Meet the Candidates: Feb. 16 primary election
By the LWVSPA
STEVENS POINT – The League of Women Voters of the Stevens Point Area is committed to providing voters with education about issues and candidates for local elections.
On Feb. 16, voters in Stevens Point District No. 9 will choose from a slate of three candidates vying to represent that district.
The league solicited responses to a list of questions from all three candidates. Responses were not limited in length, nor were they edited by the league or the Gazette.
Brian Beaulieu
What made you decide to run for City Council?
I am running for this office because I and many residents in the 9th district feel that some current members on the city council have lost sight of what they are supposed to do, which is primarily to represent your district constituents and what they want. Residents I’ve spoken with have expressed, that they feel a majority of the current council members are still disconnected with the residents of their respective districts, and aren’t really a true representation of their constituent’s views; instead pushing through and voting for items on their own personal agenda and their wish list of “pet projects.” If elected, I am hoping I can restore that balance on the council and actually represent my constituents and be the voice that they deserve. If the city council stays on its current path, it’s likely they will further alienate and continue to lose the trust of the citizens of Stevens Point.
What do you think are the three most important issues facing Stevens Point and what are your ideas for addressing them?
Economic Development
With the recent impact of the COVID-19 pandemic many of our small businesses are struggling and are at risk of possibly closing their doors for good. The city needs to step up and develop programs to help the struggling small businesses, whether it’s in the form of low or differed interest loans or grants, or by working with the county to ease capacity limits caused by the pandemic. Really the only way to save these small businesses is to get people to these businesses to buy their goods and services. After all the small businesses are really the hearts of a community.
The city still has great opportunities to attract more businesses here; all we have to do is look at the Eastside on Highway 10, because there are numerous empty retail spaces out there. Maybe we should consider rezoning some of these areas to light industrial to encourage small business start-ups like microbreweries that are becoming popular, or small scale manufacturing that might need an industrial zoning but don’t need a 5,000 plus square foot space right away. There are also several developable commercially zoned lots throughout the city that have been sitting vacant for years now. The city leadership needs to work with the property owners to come up with new strategies to market these properties to perspective buyers and developers.
Housing & Residential Growth
Now that we are seeing the building and completion of a few of the new apartment complexes, we should start seeing the efforts made to attract a younger generation of people to our community; as well as providing housing options for people that might not want to purchase a home. My initial feeling about these housing projects still exists from two years ago, when I ran for the 9th district seat on the city council; that was the feeling of being pessimistic about the actual amount of “affordable housing” options being offered. This is also a concern that many district 9 residents have shared with me, especially for those that live in Edgewater Manor. Granted having these larger housing complexes built will increase the tax revenue generated and raise the overall value of the city of Stevens Point.
An option I still favor is rewriting some ordinances and allow some zoning changes to let more than two unrelated people live in the same dwelling; if it was changed to three or four people depending on the amount of bedrooms and facilities 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 and the workforce.
I like to see new developments and economic growth as much as the next person, but are we really doing it right? A prominent issue that will have to be immediately addressed is relocating the residents of Edgewater Manor to acceptable affordable housing.
Infrastructure
When citing infrastructure I mean our roads and city utilities and the continued rate of degradation the roads and city utilities are seeing. This is still a prevalent issue on the south and west sides of the city, which has some of the oldest roads. 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. The older roads also potentially have some very dated utility services (primarily water and sewer) under them, so that should be a factor when prioritizing road reconstruction projects. The older roads, water mains and sewer lines should be taking priority on the capital projects list in the budget, not the road diets and restriping projects being favored by the majority of the city council members.
Stevens Point has embarked on a Targeted Area Master Plan for Downtown Stevens Point. What are your thoughts or concerns regarding this plan?
I have mixed feelings about the Master Plan for Downtown; I am pleased that new life will be breathed into downtown, but I fear that too much of the soul of Stevens Point’s downtown will be lost. Or any future renovations to downtown will turnout poorly, like the reworked downtown “Square” that was done about 10 years ago. The governing body of Stevens Point has a bad track record when it comes to persevering its history and its historically significant buildings all in the name of “Progress.” If the city can manage to keep intact the remaining historical aspects of downtown Stevens Point and build on them, then the proposed “Master Plan” might actually work and be a good thing.
Are you aware of the proposal to assist Edgewater residents in acquiring acceptable and affordable housing? Do you support the proposal?
I am aware of the proposal to assist the residents of Edgewater to find acceptable and affordable housing. Using a social worker to help relocate and place the residents in different housing can be very helpful. I do support using outside sources to efficiently and expeditiously locate affordable housing. What we have to remember when talking about Edgewater Manor is that the rent there is not income based; it’s a set price of $585 per unit. So defining “affordable housing” could be determined by asking what percentage of a person’s income is considered affordable to acquire acceptable housing.
