Bryan Council Survey

Question 1

Animal ordinances in Bryan are currently enforced through warrantless home inspections and searches, jeopardizing pet owners' rights. College Station is in the process of adopting a new set of animal control ordinances that are more respectful of rights to privacy. Do you support similar revisions of the City's animal control ordinances in Bryan? 

Art Hughes

Single Member District Number 5

Mike Southerland

Councilmember At-Large, Place 6

No

Yes

I am not aware of the unjust practices against "pets" and pet owners. I do support the rights of individuals, per owners and non-pet owners, but we all have responsibilities that go along with our rights. Those responsibilities include making sure the exercising of our rights do not infringe on the rights of others.

The City of Bryan is in the final stages of the animal ordinance revision.  The new ordinance is very comprehensive and attempts to balance the health and safety of the animal and the citizens with the pet owner rights.

Question 2

Bryan has taken some tangible steps that have the effect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including the redevelopment of downtown, which reduces sprawl, and BTU's buy back program for the excess energy from solar panels on private homes. College Station signed the U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement to become part of the Cool Cities program pledging that the community and local government will take action to reduce global warming. Do you believe that Bryan should sign on to become a Cool City?

Art Hughes

Mike Southerland

No

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I am not familiar with the specifics of the Cool City program, but I do believe that we all should work to take care of our environment which includes clean air, clean water, sanitary conditions, conservation, safety, etc.  The global warming issue is an ongoing debate at this point, and I would be cautious in making demands on citizens, or spending their tax dollars, based solely on what we presently know about global warming.

I have not seen the "Cool Cities Program". However, the departments of the City of Bryan work very diligently to protect the environment. BTU has proposed a gas generation project that recovers methane gas from the current land fill and produces electricity.  Hopefully, it will be on line very soon. The city has a very successful recycling program at the Bryan Wal-Mart. The program operates at very low cost to the tax payers and is highly successful. The staff also works with Keep Brazos Beautiful and other non-profit groups to educate and support "greening" projects.

Question 3

Requiring approval of three members to place an item on the City Council agenda would appear to violate the spirit of single member districts.  If minority positions are excluded from the agenda, they are in essence silenced.  Do you support the resolution to revert back to requiring agreement from only two council members for an item to be placed on the agenda?

Art Hughes

Mike Southerland

Yes

Yes

 I am not aware of any real problems with the present procedure and/or requirements for placing an item on the agenda, but since this has garnered enough Citizen support to put this on the ballot to change the City Charter, I respect what the majority of the voters decide and agree to support their decision. I respect the members of Council, and believe that each one has the best intentions when bringing an item before the Council. 

I led the petition effort to have the city charter changed to add a rule that if two council members request an item be placed on the city agenda it must be done without exception. The petition was signed by over 1700 Bryan Voters. The city rules require at least a public vote of a majority of council members present to take any action. However, currently, the mayor alone has the authority to keep items off the agenda. So many times citizen issues that may not be popular with the mayor or a majority of council members can be defeated without ever being heard at an open meeting and coming to a vote.

With a rule of 2 members being able to place an item on the agenda the city government will be open to the public. This will preclude the mayor and a block of council members from stifling the minority opinion and controlling city actions. The agenda should be open for all to have ideas presented and voted on in an open public meeting by the elected officials.

Question 4

Do you believe that pedestrians, bicyclists, and wheel chair users should have complete and safe access to all places of residence, commerce and employment within the city? If this is to be achieved, a number of measures would need to be taken to improve connectivity in Bryan, such as creating more dedicated bike lanes and crosswalks and enforcing traffic laws that ensure the safety of these users of our roads.

