What motivated you to run for city council?

Are you friends with fellow candidate Tre?

maroon barchetta said:

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Layne's or Cain's?

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Maroon asking the hard questions... at least be nice and let him get acquainted!

I would like to assess the demand for a convention center. For a project of this magnitude, it's essential to hear the voices of the people. Ultimately, you, the residents, are the city council's bosses. In my opinion, if public hearings and surveys do not provide us with enough confidence to make this decision, we should let you, the voters, decide through a proposition whether the community desires an additional conference center.

I believe the mall is significant for our town. While I don't see it as a failure, it has the potential to do much better. This weekend, I took some time to visit the mall and spoke with several local small business owners who have set up shop there. They shared that they are doing well, enjoy their spots in the mall, and are generally happy to be there. However, the mall could use some much-needed attention.

As a community, I think there is support to revitalize the mall. With the city owning property in the mall, I see it as a crucial part of bringing the mall back to life. Whether that means selling it for development that benefits the community or turning it into a place like the YMCA, there are many potential outcomes that could help the mall thrive again.

Here's the simple fact: if you know nothing about our town and community and you are driving down Highway 6, the mall is not something that makes you want to stop and go inside. To me, that is a significant issue that needs to be addressed. I want to be part of the decision-making process to help preserve the legacy of this incredible town, not just for the next five years, but for the next fifteen years.

I can take a better look at the website. I don't want it to be hard for people to know anything about me. Let me see how many of your questions I can answer:

• I am from Friendswood, Texas. I was born in Lake Jackson but was raised in Friendswood. I moved to College Station in 2017 to attend Blinn College, then Texas A&M University. Now, I am a full-time student at the Bush School of Government, pursuing my master's in public service while running my small business on the side and serving on the board for the American Red Cross.
• I am not married but have been actively involved in my church, Fellowship Church, located off Colgate. I had the privilege of leading college ministries for years. The main reason I am running for this position is that I truly feel called by my faith to do so. While praying about this decision, I met with the police and fire chiefs, the chamber president, the city manager, a current city council member, and several small business owners in town to see if this was the right move. Most everyone was incredibly encouraging, and it was one of the clearest signs from the Lord that this was the time to do it.
• I have met with many groups throughout the city, including the Fire Department, CSAN, Builders, etc. Not all endorsement interviews have happened yet, but CSAN is not endorsing either of the candidates for our race. I love working with people in the city and enjoy answering questions like this.

My faith is why I ran. Through a lot of prayer and counsel with people I respect, I made the decision.

Outside of that, I want to represent people in this community who feel like they do not have a voice. I want to advocate for those who make less than $50,000 a year, may have had to rely on government assistance, young small families, and small business owners. All these groups deserve representation. It is my personal belief that the council should reflect what the community looks like, and in my opinion, it doesn't do that well in its current state.

maroon barchetta said:

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Are you friends with fellow candidate Tre?

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I am not, have not spoken with him more than once.

Valen said:

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I believe the mall is significant for our town. While I don't see it as a failure, it has the potential to do much better. This weekend, I took some time to visit the mall and spoke with several local small business owners who have set up shop there. They shared that they are doing well, enjoy their spots in the mall, and are generally happy to be there. However, the mall could use some much-needed attention.

As a community, I think there is support to revitalize the mall. With the city owning property in the mall, I see it as a crucial part of bringing the mall back to life. Whether that means selling it for development that benefits the community or turning it into a place like the YMCA, there are many potential outcomes that could help the mall thrive again.

Here's the simple fact: if you know nothing about our town and community and you are driving down Highway 6, the mall is not something that makes you want to stop and go inside. To me, that is a significant issue that needs to be addressed. I want to be part of the decision-making process to help preserve the legacy of this incredible town, not just for the next five years, but for the next fifteen years.

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Thank you, just to clarify. If another large space in the mall was to became available, you would support a decision to buy it?

Valen said:

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I believe the mall is significant for our town. While I don't see it as a failure, it has the potential to do much better. This weekend, I took some time to visit the mall and spoke with several local small business owners who have set up shop there. They shared that they are doing well, enjoy their spots in the mall, and are generally happy to be there. However, the mall could use some much-needed attention.

