hello Park Township and hello everyone online uh I'm so happy to see you again especially after yesterday that was the first day that I announced my campaign and I started to dive deep into a little bit about my opinions on certain policies and about certain reforms that are currently happening in Park Township today um so I just wanted to say thank you for listening thank you for being here thank you for watching and I can't wait to embark on this journey with I mean really all of you so I I did want to talk a little bit about yesterday's speech and uh about some of the responses I got from you um when we were talking about the schools and we were talking about the school shootings and how that is such a big problem um today I had one response and one comment that was basically um well what are you going to do about it what are your Solutions and it's a fair point it's a fair question and it's a question that needs to be asked and my answer to that is simply we need to do everything we can to stop it without infringing on our rights as Americans um and that are founding fathers put into place for example I am 100% opposed to any ideology threatening your Second Amendment right to bear arms however technology today is improving okay we are living in a world that is so Advanced it's it's hard to comprehend how smart some people are because I don't I couldn't be that smart but there's there's Technologies like omn alert and like evolve Express and what these people do it's it's actually super super cool on every entrance to the doors like when you walk in uh to a school it'd be discreetly hidden above the door entrance every single door and it's specifically designed to only um detect Firearms to only detect guns rifles pistols whatever only detect Firearms which immediately sends a response and it immediately sends a hazard and an alert saying that a threat has entered the premise um there's definitely a lot more Technologies than omnilert and evolve Express that I'm not naming however it's important for all of us to really just understand that there is things that we can do to better the problem and solve the problem to the best that we can without infringing on any of our rights god-given rights as Americans I did also want to talk about uh my stance on and my opinion on the need for lifeguards at our beaches I got one response um from a from a fellow Park Township resident that watched and she told me she said Kevin um the reason that we don't have lifeguards is because we're scared of lawsuits we're scared that we're going to get sued um and I had to take that one I had to slow myself down and and um really understand where they're coming from because it's a valid point I get it um but I'm a big believer that no matter what the problem is if there's a will there's a way no life should ever be sacrificed for the scaredness and the the thought of potentially having to go through a lawsuit we need lifeguards and we need now I firmly believe that I have been a swimmer my entire life um I have jumped off the pier a million times and we need lifeguards I I'm not saying that I'm perfect I'm not saying that I'm smart by saying that that's just a fact the only opposition is that we could go through a lawsuit that is not more important than life or death that is not money is is material money is replaceable a life is not we need to protect our citizens and our residents lives and prioritize their safety and get lifeguards at our beaches and even if you're still worried if we have lifeguards and you're still worried about a lawsuit there's still things that we can do you know to to make sure that we don't have to go through something like that because it wouldn't be fun um we could have people sign a waiver before they enter the park we could put signs up all over the place swim at your own risk swim at your own risk swim at your own risk swim at your own risk swim at your own risk you wouldn't be able to enter the park without knowing that you are swimming at your own risk um and it is not up to the Lifeguard to save you they're going to do everything they can but it is not up to the Lifeguard to save you so we can't let a lawsuit a potential lawsuit get in the way of safety of our residents and our tourists because that is what's important our safety is what's important and I know yesterday uh you you probably heard me speaking you were like who the heck is this guy I've never seen this guy in my life and you know it's a fair point so I I wanted to take some time today and and and go over a little bit about myself and and for me to for me to have the a chance to tell you why I am fit for this job you know as a local business owner I I I own Lakeside property Masters I founded Lakeside property Masters a Park Township based um cleaning service company cleaning service as well as applications uh staining and sealing and we do it all uh we do good work too so anyone watching this you know feel free to give us a call we'd be more than happy happy to help out but I am incredibly proud you know with the work that we have done and how much we have grown in the past year um and in the past few months we have grown exponentially and I have uh developed through myself and through my mentors I had one Mentor that is really close to me his name is Rob he's so smart and he has told me so many great great pie pieces of advice that it stick with me to this day wear your brand at all times invest in yourself uh you know there's always look at the bigger picture this man is a genius this man is an entrepreneur and this man is someone I looked up to so thank you Rob but Lakeside property Masters we have done so well we we really have done incredible and it has been based on a a four-step principle for me one we invested I invested almost everything I had into this business and into this growth and success because I knew that it was going to be successful