Where do I stand on Capital Metro, the train, and providing public transportation options for the community?
The decision to remain a Capital Metro partner city or leave is now in the hands of Leander voters. I am committed to supporting the needs of the community whether that is as a partner city, via contracted services, or as self-managed city provided services.
- If we separate from the CapMetro, I will focus my time to help the city find cost effective short-term and long-term solutions to provide replacement services for those citizens that rely on current offerings. Short term solution might include partnering with commercial ride share companies, chartering bus services to connect users with the Lakeline station, or deploying our own community ride share program. Long term solutions would include negotiating fair services via CapMetro and exploring the development of our own transit department.
- If we stay with CapMetro, I will focus on holding CapMetro to task to ensure we get our money’s worth for our contributions to the program. And encourage the council to fight for expanded services, such as extending Friday and Saturday train hours that would allow us to transform into a destination location within the network.
What is my opinion on our water infrastructure? Is the city doing enough to prepare for the impact of planned growth or environmental shortcomings on our water supplies?
The city is making great strides to improve our water system, and I applaud our city engineers for their efforts. Intake and distribution improvements are already underway. With additional improvements on the city’s roadmap. Unfortunately, infrastructure improvements take time, and so we will need to implement mitigation efforts where we can.
Once elected I will propose incentives for businesses and communities that reduce water waste, implement recovery and reclamation, or xeriscape. And I will push for developers to include more detailed water management plans with projects so that the city can help identify resource improvements or propose impact mitigation actions earlier in the application process.
What is my take on the senior center?
I was pleased with the announcement of the recently signed lease for the Leander Activities Center, and I feel that it is a great stop gap measure that will support out seniors and youth in the near term. However, we need to stay vigilant and continue to work to make the vision of a permanent senior center a reality. If elected, I will continue to look for alternative funding or partnerships to help realize our vision.