As a community, I think there is support to revitalize the mall. With the city owning property in the mall, I see it as a crucial part of bringing the mall back to life. Whether that means selling it for development that benefits the community or turning it into a place like the YMCA, there are many potential outcomes that could help the mall thrive again.

Here's the simple fact: if you know nothing about our town and community and you are driving down Highway 6, the mall is not something that makes you want to stop and go inside. To me, that is a significant issue that needs to be addressed. I want to be part of the decision-making process to help preserve the legacy of this incredible town, not just for the next five years, but for the next fifteen years.

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99% of people driving down Hwy 6 is not looking for somewhere to go, but if they were, it wouldn't be a large mall but a quick stop store, fast food restaurant, Academy, etc.

The mall is largely frequented by persons looking for a particular item such as shoes, jewelry, etc. and most people only go during the Christmas shopping season from about Thanksgiving to Christmas. This is why there are multiple vacant store front and stores opening and closing almost monthly.

The train of the days of people just going to the local mall for a few hours on a Saturday has left the station.

The city should sell the Macys building asap, take the loss, and make a policy to never ever get back in the commerical real estate business. The carrying cost of it being maintained and vacant is a tax burden on the taxpapeyers, but a great loss of taxable real proparty and BPP.. That's not the city's business.







Malls across the country are closing all the time.

maroon barchetta said:

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Why do you believe the city government should be involved in helping a conglomeration of private businesses succeed?

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I believe in supporting local and small business owners. We already have local businesses starting to use mall space. If we have any ability to help bring traffic into the mall, even though it is owned by a conglomerate, I believe it is our responsibility to do so. This support is crucial for those in our community who are taking the leap to run their own businesses.

doubledog said:

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Valen said:

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I believe the mall is significant for our town. While I don't see it as a failure, it has the potential to do much better. This weekend, I took some time to visit the mall and spoke with several local small business owners who have set up shop there. They shared that they are doing well, enjoy their spots in the mall, and are generally happy to be there. However, the mall could use some much-needed attention.

As a community, I think there is support to revitalize the mall. With the city owning property in the mall, I see it as a crucial part of bringing the mall back to life. Whether that means selling it for development that benefits the community or turning it into a place like the YMCA, there are many potential outcomes that could help the mall thrive again.

Here's the simple fact: if you know nothing about our town and community and you are driving down Highway 6, the mall is not something that makes you want to stop and go inside. To me, that is a significant issue that needs to be addressed. I want to be part of the decision-making process to help preserve the legacy of this incredible town, not just for the next five years, but for the next fifteen years.

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Thank you, just to clarify. If another large space in the mall was to became available, you would support a decision to buy it?

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I am not willing to say yes or no to that. I believe there would need to be a strong argument for either side to make that decision. However, I absolutely want to do a better job of hearing from the community about how they envision the future. As I have mentioned, I want people to feel seen in their own community, and that means hearing everyone's voices on a decision like that.

I've enjoyed Mr. Yancy's interactions on this forum, but I disliked the survey that was previously brought up, seemingly to promote bike lanes with the only real option being "yes".

At no point were there any options in the survey to discuss widening roads or otherwise addressing the traffic situation, particularly the "vortex" around campus, nor medians, which if TexAgs is at all indication, extremely unpopular.

What are your thoughts on building infrastructure to address the road network in town, where the few existing north-south throughfares like Texas Avenue, Harvey Mitchell Parkway, Wellborn Road, and Earl Rudder Freeway, are strained by congestion, and likewise poor east-west connectivity?

Valen said:

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I believe in supporting local and small business owners. We already have local businesses starting to use mall space. If we have any ability to help bring traffic into the mall, even though it is owned by a conglomerate, I believe it is our responsibility to do so. This support is crucial for those in our community who are taking the leap to run their own businesses.

