Mental health and disability services
I will continue our Supervisors’ history of strong support for mental health and disability services in Story County and our mental health region. Story County needs a mental health access center that will provide urgent, high quality crisis behavioral treatment for people 18+ years of age who are experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis in our community. I look forward to working with the other Supervisors, our local medical and mental health service providers, law enforcement and community members to ensure those in crisis have a safe alternative to the hospital emergency department or jail.
Rural Broadband
Affordable and reliable access to the internet should be available to every Story County resident. The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified this issue. We have children who need to access online learning, parents who (if they are lucky) are trying to work from home, we have seniors and vulnerable people who need to access telehealth resources. We can’t afford NOT to solve this problem. This is a quality of life issue.
Climate Action Plan
As Story County continues to grow we must ensure that we have a climate strategy to protect our natural resources, our water, soil and air quality and our climate. It is not possible to make plans for responsible growth unless climate and conservation are woven through the fabric of those plans. I am committed to engaging with local government leaders, staff, stakeholders and community members to complete a climate inventory and develop goals and strategies to mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Innovative transportation and housing solutions
Affordable housing is tied to transportation solutions. We need to continue building reliable and affordable rural transportation so that residents can take advantage of the affordable housing that already exists throughout this beautiful county as we continue to work to make more such housing available.
