While I fully support an individual landowner’s right to develop his/her property, I also feel that it is incumbent upon these individuals to take responsible steps in development when it impacts a large population of people. Any potential damage to the watershed and, therefore, water quality, must be addressed, effects of irresponsible logging towards landslides, soil erosion, etc.

0 pts. Since 2007, the greatest risk to our drinking water reservoir at Lake Maumelle has been identified as the threat of excessive development, for which government regulation has been deemed necessary by water utility officials and other advocates of keeping our drinking water clean. Prevention is much less costly than cleanup of pollution.

Pulaski County’s PAC (Post-Adjudication Court – Judge McGowan) Court is currently addressing this very subject. This program requires strenuous and difficult benchmarks as an incentive to offenders to expunge their records and prevent the cycle from repeating in these cases (i.e.: avoiding jail time and, thus, overcrowding). While this is only one measure currently being utilized, alternative programs currently in place around the state (such as in Washington Co. - Judge Gunn) would serve as a good benchmark for additional programs for Pulaski County.

0 pts. Expansion of this program and other diversions are needed to reduce repeat-offender numbers. Many are never allowed into such programs, by current standards.

Youth services have become increasingly important over the past several years due to the shift in society and the fast-paced, ever changing world that we live in. One thing has not changed as our society has - youth still need meaningful opportunities for engagement and empowerment within their communities. The term community not only extends to their neighborhoods, but their schools and churches. Other states utilized evidence-based prevention programming in order to universally impact the lives of youth. An example of such programming is the nationally recognized Peers Making Peace (PMP) program, which originated in the state of Texas. Peers Making Peace offers an opportunity for students to learn critical life skills that not only help them resolve conflicts in their own lives, but in the lives of their peers as well. This program has been proven to extend naturally into the community as well, allowing family members to access conflict resolution services offered by the youth. PMP, like other effective prevention programs, utilizes many different theories that have been proven critical to positive youth development such as the 40 Developmental Assets, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the Risk & Protective Factors approach by Hawkins and Catalano. The results of programs like these speak for themselves; schools with PMP have 90% fewer assaults, 73% fewer expulsions, 58% fewer discipline referrals and almost 20% better state standardized test scores than schools that do not offer the program.

10 pts. Although not directly stating she would propose funding for these programs, the research cited here does indicate a willingness to pursue this.

Including line items, Brownfields currently makes up 28% of the Community Services budget; at this rate, it has the largest portion, including Housing. While I fully support initiatives to return contaminated sites to their previous state, it is prudent to ensure that other items are being given an equitable share, as well. Less than 2% of the Community Services budget goes to parks, recreation and library services. Before evaluating Brownfields for expansion, we should look at the overall mix of expenditures within this department’s budget.

0 pts. County gets money from Federal EPA budget for this program, and new grant and loan opportunities are regularly offered by EPA, which should be better publicized.