um number two is share you share the wealth everyone that was along with the journey and and part of the journey and who did so much not only uh for me and made me proud of them but for us for Lakes sub property Masters and for Park Township because you know as a 20-year-old I am young I know I'm young but our youth you know because I know there's some of you that are 20 or or even below that still can vote we can't let our youth and we can't let the Youth of Park Township be judged and their intelligence be judged based on their age that is ridiculous okay if someone doubts you because of your age and because of you're young and and they say you're too young to do something go out and prove them wrong I am fit for this job and I am fit for this position regardless of my age I have the intellectual experience and I have the business Acumen okay we have grown so much I we have built so much um and I could not have done any of this without every single one of the Lakeside property Masters family so I thank you guys because because you guys are the ones that are working hard and you guys are the ones that make me want to do big things and make me um confident and y'all you guys are incredible I could list all of you but I don't know if you want to remain conf I I don't know um so thank you guys just know thank you I I also um I did want to mention a little bit about my family I'm sure a lot of you guys know my siblings they are incredible um but my parents and my siblings have done so much for me and instilled me with not only the drive not only the confidence not only the Charisma not only the passion not only the will to succeed and not only the daringness to take risks but they have inspired me to do big things to do great things and to not be satisfied um when other people say you're doing great when other people think you're doing great you're not satisfied until you have made a difference I will not be satisfied until I know that I made Park Township back and I took Park Township from where it was and I put it back on the right path to succeed and to grow because right now I'm going to get into this later um as a as much of a positive guy as I am I think we are headed down a path that uh will be detrimental you know and might not be in one year it might not be in two years it might not be in five but for the long-term growth of Park Township we need someone who is here to stay who represents the youth who represents a diverse yet enthusiastic group of people that haven't been represented in government that is why I am the perfect candidate to write in I miss the primaries you know I I um probably signed up for this a little bit too late and also that there has never been there has never been one right in candidate from Park Township to win and uh be elected a spot on the Board of Trustees however I have the utmost confidence and I am 100% sure that with all of you and all of your help um we will do this together because this is a tough task a daunting task to many but oh boy am I excited I am not scared of this okay none of this scares me this is fun this is enjoyable and we can do this together that's the only way we can do this I can't do this by myself um but back to my family I get sidetracked sorry but back to my family my dad uh he's the definition of Charisma of passion of enthusiasm and of optimism I remember uh we were at an Iowa football game um a couple years back he's the biggest Iowa football fan and um they were four and eight the year before so four wins eight losses for those of you who don't know football um but he was so confident uh he was so confident that they were going to win a National Championship and me you know his young kid he got me so excited he was like let's go they're going to win a National Championship um you know he just it's so uplifting and it's so positive and it's so fun to be around I have learned so much from you Dad so thank you and Mom you are the definition of will of Nothing is Impossible of drives and you have taught me to always follow my passion do what I feel is right not what others think that I should do I am always going to choose my own path and carve my own path and I may be labeled as a disruptor by many but I know by the few who who know me well and know me personally like you that I learned that from you mom and I'm not a disruptor I am a man who is trying to inspire a group of people to make a change to be the change because this is the only way that we can grow as a community and this is just a start let me make that clear this is just a start of what we are going to do together um now I remember there was a story from my mom we went to Indianapolis uh for my brother Derek's swim meet and we got there um actually I was there too we got there and Derek checked his swim bag and he was like oh gosh forgot my suit my for for those of you who don't know swimmers they have like Tech suits so they're super tight they're expensive they are you know Jammers but they're he he forgot his nice suit um and my mom was like okay no problem I'll just drive back and get it we got there at 10 p.m. she went back to Holland she drove back to Holland she got to Holland at 5:00 a.m. back to Indianapolis at 10:00 a.m. she drove 15 hours in a row for my brother to swim his race and Derek swam incredible um but we were surrounded by someone who did not uh say no to a daunting task because it was daunting and never um put it in her head that something was impossible if there's a will there's a way so thank you Mom for showing me um that I need to follow my passion and I I need to do what I think is best for me and that I am never going to doubt myself so thank you mom um next I want to talk about and thank my oldest brother Kyle Kyle you are the best role model that any younger brother could ask for um for those of you who don't know Kyle um he is just the best role model he is consistent he