There are a few different avenues that can be pursued in an effort to locate acceptable affordable housing:
-The city could utilize the Edgewater Trust toward relocation fees and rent payments for the tenant’s new residence within the community. While keeping in mind that some of the residents qualify for rent vouchers and rent subsidies that can be applied towards the tenants rent of their new housing.
-There are funding programs available to property owner’s through the city to renovate older homes back into single family or multi-family homes. An example of this would be renovating a college rental house back into a standard single family rental or a duplex. This could be very viable given the declining enrollment at UWSP.
-Another option that could work; Would be to incentivize developers to build income based affordable housing for seniors — 55 and older — by changing or altering zoning codes and ordinances. Property owners and future developers could also be incentivized by utilizing tax breaks to make up the difference for the adjusted rental rates.
-A promising idea that could work and keep with current times is getting the City to work with the multiple mobile home parks within the city to develop areas for “tiny homes.” These homes are not only efficient and affordable, but it would work out rather well since mobile home parks are designed for multiple units. This idea would also help get some of the declining mobile home parks back into occupancy conditions and be zoning and building code compliant.
– Lastly with the recent announcement and sale of the former Saint Joseph’s Convent on Maria Drive, I would hope the city is working with the new owners on redevelopment plans to include efficiency apartments tailored toward seniors and acceptable affordable housing options.
What are your ideas for dealing with the City budget given strict property tax levy limits and uncertain levels of state aid?
The budget is always a big concern for city residents, and many residents have expressed that they still don’t approve of the abundant use of TIF funding to out of state developers and builders. My constituents and I are just asking that we be more conscientious about granting TIF funding to new proposals if they’re not from local developers.
Secondly the city council needs to stop diverting funds from previously approved capital projects to their own “pet projects.” You can’t keep putting off scheduled items year after year in favor of the next “pretty” or “trendy” thing; the old problems won’t just go away, and they will continue to get worse until they can’t be ignored anymore. At that point the problems will have only gotten worse and will cost exponentially more to fix.
If the city budget is coming close to the property tax levy limits then there is no reason to proceed with projects like the proposed $1.5 million bridge to connect two parts of the green circle trail. There is also no reason to continuously exceed state grants for projects by several tens of thousands of dollars over the initial approved cost. Obviously there aren’t enough people on the city council that believe in fiscal responsibility. The whole tax and spend theory only works when you stay within the budget. I would focus on prioritizing projects that need to be addressed now, over projects of lesser importance.
Polly Dalton
What made you decide to run for City Council?
I am running for alderperson of District 9 because it is how I feel called to take responsibility for my community. I enjoy participating in the visioning, planning, and policy-making at a local level and do my best to share my work with neighbors, so they understand what is going on and how they may like to be involved. With all that is going on in the world, it can be easy to miss out what is happening close to home. Many of the issues that come up at the city level directly affect one’s daily life and it is an arena where one can exert influence and make their voice heard.
What do you think are the three most important issues facing Stevens Point and what are your ideas for addressing them?
Maintaining infrastructure
Before we begin to add new roads, water mains, we need to consider where there are better properties to incentivize redeveloping. There are a variety of neglected commercial/industrial properties in the city’s interior that would benefit from some new life and energy.
Neighborly relations
I constantly hear stories and frustrations about seemingly simple interaction – fence lines, street and driveway parking frustrations, etc – that cause a lot of strife between neighbors. Yet, I also hear from people I desire to have better connection with the people in their neighborhood. I think the city should develop a neighbor mediation program to facilitate more positive and productive interactions between neighbors. This kind of neighborhood improvement shifts the focus away from crime-enforcement-punishing, leaving individuals feeling stressed and insufficient, to care-connection-compliance, leaving people feeling empowered and ready to engage. The city has resources available to help people improve their properties that go woefully underutilized. People who feel cared for in their community are in a better position to care for themselves, their properties, and extend that care for the people around them.
Manufactured budget crises
The city itself is in fine fiscal health. Some city leaders continue to push, when convenient to their opinion, that the tax levying equation is the only factor for making decisions. This has led to choices against the interest of our community – making refugees of low income seniors and handing out financial incentives to out of state developers who cannot perform basic professional due diligence environmental surveying prior to developing. It is unreasonable to think we will “grow” out of the problem. Our city services and operations need to appropriately fit our community and demographics.
Stevens Point has embarked on a Targeted Area Master Plan for Downtown Stevens Point. What are your thoughts or concerns regarding this plan?