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I've been outspoken that the mall could be saved; buying the Macy's building was said to prevent a self-storage place from occupying the space, which would've only accelerated the mall's decline faster. Of course, putting an "esports arena" in the space probably wouldn't be much better. The city needs to work with CBL Properties or any other owner to ensure the mall's continued survival.

hopeandrealchange said:

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Valen said:

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I believe the mall is significant for our town. While I don't see it as a failure, it has the potential to do much better. This weekend, I took some time to visit the mall and spoke with several local small business owners who have set up shop there. They shared that they are doing well, enjoy their spots in the mall, and are generally happy to be there. However, the mall could use some much-needed attention.

As a community, I think there is support to revitalize the mall. With the city owning property in the mall, I see it as a crucial part of bringing the mall back to life. Whether that means selling it for development that benefits the community or turning it into a place like the YMCA, there are many potential outcomes that could help the mall thrive again.

Here's the simple fact: if you know nothing about our town and community and you are driving down Highway 6, the mall is not something that makes you want to stop and go inside. To me, that is a significant issue that needs to be addressed. I want to be part of the decision-making process to help preserve the legacy of this incredible town, not just for the next five years, but for the next fifteen years.

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Your statement here just cost you my vote.
Your attitude is what will bankrupt our City.

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I hate to hear that, but I understand. If you would like, feel free to send me a private message. I would love to talk with you or hear any more thoughts or concerns you have about the city or even my own stances. I want to be available for anyone to talk to and discuss important topics, even if they do not inherently agree with me.

PS3D said:

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I've enjoyed Mr. Yancy's interactions on this forum, but I disliked the survey that was previously brought up, seemingly to promote bike lanes with the only real option being "yes".

At no point were there any options in the survey to discuss widening roads or otherwise addressing the traffic situation, particularly the "vortex" around campus, nor medians, which if TexAgs is at all indication, extremely unpopular.

What are your thoughts on building infrastructure to address the road network in town, where the few existing north-south throughfares like Texas Avenue, Harvey Mitchell Parkway, Wellborn Road, and Earl Rudder Freeway, are strained by congestion, and likewise poor east-west connectivity?

Valen said:

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I believe in supporting local and small business owners. We already have local businesses starting to use mall space. If we have any ability to help bring traffic into the mall, even though it is owned by a conglomerate, I believe it is our responsibility to do so. This support is crucial for those in our community who are taking the leap to run their own businesses.

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I've been outspoken that the mall could be saved; buying the Macy's building was said to prevent a self-storage place from occupying the space, which would've only accelerated the mall's decline faster. Of course, putting an "esports arena" in the space probably wouldn't be much better. The city needs to work with CBL Properties or any other owner to ensure the mall's continued survival.

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I have been asked a lot about traffic. In a perfect world, I would love to bring in a team of experts who would then offer a survey to the city to first listen to what people see as the problem. Secondly, I would want that team to present a few deliverables that we, as the council, can then put in front of the community and listen to what you, the bosses, think. We would then proceed with some permanent relief if it is found that the issue can be resolved.

You won't hear me saying that loan was a good idea.

maroon barchetta said:

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Sounds like what we already have.

Ron Swanson said it best when the city of Pawnee wanted to help a business stay open even when it was clear (to people that don't hate money) that the business was a bad idea:

"If a business fails, another business will take its place"

The city doesn't owe anything to businesses except to quit coming up with fees that keep them from succeeding and charging higher utility rates so they can transfer money to the general fund for pet projects.

So far you aren't demonstrating that you have platform or ideas of your own besides "I'll pass along the public's ideas".

Better get some material.

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Well I am beyond passionate about looking for programs the city can be apart of using grant money from the state or federal. A prime example would be the Leads program that the city of College Station partnered with HUD and twin city missions on. It provides assistance to homeless people while having them be accountable to life or financial coaches so that they can get to a place to support themselves.

I would also love to create a program that is similar to a citizen academy for small businesses here who are looking to grow. Have them not just build a community, but each week one night a week learn something about marketing, quick books, social media, etc.

So let's get down to details. Regarding this small business awareness/education group. Do you think the cities job is to promote this as a city run event (with financial support) or should the city only be providing encouragement and accomodations to a group like this that are open to all citizens like renting of meeting rooms, etc.?