1.  Respect.  Citizens tell me they want respect from their government, not to be taken for granted.  They want a venue in which to be heard.  They want a sense of social equity.  In short:  citizens want to be listened to & taken seriously.

2.  Vision.  If we don't know where we're going, we can't focus our energy, effort, time & money on making the future unfold, at least to the extent possible, as we would wish it.  To say, "No planning is possible because contingencies happen,"  No planning is possible because contingencies happen," is irresponsible, reactive, & defeatist.  Yes, visioning is hard mental work.

3.  Taxes and Economic Development.  The escalation in real estate taxes infuriates many & frightens others, especially those on fixed incomes.  We must wrap our hands around the escalating price of land and our parallel increases in taxes. 

4.  Quality-of-Life & Development Pressures.  We live here because we love what Powhatan has to offer -- open space, forests, clean air, privacy, beauty.  In developing, we must partner with developers to protect the very aspects of Powhatan that both citizens & developers agree makes Powhatan attractive.  Rampant despoliation is not acceptable.

5.  Workforce Housing.  Escalating land values & taxes make it virtually impossible for our children to live here in the future.  Rental & starter homes are almost non-existent.  Elderly & fixed-income citizens similarly have no place to go as they downsize or can no longer live in their homestead homes due to tax increases.  We have a legal & moral responsibility to stop avoiding this issue.  We should permit (and even incent) denser, multi-use development in "nodes" on Route 60.

6.  Roads.  We don't have a meaningful Thoroughfare Plan, nor any plan to substantially deal with our congested and dangerous highways.  In fact, we have not even made the connection between wholesale approval of large subdivisions, particularly in the west, and the logo rhythmic increases in traffic counts.

7.  Reactive Government.  Wherever I meet with citizens -- black, white, young, old, well-off, fixed-income, newcomers or Powhatan natives -- I hear this refrain:  "Do something!  Don't just react.  Be creative!  Think outside the box.  Don't just be reactive.  Think.  Plan.  Get ideas from other places.  Please do something."

We are at a crossroads as a community.  Are we going to step up to bat to confront these issues, or are we going to stand by & watch our values be frittered away?  What shall be our legacy?