Shane Collins is a concerned citizen who has lived in two different areas of Raleigh since 2001. He likes to work and volunteer in the community and loves a good walk around his area. Shane and his wife have looked and lived in other areas and states and are happy to call Raleigh home.
Shane spoke to City Council on November 14, 2023:
Good evening council and mayor, Shane from North Hills. Tonight, I’d like to speak on voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before! …
I would like council to boldly go where it has not yet gone on affordable housing and meaningfully listening to needs and requests and importance of affordable housing for our police and fire and other city workers who make our city shine. Meaningful listening involves listening/hearing/taking action.
The city held listening sessions to take in thoughts and suggestions from residents on missing middle. This involved sessions held throughout the city whereby residents were treated like kindergartners and shuttled around to different tables under the auspices of mixing up residents at different tables to gather their thoughts and suggestions of positives and negatives regarding missing middle while first schooling residents on the background/advantages of missing middle.
Nothing has been done to change missing middle since those sessions, and worse council is vowed to secrecy now due to lawsuit brought against city’s missing middle program. Again nothing will happen while perfectly habitable houses and buildings are torn down to make way for new office space and apartments. I am experiencing one of these teardowns behind my house so that 3 stories of multi- unit complexes can be erected, none of them affordable for middle class or lower income residents.
Yet another misguided notion proposed by the city was called ‘budget and brews’ whereby city staff or perhaps the community disengagement department, again held sessions to gather input from citizens regarding ideas and suggestions on ideas/priorities for the city budget negotiations.
I went to one of these sessions and asked how I could submit my concerns and suggestions for the upcoming city budget negotiations. I was told to enjoy the pizza and have a seat, as there was no way for me to provide input of my concerns or suggestions. I did not come for pizza or beer. Rather I just wanted to offer my opinions/suggestions regarding needs for increased pay for city workers and more affordable housing. I was also told that I would be contacted via email if I provided my email at this session. I provided email and was not contacted for my input on upcoming city budget.
Lastly, I’d like to talk on meaningful listening and taking action and the importance of both in gaining trust and engagement with residents.
The city has time and again, listened to residents, professed thoughts and prayers, gathered notes, but produced nothing in the way of concrete action to address missing middle concerns or needs of homeless at Moore’s square or any of the squares in Raleigh.
Listening sessions with no action eventually lead to lack of resident belief that resident needs are indeed being heeded which results in demoralization of residents, or perhaps that is the intent. Perhaps the city appears to show interest by producing community disengagement sessions, whereby residents parade around with microphones and air grievances, which are notated and archived, with no action taken until the next session of city sponsored community disengagement, when again residents speak , notes are taken, comments are archived.
Lets take action, not continue disengagement.
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