shows up and he will not let you down he is a hard worker and he is someone that I look up to um a fun fact about Kyle is actually he has never sworn you know this man is in his mid 20s and he has never sworn I have never heard a cuss word come out of his mouth I remember there was times we would listen to some rap songs I would play I would have the ox and I would play his uh um his favorite song and that had a few cuss words and no he didn't he didn't even when we tried to bait him even when we paused it right before uh the f bomb he still wouldn't so thank you Kyle for being the best role model you know a younger brother like me could ask for uh next I want to thank Jenna Jenna you are so empathetic you are selfless and you have been someone that I can count on when I'm down and when I feel like I need to talk talk to someone who's not going to judge who is going to try to hear me out from my perspective not immediately jump to conclusions and most importantly not judge so thank you Jenna for showing me that you know it it it's it's not something where you uh nobody has the right to say what you're doing is wrong or say what you're doing is right because they're not you and you have always tried to listen to me and just hear me out hear my perspective um because that's all you cared about all you wanted to do was hear me so thank you Jenna um Jenna is is is so so so so empathetic and I I could not be appreciative um I could not be more appreciative for all that you've done for me and last but not least Derek my roommate of 15 years growing up thank thank you Derek for showing me what true work ethic is what true um consistency is and um allowing yourself uh to let what maybe might bring others down and factors that maybe might make others give up you let that motivate you and you let you you let that make you be a better person make you be a better swimmer make you be a better doctor this man is is incredible and I mean yeah I'm going to tell a little story about Derek when he was a sophomore he didn't have the best year when he was swimming you know there's a lot of factors with uh you know the virus and with certain regulations on swimming times and this and that there was there's a lot of things that that maybe set him back but Derrick had a down year a sophomore year um but you know what he did he Fu he let that and he let his sophomore experience and his sophomore pain of not swimming the best he could motivate him and he let that fuel the fire of exploding in his junior year of college uh this man is we won three SEC titles in swimming and thank you Derek for showing me that anything's possible but also showing me that you know you got to have a motivator and something you got to have an edge if you want to be successful you got to have the edge um so I always look for any sort of edge I can and thank you Derek for for teaching me you maybe you didn't even teach me you didn't even realize you were teaching me but um you showed me that you need an edge to be successful Park Township needs an edge and ladies and gentlemen writing me in gives us that edge um we want we want uh someone with my perspective on our team but thank you to all of my family they they are the definition I could never live up to what they're doing because every single one of them um is dedicating and sacrificing the rest of their life uh for the better good of our community my mom and dad are both Radiologists of over 30 years reading x-rays reading MRIs reading CTS um and telling the surgeons uh which which you know bones are broken which tendons are snap to which nerves are yeah shattered I I don't know I'm not a big doctor but um they are and they are so smart and they're so willing to help but that's what doctors do that's what the people in medicine do uh Kyle and Derek are both in med school at NYU and at Vanderbilt and Jenna is an occupational therapist they have all dedicated their life um for the better good of humanity and the better good of our community so thank you um thank you to my whole family because I know you're watching thank you to my whole family for showing me uh to be selfless you know to think about the Community First and yourself second so thank you guys I also want to shout out some of my cousins because I wouldn't be here without them either Jonathan Jessica Eddie Margie sha Logan Cameron and uh JJ and Connor thank you guys for uh always being so supportive to me um in times that maybe were tough for all of us in times that were great for some rough for a few it doesn't matter you always showed me support you always showed me love um and I will be forever grateful for all of you for that and I did want to say one last thing uh about my late cousin Jonathan I miss you I love you and um and I'm going to see you soon and I can't wait to see you soon um but there's there is things that we need to take care of here first and um and I know it's going to be a long time but I can't wait to see you but we got some things to take care of before I can see you and one of those things um has to do with short-term rentals of Park Township because as silly as this sounds and some people may not be interested this is important to all of us okay this affects Park Township's overall economy every single business in Park township is affected by short-term rentals and on November 10th 20 2022 the Park Township Board voted six to zero to ban short-term rentals and you may think this and be like Oh 60 it was an easy Choice uh but I am a big believer in knowing the facts and hearing the facts hearing the why the stats not not someone's opinion hearing the stats then forming your own opinion so that's what I'm going to do and that's what I'm going to help do um for all of us right now 49% of restaurant sales in Park Township came from tourists okay and I mean that that's incredible because you know Park Township we're we're a big Community we