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Mary Holliman--Candidate for Town Council

Posted March 3rd, 2008 by admin

I would like to see more neighborhoods with a harmonious blend of students, professionals, retirees, and families, accompanied by thriving neighborhood organizations with the capacity to develop and maintain community values.

I will continue to encourage citizen awareness, interest, and participation regarding local issues. I have helped keep town government accessible to citizens by endeavoring to respond to each and every communication I receive and to explain the reasoning behind my position or vote. I welcome such mail.

I would like to see a vibrant downtown area with retail spaces and second-floor residences filled. I have discussed ideas for increasing downtown’s appeal with downtown stakeholders and am working to implement those ideas. I’d like to see the Art Along the Wall revived and fully support Downtown Blacksburg’s current initiatives to bring more people downtown, such as the new First Wednesdays.

I strongly support the Cool Cities concept, which advocates recycling, pedestrian-friendly developments, public transportation, local attitudes and Town policies that engender responsible, sustainable growth. I support infill development over sprawl, the protection and growth of green infrastructure, and environmentally friendly solutions to town problems. I am very happy with the Town’s commitment to plant two trees for each one removed and the recent allocation of funds for Downtown cleanup and maintenance.

I hope to encourage outdoor recreation through the upkeep of safe, attractive local parks, trails, green space, and pedestrian walkways. I support Blacksburg’s building an outdoor swimming pool, possibly on part of the Old Middle School property. I’d like to see a teen center developed, possibly in the downtown area.

I’m happy that the Town is planning to revise Town codes and ordinances to bring them up-to-date and incorporate green infrastructure/Cool Cities concepts. We need to avoid future misunderstandings such as those that have distressed the community over the past several years.

I want Blacksburg to continue its commitment to affordable housing so it can continue to serve as a model for such developments in Southwest Virginia. I support related activities such as the Town’s support for the Valley Interfaith Child Care Center.

I hope to foster healthier relations with Virginia Tech, so that the Town and the university might continue to cooperate for their mutual benefit. I’m especially excited about the arts center being planned by the university and the opportunities the Town has for compatible developments in the downtown area. Also, I want to see better coordination and cooperation with the County Board of Supervisors, the Christiansburg Town Council, and their two Planning Commissions.

Among my civic accomplishments, I count the community playgrounds in neighborhoods that I first proposed in my 1968 Town Council campaign; a Smart Way bus stop near Kent Square; service on the 2006 Comprehensive Plan Task Force, with weekly meetings over a fourteen-month period; and chairing the 2007 Elections Task Force.

Mary Holliman, candidate for Blacksburg Town Council, 2008