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Understanding Our Value
One of the key initiatives I’ve been focused on is having informal conversations with residents about knowing the value of their property. Homeownership can be a tremendous asset in the long haul. We’ve had conversations about seniors looking for alternative housing because maintaining their home has become a burden, or the space is too big if they’re living alone. We talked about ways they can use Airbnb, or secure a management company to maintain the property if it is being leased or rented. With those accommodations in place, our seniors can consider options other than selling outright.
Over the last few months we have become extremely focused on Code Enforcement issues. People are converting their yards into car lots and auction areas with boats, rigs and commercial vehicles. We’re evaluating, and in some instances rewriting our Code, to prevent these occurrences. When one begins to impact the overall aesthetic of the community, I think that we have to take a look at whether or not that individual is in the right zone. You don’t want to put a home in the middle of an industrialized area any more than you want to put an industrialized area in the middle of a residential neighborhood.
Whether you are a City, business, college or university, one of the stellar standards of excellence is cleanliness. When lawns are manicured, when there’s no paper and debris around, it makes a huge difference in our quality of life.
Getting Through This Time Together
I lost my beautiful sister and best friend to COVID-19. This pandemic has caused me and, I’m sure, a lot of people to ponder what we’ll return to and what we’ll leave behind. We’re missing things as simple as a hug, or a touch, or going to church to worship with our people. In some instances, there are people we won’t see ever again because they’re gone.
COVID-19 prevented us from being with our loved ones. If they went into the hospital before succumbing to this disease, we never saw them again. When we open up again, we’re going to realize just how much we’ve lost. But we also have an opportunity to create a new kind of happiness with the love that we show our fellow men. We don’t know if another pandemic is going to come, so let us say good morning, and make the time to have breakfast with our moms or call our friends, or hug our siblings.
Post-pandemic work will have to be done to deal with mental health issues. People are going to need love, counseling and support. If there is anything I’m most concerned about as it relates to the pandemic, it’s how we love each other going forward, how we heal ourselves.
