Who Is Bryan Metts?

As I read the FLS this morning on who is running to fill the vacated Fredericksburg City Council seat, I realized that I need to let people know who I am. These are in no particular order.

#1 - I'm open. As many of the regular readers here will know, I like to put my position out there, and then engage the public. It's always an analysis of alternatives, it's the engineer in me. Be assured that if I take a side, you the voting public have every right to know why.

#2 - I'm a blogger (this was how the FLS referenced me), but I'm also a full time DoD contractor working as a software engineer and project manager. I work across several programs, overseeing several major software projects, either working individually, or as part of a larger management team. I currently am employed by a small business, and commute to either Crystal City or Dahlgren. Prior to this I spent ten years at a top ten Fortune 100 company with 300k+ employees. (For those interested, I have a BS in Computer Engineering from Old Dominion University and an MBA from Averett University.)

#3 - Gail and I are expecting our first child in October. If this isn't incentive to get involved in the future of the city, I don't know what is. We love the city, Gail graduated from UMW, and we want the best for our family here. You will often find us out enjoying the many great restaurants and stores around town, both downtown and in Central Park.

#4 - I want to improve on the quality of life in Fredericksburg. Here are my initial ideas, however, I plan on getting out to each of the neighborhoods and may add or modify this list. It's just a set of ideas, I want the people of Ward 1 to contribute, so please don't slaughter me if you disagree with one of them, let me know why and lets see what comes out.
a) Improve transportation, better flow around and through Central Park, Celebrate VA, and the Fall Hill corridor. I want to improve throughput on our existing roads, and petition the state and neighboring counties to improve flow through the city.
b) Better biking and walking into and around the city. Bike lanes on renovated roadways, better sidewalks and walkways.
c) Reduce the city's 6% jobless rate. Incentivize diversity in the business market, to expand the city's base from retail and tourism to include commercial and tech. Promote development of the city industrial park. Evaluate the areas slated for business vs. residential and make sure they continue to make sense. Is there interest in the community for a mixed use zoning?
d) Maintain residents' property rights. Enhance buffer zones, evaluate dark sky and anti-glare ordinances, investigate transport solutions to resolve conflicts between residential and heavy retail/commercial. Keep taxes in check.
e) Optimize government, save where we can in overhead so that we can spend on services.

#5 - I'm someone who you're as likely to see wearing shorts and a t-shirt, as a business suit. We live in Altoona subdivision off of Rt3, two stoplights from I-95. Hobbies range from doing yard work on the weekends to going scuba diving with family and friends (and writing this blog).

Again, these are in no particular order. So now I want to hear from you(click here or the Contact Author link at the right of this page), and so does City Council. Without having an election, they have put a slot on the calendar at the Sept 9th meeting to hear from residents on the candidates. I hope you support me, Bryan Metts.