Master plans are a very helpful exercise in imagining what ideal landscape and culture our community is moving towards. Obviously, no plan can account for the realities of the future and so are subject to change. I think the targeted area master plan looks at some really common sense solutions – such as altering traffic patterns — which right now work against bringing people into Downtown and spending time there.
One of the most concerning aspects to me and residents in my district, which I brought up in our discussions last winter, was the plan’s proposal that the current Edgewater manor property should be slated for luxury housing or commercial headquarter development. It is mind boggling to me that housing units for low income seniors – convenient to county resources, the library, the downtown, parks, bus routes, the Green Circle, and a serene setting – should be reset for those who are able to pay a high end premium. In my mind, the long term health benefits – physically, socially, psychologically – for individuals who live there pay for themselves many times over compared to an incremental property tax gain. (For the record, Edgewater Manor, though a city owned property, contributes a payment in lieu of taxes, to the levy of $44,000). I think we should be very concerned about selling off properties along the riverfront to whatever snazzy plans come before the council. I think very few people would think the Chase bank on the edge of Pfiffner Park adds to the overall quality of life. There is also a five-acre commercially zoned property, just across the river that has been available for years.
Are you aware of the proposal to assist Edgewater residents in acquiring acceptable and affordable housing? Do you support the proposal?
Yes, I did vote for the Edgewater resident relocation program. I did not support our overall course of action for Edgewater Manor. I was disappointed that my colleagues were unwilling to put the property out for proposals recruiting new private ownership. There is still useful life in the building itself, and it is a critical housing opportunity for at least 100 residents in our community, let alone future seniors in our area.
When the issue came up, I heard from three reputable developers who were interested in maintaining it as an affordable housing facility and taking on the necessary repairs. It would have been more palatable and very easy for them to access financing if the building was still at least partially occupied.
What are your ideas for dealing with the City budget given strict property tax levy limits and uncertain levels of state aid?
I try to enter most council discussions with the framework of how the city can be more self-sufficient and is the “how & what” that we are doing the best way we can go about it. One of my favorite quotes is “Creative thinking may be the simple realization that there is no particular virtue in doing things the way they have always been done.” Looking across the landscape of towns, villages, and cities across the state, we are all stuck in a decades old economic development model. We are all trying to recruit the young, bright minds from the next town over.
What I have really come to appreciate about Point is the incredible amount of ingenuity that is right here. It happens to be coupled with an incredible amount of technical skills across varying fields – from information technology to natural resources to mechanics. I think shifting our focus away from recruiting shiny, new things to putting more ownership, equity and value in the hands of residents helps to insulate us from the whiplash of state and federal politics.
Duane Munz
What made you to decide to run for city council?
I’m running to serve my community in which I live in, and to solve any problems that may arise. I’ve lived in the community for five years, and I am currently a residence of Edgewater Manor. I saw the opportunity for some improvements for District 9, and thought with my background I would be able to better assist with some of the projects.
What do you think are the three most important issues facing Stevens Point, and what are your ideas of addressing them?
The first one dealing with COVID-19; Face masks, social distancing, vaccinations according to the CDC guidelines.
The second one being housing; affordable low income for seniors with and without vouchers.
The last one is the economy; to open up closed businesses and continue to create jobs for the Stevens Point community.
Stevens Point has embarked on a targeted area master plan for downtown Stevens Point. What are your thoughts and concerns regarding this plan?
I agree with the redevelopment stage of some of the plans but there are some of the plans that I disagree with, one being the closing of Edgewater Manor. There are other areas that need redevelopment, including the empty building around the downtown area. One being Shopko, and various main street buildings that are sitting empty.
Are you aware of the proposal to assist Edgewater residents in acquiring acceptable and affordable housing? Do you support the proposal?
My answer is yes and no. I agree to some of the proposals to some of the residents, and disagree that the city is not able to help the residents on vouchers. Unfortunately, there is a reason they are on the vouchers because they cannot afford to move to the Berkshire Stevens Point apartment complex, which is directly across the street from Edgewater Manor. These residents that are on vouchers are on waiting lists at surrounding apartments with a waiting list of one to two years with no guarantees that they will find a place to live in the Stevens Point and surrounding area. That is why it is so important that the city council address these issues.
What are your ideas for dealing with the city budget given strict property tax levy limits and uncertain levels of state aid?
I agree in the property tax levy that the money should be spent for the education, police, fire, and any city utility commission. Whatever aid they could receive should be distributed among them. If any monies is left over, then it should not be used for any of the “pet projects” that are desired by the city council members. That includes any monies given to any corporation for incentives for redevelopment in the city of Stevens Point.