Dear Mr. Barry,

I am on my way to church, but I wished to acknowledge your letter and give some specifics on what I want to accomplish in the community.

Concerning education, I have suggested that a grants coordinator be hired to write educational grants and approach private foundations for specific public programs. This approach has worked well in other localities, including Fluvanna.

Of the buildings I would have voted to save, if I had been councilor, I would include the buildings razed to create the Hampton Inn and the houses taken down to allow room for the Marriott. In the first case, I feel that a compromise could have been made with the Hampton Inn to incorporate the existing buildings within a new structure. I would have approached the project with examples from Lexington and from Richmond (on Shockoe Slip). In the case of the Marriott I would have heeded the BAR, and I would have worked to facilitate a smaller structure that did not abut one inch from the porch of the corner house on Wertland. If circumstance prevented the mitigation, I would at least have included the living wage in the negotiations. One of the arguments for tearing the houses down was to create jobs, but in the process a local business closed for good (Avalon) and jobs were created that are inadequate to supply basic needs within this community.

The Shell station on Preston is another urban design issue I would have tried to mitigate. Seemingly designed for a highway, the overhang could have been downscaled to retain a more comfortable neighborhood feeling. If we are trying to encourage pedestrians, and link Downtown with the University, retaining the human scale of the street is vital, as the Wellness Center building does very well.

As far as buildings still in existence, there is the Jefferson and its long-standing heritage as an educational facility, and there are also the negotiations with the county over the old jail. The future of the buildings boarded up on the Downtown Mall are also at stake. The preservation of Jefferson, the old jail, and the more complicated decision about the Downtown Mall buildings all relate to community heritage, quality of life, and tourism. I want a vote on council so that I can help make the decisions on these issues. I am tired of hearing what we can't do in terms of preservation, when I see other cities doing quite well with a similar set of problems.

It is difficult as a candidate to foresee the circumstances of future votes. I have even considered that making candidates take a case study and analyze it, following the Darden method, might be helpful. But I have confidence that we will all make our agendas and action items known by the end of the process, without having people fall asleep over their pasta plates. I look forward to talking with you further about the issues in your letter that I didn't touch upon, and thank you for your encouragement to discuss those issues.

Sincerely,

Alexandria Searls (electronic mail, January 3, 2002)