents who are saying "this must be done", when they've had the ability and opportunity to do something before now and chosen not to. I'm not saying they can't or won't, just that they already should have.
I think this is a great idea, and definitely should be a part of doing business as a landlord in new albany. Now to be honest, without the above steps being taken, this is really more than just election honey. It sounds sweet, takes a long time to pour, and just gets all sticky after a while.
I would want action first so that this program could have some teeth to it.

5. New Developments contribute 10% of revenue back to the city.
Boy, this will fly like a led balloon! They do it in other states, and it's definitely worth looking into at some capacity. In Maryland, developers must set aside a percentage of all units built for lower income housing, and contribute to the states MPDU (moderately priced dwelling units) program. Will it chase builders away? No, you'll either want to build in New Albany or not. I think the current political climate has chased away more development than any program would.

6. Enforcement with fairness.
It's one thing to go after a slumlord, it's another thing to go after a neighbor who's lost their job and going through a tough time. I'm not saying make exceptions but I would solicit the help of local churches and other volunteer organizations that would do low cost or free repairs for OWNERS who are having financial difficulty.

7. Trash Dumping.
This is a tough one. The city says get a license plate and they'll pursue it. I say clean it up, and if you happen to get a license plate that's great, pursue the living daylights out of the offender with some serious penalites. If you have a problem with the routes that is leading to alleys being overlooked, then fix the routes! I'm sure we would all like to catch who's doing it, but at the end of the day the first priority is to get it picked up. Until it becomes a priority, nothing will happen. Too bad Garner privatized Sanitation. Getting a third party company to do this without it costing an arm and a leg is going to be difficult. I'd have to get the attorney to start looking for ways out of the contract based on lack of performance. I can't get started on the whole sanitation/privatization issue, it could be a blog in itself.

If I've forgotten anything (it's getting late) i'll post more later.

Regardless of the plan, it's going to take people with a spine to stand up to the old guard and say "enough". It's going have to be people who are going to be willing to make some waves and stand their ground. It's going to take you to hold your elected official accountable for everything they're promising. You are going to have to hold their feet to the fire to get the job done. You're going to have to defeat some old giants. Look past the good 'ol boy business as usual mentality and actually accomplish something. It's time council meetings to be productive, and not auditions for the latest reality tv show.