Art Hughes

Mike Southerland

Yes

Yes

This is a personal responsibility issue also.  Accessibility is important for all citizens. As a nation, state and city, we have made tremendous strides in improving the accessibility for our citizens with mobility handicaps. We should continue to make all public areas and buildings accessible when possible. Personal residences should not fall under the same requirements as public areas. Private residences are personal property and accessibility should be at the discretion of the home owner.  As a city, we should strive to improve the connectivity in Bryan for all residents. We should also strive to make these routes safer for all through education on the proper use of bike lanes and pedestrian crossings.  Traffic laws should be strictly enforced because the violations of these laws many times results in costly repairs, injury, or loss of life. Stricter laws should be implemented for bicycles and pedestrians also, rather than placing all the burden on drivers of motor vehicles. We all win when we take more responsibility for our actions.

The capital improvement plan should be used more effectively to solve these issues. The expenditures currently recommended by city staff concentrate too much on the downtown area. The plan should have more balance across all 5 city districts. The city should have a committee composed of citizen representatives from each district to review all city requirements and select the projects that best address the citizen identified needs.

Question 5

College Station has a successful curbside recycling program in place, but Bryan still offers only an under-used drop-off site. Do you believe that Bryan should be promoting further actions to encourage reuse and recycling, thereby reducing the amount of waste entering our landfill?

Art Hughes

Mike Southerland

No

Yes & No

I would have to be shown this is a reasonable use of taxpayer dollars. You don't encourage responsible behavior by making it easier to do the right thing; you encourage responsible behavior through educating the citizens about the benefits of conservation and how it is our responsibility, as citizens, to do our part to make our city the best it can be.

Bryan has a very successful recycling program at the Bryan Wal-Mart. The program operates at very low cost to the tax payers and is highly successful. I understand the curbside collection effort does not produce more volume than the Bryan Wal-Mart located collection center. Also, the volume of collection at a central location can increase without higher costs. Bryan also operates the compost facility for both cities that processes some solid wastes in to useable gardening products and there by reduces the landfill requirements. Any recommendation that can reduce waste is welcome.

Question 6

     The first Paragraph of the fourteenth amendment reads:

"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. "

Do you agree?

Art Hughes

Mike Southerland

Yes

Yes

Question 7

Locally owned, independent businesses can provide economic stimulus, develop human resources, reflect community character and encourage tourism.  Yet Bryan has encouraged large retail development by national chains with financial incentives, thus creating unfair competition for locally owned businesses.  Other communities have taken measures to level the playing field, including stopping the provision of incentives to outside competition and putting restrictions on the size of retail outlets that can be developed.  Would you support these or other types of initiatives to promote local, independent businesses?

Art Hughes

Mike Southerland

No

Yes

I believe that local businesses are the backbone of any community. I also believe that the large national retailers are beneficial to the local economy in many cases. There are instances where it is prudent to offer incentives to large retail center developers who buy the property, build the buildings, and lease space to national retailers and/or businesses to locate in our area to spur the growth of our community. In most cases, the incentives are for the developers who take the risk in developing new centers, business parks, industrial parks, etc, not for the businesses they attract to the area.  The City Government should exercise wisdom and vision when considering incentives for any specific business.  If it is a new industry or new type business that is not presently represented in our City, the incentives could be very beneficial to the community by bringing in these new businesses.  Where we should be very careful and prudent, is when we are considering bringing in a business that is a direct competitor to existing local business, and does not offer any significant advantage to the local economy beyond what the local businesses do. On the other hand, local businesses that have enjoyed years of success in our area cannot fall into the trap of thinking that people should shop with them because they have been here for 20 years.  Local businesses must stay on the cutting edge and learn to compete in the larger, expanding arena.  The local merchant can offer something that the national retail store cannot...Service.  The local merchant cannot compete on price, but many, many people value quality, personal service by someone who is friendly and knowledgeable about the products, or services, they are selling.  Competition is a good thing for the community, and a good thing for the local merchants that embrace it and use it to improve their own products or services. Local businesses have the ability to promote themselves, they do not need the City to do it.  The City, on the other hand,  should not do anything that would give the national retailers an advantage over the local businesses.

I work very hard to make sure our local businesses are treated fairly. The city council members are the leaders of the city and must always be vigilant for the citizens and business owners to insure the regulations and incentives are applied equally. I believe our citizens will, if the council will listen, identify the issues, explain how to correct them and help the city overcome them.