have a lot of restaurants but 49% of our sales came from people not in Park Township people love coming here people love staying here and we as an economy rely on tourism it's just a fact um 39% of home owners in Park Township spend 220,000 so much money um 39% of homeowners in Park Township spend $20,000 um annually on Services um on local services like cleaning services lawn care maintenance you name it um for the better good of their property and they are so much more likely uh to spend this kind of money on these kind of services um if they are getting a return on their investment hence short-term rentals two out of three businesses in Park Township have said and made their voice clear that short-term rentals benefit their business 2third 66.6% of businesses that's a lot of people um and and one one harm that's a statistic fact is that short-term rentals the ban of short-term rentals could cause service-based businesses like cleaning services and like lawn care to lose up to 100% of their contracts because you know like we said a couple um a couple stats ago people residents homeowners are way more likely to buy certain services and to invest in their property if they're getting a return on their investment I mean it just it makes sense so I I do need to neglect my bias because I am a service-based business and I represent the CEO of a service-based business so um just understand that when I say that but when we did this and when we banned short-term rentals in 2022 Park Township saw a 6% decrease in home value so really not much 0.6% that's nothing so if the $100,000 home 2021 and 2022 uh it would have been 0 6% less than that uh which would probably be around $600 so it would be $99,450 and we need to understand that we don't have to jump immediately to level 100 immediate ban there is other Alternatives and there's things that we can do to make sure that that that we are in a place to succeed and we are in a place that that welcomes tourism and also welcomes our economy supports our economy you know we we could just by having strict regulations being strict with regulations on short-term rentals um would not necessarily uh need a a ban you don't need a ban if you have strict regulations you know you could require owner occupancy you know you could require that the the the public reporting you know you you let the public know when you are doing short-term rentals uh you know we could make it seasonal only that's a super easy thing to do we could could only allow short-term rentals in Tulip Time I don't know but there is things that we can do we can even just add licensing and registration for short-term rentals through Park Township just to add one extra step um you know to to make it where if you want to do short-term rentals you have to want to do it and uh we can add another step to you know I hate to say just make it more hard but yeah make it more hard I don't know whatever you want to call it limit the amount of number we can put caps on short-term rentals uh that's something they do in Asheville North Carolina you guys can look that up if you want to know more about that um or just zoning regulations you can only allow certain uh short-term rentals in a certain geographic area that makes sense for it uh and that limits the overuse of short-term rentals and say other areas that are strictly residential and and owner occupied um and as the CEO of a service-based business and a local Park Township business um you know this scares me it really does scare me short-term rentals should not have been banned short-term rentals are good and were good for our economy and the majority of business owners say that they were better off when short-term rentals were not banned in Park Township so we as a community need to look at it need to reflect on our decision back two years ago in 2022 need to look at what happened need to look at What the residents say need to look at what the business owners say and come to a conclusion um I bring a perspective you know as a 20-year-old I bring a perspective to the table to short-term rentals because I am a business owner and I have seen you know people you know in the city of Holland a lot of people landlords do short-term rentals and a lot more of people there um who do those rentals are more likely uh to get maintaining on their property get continuous maintenance on their property contracts on their property um because that that's that's what we all want at the end of the day so if you have an opinion on short-term rentals and if you have a strong opinion or as a Park Township resident or just as a resident literally who lives anywhere and has an opinion on it leave a comment down below and join the discussion because you know for the billionth time I know I didn't say it a billion times but I can't do this alone and I need your help and just by you telling me your voice and you telling me your perspective I gain A New Perspective and I gain a new level of intelligence because I am hearing the voice of a large quantity of people that the other candidates maybe don't have so I'm so lucky that I can have a voice and I can have a platform like this to talk to you and uh you know to work together as a team because it's all about the team and we're going to see that today I'm sure when some of you guys are watching this Michigan already played Texas or they're about to play uh and that's going to be a great game but you're going to see both Michigan and tex both every sport okay every corporation every business every church every single group of people that works together for a common goal and for a common purpose is a team I want to rely on you and I want to listen to you and let your voice be heard in Park Township government so without further Ado I I want good for Park Township I do and you can't tell me otherwise because that's the main thing I want I'm Kevin Joss and I approve this message