Story leads District 2 community discussion

BY JOHN BRICE

FOR THE LAFAYETTE SUN

LANETT — Local leaders and Lanett community members gathered for a “Dialogue in District 2” community meeting hosted by Council Member Krisse Story at Mount Hermon Baptist Church in Lanett on Aug. 11.

“We gave an overview of some things that I said I wanted to do, so I just reminded our constituents of some things that have happened in our district and things that we still have planned,” Story said. “We had the chief of police, the fire chief, we had sewer, we had water, we had streets. They fielded questions from our citizens and some of the concerns that they have.”

Story said cleaning up the district was one of the most pressing concerns raised by local residents. 

“It was a very informative meeting, we just had general conversation and answered questions for the people that were there,” she said. “One of the pressing concerns I heard the most in that particular meeting was the cleanup of our area. I definitely understand, there are people working really hard to keep our district clean, but then we have people that come in and dump. There were some concerns about what the city could cut and what the city can pick up. We can’t go on private property, so there was an education piece — it was informative for me.”

One educational aspect of the meeting was clarifying details of how the city enforces its codes. 

“Mr. Crowder was there, the code enforcer,” Story said. “He educated us on the process for when somebody asks if we can look at a house. We have a running list of dilapidated housing and property, I take information from constituents and we turn it over to him. He told us what the process is to get those things done. That was good to know because some people think we can just tear structures down and that is not the case.”

Story commented on milestones in progress for moving the district forward.

“In our district, there is one street in Plant City that we have had paved that was in really bad shape as well as two in West Shawmut,” she said. “We have not torn any houses down yet but we have added them to the list. Summer University that I hosted in West Shawmut for the children in our community. Children and the elderly were the focus of my campaign. We had a food drive twice where we fed the community. Things like that we have done that I had highlighted to make sure people understood that we are working towards those things.”

Story is also focused on different ways to engage her district. 

“I took suggestions; we had a concern box where we made concern cards so that people could drop them in,” Story said. “I asked people to sign up to be a part of the District 2 accountability team. There are things that I can’t see, but if you live in a neighborhood in your little corner of the district, you can let me know what is going on and how we can help. Right now, we have four people who signed up and I think that is going to be really good for the district because we just don’t see it all. Our district is divided by Highway 29, so I just don’t know everything that goes on even though I ride the district every day. I am very excited that we are finally able to move forward on that.”

Story said these community meetings further the agenda of moving her district forward. 

“It definitely fits into the agenda, because that is how you take the pulse of the community, what needs to happen and what are some of the concerns,” she said. “We may not necessarily have the solution that they want, but we are going to work towards something by figuring it out. My goal is to have one every six months and to move it around the district to make it more accessible for our people, whether it is in Plant City or West Shawmut.”

Story expressed her devotion to making District 2 reach its full potential for the residents. 

“I felt really good about the conversation,” Story said. “Since then, there are things we have gotten done through the concerns that people have brought forth that they had not before then. I go back to the education piece to let them know that I am here for you, I am your voice at city hall to advocate for you. I work for you.”