Homes and neighborhoods constitute an important part of the environment that nourishes us and contributes to our overall well-being.  It is where we spend most of our time.  For many of you, your home is also your largest investment.  When I invite friends and family from out of town to visit, I want to be proud to drive them through our city and neighborhoods.

Older, established neighborhoods are a strength of Greenville and provide stability and beauty to our city.  As we grow, we must preserve this important dimension of our life together.  When I drive around my community and the other neighborhoods in the district and city, I can see firsthand the importance of being thoughtful and smart as our city continues to grow.

I support the city’s ongoing effort to revitalize West Greenville.  The proverbial notion of a chain only being as strong as its weakest link applies.  It is in the interest of the whole city to have all parts of our city strong and vibrant.

I am working for good communication with citizens and neighborhood associations.  I have an email-distribution list to keep you informed of issues that affect you, and I will be available to hear your concerns and meet with your neighborhood association.

My Constituent Communication (CC) email newsletter is sent very occasionally to anyone who has expressed interest in Greenville city government or my service on Council.  As a useful adjunct to the city website, this CC mailing provides my commentary on issues.  I intend for it to be useful, without overwhelming anyone’s mailbox.  If you know someone who would like to receive these occasional mailings, send their email address to me (mercerc99@yahoo.com).

Safety.  Crime is an increasing concern among Greenville residents and for good reason.  In the recent past we have seen a larger percentage increase than the growth of the city population.  My wife, Susan, and I did a “ride along” with one of Greenville’s finest on a Saturday night after a home football game.  We observed firsthand both the excellent job our officers do, as well as the need for an adequate number of officers appropriately equipped to do their job.

One of the reasons for the increasing crime rate is the emerging gang problem.  These “hybrid” gangs are sometimes more dangerous than organized gangs in larger cities because a hybrid gang is without stable leadership.  Chief Anderson strives to include a strong community-oriented dimension to crime prevention.  Our Police Department works with at-risk youth through after-school programs and summer camps to give them mentoring and the opportunity to interact in a positive way with police officers.  I will support these crime prevention initiatives, and there are other things we can do.  I am working hard with our Police Department and neighborhoods to better address the downtown teenage drinking problem, strengthen community watch programs, and put more effective preventive measures in place in our neighborhoods.

Smart, planned growth that benefits all our citizens, small and large businesses, and neighborhoods.

Greenville is growing rapidly, and there is every indication this is going to continue in the foreseeable future.  This rapid growth is driven in part by the growth of ECU and PCC.  It is also driven by the fact that Greenville is increasingly an educational, medical, cultural, and business hub of the entire eastern North Carolina region.

Growth of our city is not only inevitable and desirable, it can also be exciting.  It can provide vibrant new opportunities for culture, recreation, and commerce.  However, our growth must be smart, planned, and beneficial to all our citizens, small and large businesses, and neighborhoods.

Growing at the expense of our strong neighborhoods will take our city in a direction that ultimately proves unhappy for everyone.  We want to grow in a way that alleviates, rather than worsens, the increasingly difficult traffic situation.  We want to grow in a way that provides neighborhoods with adequate open, green spaces that make for a healthy city.  We want to avoid unbridled sprawl and the encroachment of commercial development on established neighborhoods.

Parks and Greenways.  Smart growth will include attention to open spaces, pedestrian-friendly walkways, biking paths, natural trails, and beautification.  Greenways and park development are good for our citizens, property values, and businesses.  A beautiful, sustainable, livable city will invite the kind of business, visitor, and resident that we want for ourselves and our children.  Cities with quality greenways in place can increase property values and help reduce crime, because of the large number of people traveling on the greenways who can “community watch” as they ride and walk.  They also enhance the quality of life by enhancing leisure opportunities.  A recent survey finds that Americans would like to walk more than they are currently, but they are held back by “poorly designed communities that encourage speeding and dangerous intersections and whose design is inconvenient to walk to shops and restaurants."
 
The “Greenway Master Plan” provides for sound, thoughtful greenway development as our city grows.  However, we are behind schedule for implementing this important blueprint.  Very often what good plans need is the political will and foresight to stick to the plan and implement it in a timely fashion.  Of course, this plan cannot all be funded at one time, but strong support from city officials, government grants, and citizens who stand ready to help with private fundraising activities can help provide greenways that benefit all our citizens and businesses.

If we have the political will, we can guide our city to grow in smart, thoughtful ways.  I intend to be a strong voice in this effort to improve our quality of life now and position us well for continued intelligent development for decades into the future.  As I speak to neighbors and other residents around the city, smart and planned growth that protects the good features of our city is a major concern, and that is also one of my top priorities.

Continued support of an Uptown that is inviting and inspires a positive cultural focus for our city.

Many good efforts by many hard-working people have been directed to creating a positive city center, and I am working hard to continue that progress.  I want an Uptown that invites us to stroll through and have dinner there.  I want an Uptown we’re proud to show out-of-town guests.  There is still much potential that can be realized—additional residential space, more stores, and restaurants.

A number of Uptown projects are in various stages.  Some wonderful "projects" are at the idea stage, other projects entail quite specfic plans and interested parties are moving to put them in place, and still others are in actual production.  In the next few years, Greenville citizens will likely see significant changes in the Uptown area.  Our job is to keep strong our commitment to continued development of an Uptown that all citizens can proudly enjoy. 

Partnerships with ECU, PCMH, PCC, local schools and towns.

In our modern world, cities exist in a complex network of governmental, educational, and commercial entities.  The quality of life in our neighborhoods is dependent on our city leaders working smartly and diligently with other agencies and entities to preserve and enhance the quality of our life.  I lived in small towns, including Ayden for several years, and I work in an educational institution.  I understand the need for mutually beneficial relationships between the city and these other elements in our community.

Continued development of transportation services.

As Greenville and the surrounding areas grow, we need to provide for the changing needs of our citizenry.  One of those needs is an increased ability to travel in the city and from the city on business and pleasure.  We need services that can help us do this economically and with as much convenience and efficiency as possible.

The Pitt-Greenville airport loses 60-70 percent of its potential customers to other cities.  The challenges are significant; the goal is to provide better flights and fares for our citizens.  In practical terms this means enhancing our existing flights to the Charlotte hub by adding a hub to the north, maybe DC, and a hub to the south, maybe Atlanta.  While the Airport Authority is an independent entity and there is only so much it and the city can do to expand the service, I support formal and informal means to do what we can to expand the service.

There are other projects in process and on the horizon that will help address our transportation needs.  This aspect of our city’s growth is going to take continued attention.

Fiscal responsibility.

I believe all government entities should be fiscally responsible, always taking care of the hard-earned money of its citizens.  At ECU, I developed and managed an interdisciplinary program on a shoe-string budget.  I believe Greenville has the revenue stream to provide our citizens with what they need and reasonably want, without undue financial hardship.  On the City Council I look closely at every revenue stream (including grants and cooperative arrangements with other entities) just as I scrutinize every expense.