District 9 League of Women Voters Questionnaire: Brian Beaulieu
For the Gazette
STEVENS POINT — The League of Women Voters recently had candidates from the District 9 and school board primary races on Feb. 19 answer three important questions regarding their candidacy. All answers are verbatim below.
Brian Beaulieu
Brief Biography
I am currently 34 years old, born and raised in Stevens Point with my ancestors settling in the Stevens Point area around the 1840’s, I am unmarried and have no children, I live with and care my physically disabled mother. I attended both the local Catholic and Public Schools graduating from SPASH (Stevens Point Area Senior High). After High School, I attended and graduated with Honors from Mid-State Technical College, with an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice – Law Enforcement; although I chose not to pursue a career as a police officer. After graduating from Mid-State I went on to work for Sears Holdings Corporation as a Mobile Service Technician working on household appliances, lawn & garden and fitness equipment. I left Sears Holdings in May of 2017 to work at the Expera Mosinee Paper Mill and transferred to the Verso Stevens Point Paper Mill in May of 2018 where I currently work as a Broke Pulper Operator in the Stock Prep Department. I have lived in District 9 since June of 2005 when I bought my home on Elk Street. I have a passionate hobby for collecting and working on classic & antique automobiles and like most Midwestern folks I enjoy engaging in pretty much all outdoor activities including fishing, boating, camping & hunting.
Why are you running for this office?
I am running for this office because I and many residents in District 9 feel that some members of our current council have lost sight of what they are supposed to do, primarily representing your district constituents. The residents in my district expressed that they feel some current council members are disconnected with the residents of their respective districts and aren’t really being a true representation of their constituent’s views; rather voting for what the council members want. If elected I am hoping I can help restore that balance on the council and actually represent my constituents and be the voice that they deserve. If the current council stays on its current path it is likely that they will alienate and lose the trust of the citizens of Stevens Point.
What top three challenges do you see the city of Stevens Point Facing during your term in office?
A. With the recently announced closer of the downtown Shopko I would say finding a business or businesses that want to occupy that space will be a priority. As bad as it is that Shopko is closing its almost a blessing in disguise, since it’s one of the last remaining parts of a mall that many residents said should have never been built. If this site is redeveloped it presents the city with an opportunity to revitalize a big part of our downtown that was severely scarred when the Center Point Mall was constructed at the end of a “Trend”. Staying on the topic of Shopko Closing many of our senior residents and people that are within walking distance of downtown are losing a convenient place to get their essentials, including a pharmacy and vision center. I have received a ton of input from the residents in District 9 that we need to get a grocery store with a pharmacy either downtown or across the Clark Street Bridge on the Westside of town. Many people in district 9 and surrounding districts don’t have a car or are physically unable to ride a bike to get to other places in town, so they either take the bus or walk to places that don’t exceed their ability. I would have to agree with residents on this as with travel options they have they are somewhat restricted to what they could purchase from locations which are further away.
Another area of concern for the city should be the stalled Eastside by Fleet Farm; there are many empty retail spaces out there that aren’t being utilized. Yet there is a proposal to build another strip mall over by the Holiday Inn. If we are having challenges finding businesses to fill the existing spaces is it a wise decision to have another strip mall be built that may in 5 or 10 sit empty as well? Maybe we should consider rezoning some of these areas to light industrial to encourage small business start-ups like microbreweries or small scale manufacturing that might need an industrial zoning but don’t need a 5,000+ square foot space right away.
B. As we have seen some promising developments being proposed and approved by our current council I can’t help but be a little pessimistic about the amount of apartment complexes that will be built in an effort to provide “affordable” housing. This is also a concern that many district 9 residents have shared with me. We could easily fix the affordable housing issue if we rewrote one of our current ordinances and allowed some zoning changes to let more than 2 unrelated people live in the same dwelling; if it was changed to 3 or 4 depending on the amount of bedrooms in the dwelling, it would greatly increase housing options for people who are looking at living on their own especially the younger generation just entering adulthood. My concern with building all these complexes is that they will remain unfilled to capacity for some time into the foreseeable future especially with declining enrollment at the UWSP. I like to see new developments and economic growth as much as the next person but are we really doing it right.
C. Another challenge the city will be facing is the rate of degradation of our roads and infrastructure, especially on the Southside & Westside of town which have some of the oldest roads in the city. Some of these roads are also designated commercial truck routes and these roads weren’t designed for that type of use when they were built. These older roads also potentially have lead water mains/headers under them so that should be big concern. We are the “City of Wonderful Water” but how wonderful can it be if there is a chance of lead poisoning when you turn on the faucet in your house. The older roads, water mains and sewer lines should be taking priority on the capital projects list in the budget not road restriping. While talking about the budget the city should be less inclined to grant TIF funding to out of state developers and builders. That money is not staying local if goes to out of state developers. Utilizing local developers and builders as much as we can will only strengthen our city and our community while truly keeping our tax dollars here.
For more information on where and how to vote on Feb. 19, visit https://stevenspoint.com/107/Elections-Voting