City Council District #12Voter Guide 2018

Transcription

1 City Council District #12Voter Guide 2018 Question Cathy Spears, Inc. Nate Wolff 1. Tell us about yourself, your background and your interest in the City Council seat. My name is Cathy Spears and I have been a homeowner in the District for 20 years. I have lived in Appleton for over 30 years. I obtained my leadership training through my activities in the Appleton Area Jaycees (Junior Chamber of Commerce). These activities taught me how to work with the city government and how to actively make our community a better place to live. Serving as Wisconsin Jaycee President and National Jaycee Vice-President gave me more leadership opportunities. Growing up my parents taught us to volunteer. My other volunteer activities included March of Dimes, Special Olympics, Hugh O Brien Youth Leadership Days, 9 th and 10 th grade Religion Teacher. In 2004 my alderperson decided not to run for office again. My neighbors and friends encouraged me to run. As an independent, I do not belong to a political party, the nonpartisan local government office was a perfect fit for my desire to continue to serve the Appleton community. My pledge to our District was to be their voice. 2. Explain your views on the proposed multiuse public library at Soldier s Square. 3. Which is more important, a new library or fixing the streets (like Linwood)? Currently, I am in the "listening stage" of my constituent's views during this decisionmaking process regarding the proposed multi-use library. The library and the roads are equally important to Appleton. Each come from different funds. The Wheel Tax is utilized for our street reconstruction and the library comes from the tax levy. Building a new library would be a capital expense and come from a different fund.

2 4. What is your feeling on the effectiveness of the wheel tax and should it be continued? 5. Do we need more police? How will you keep our neighborhoods safe? 6. There is a loud car and vehicle problem in Appleton. Will you introduce an ordinance and fines for nonstandard vehicle devices? 7. Fair districting is on the ballot for Outagamie County. What are your thoughts on this? Initially, I voted against the Wheel Tax because the majority of my District was against it. Personally, now I am glad that we have it. My heart always broke when we would hear from young homeowners about their large assessments due to their streets undergoing reconstruction. Many did not know how they could afford to live in their houses any longer. Currently assessments are on the utility replacement portion before the street is reconstructed. Appleton has the lowest per capita police to citizen ratio in Wisconsin. In the 2018 budget, we added a Mental Health Officer and I think we need to evaluate if more of that type of officer would be beneficial to Appleton. We also need to evaluate how much of our police resources are dedicated to the entertainment District. Neighborhoods are safer when the bonds between neighbors are stronger. I encourage people to consider having neighborhood watch groups - our next District 12 Learning Session will feature that topic. Our Community and Economic Development department runs a registered Neighborhood Program. There are loud vehicles throughout the entire city which many already are in violation of the noise ordinance. The problem is enforcement; by the time the complaint is filed - the car has left the area. My plan is to address this when we evaluate the Noise Variance at the Board of Health meetings in the future. As a member of the Outagamie County Board and Legislative Audit/Human Resources Committee, I supported this non-binding referendum. It is due to the gerrymandering that occurred after the last censes. In the past, both parties have been guilty of this abuse of power to control

3 8. There is an upcoming proposal to remove size restrictions on public murals. How would you vote? 9. What do you feel is the most important issue facing Appleton in the short term? In the long term? future election outcomes. Currently, there are several lawsuits that may determine what happens in Wisconsin prior to the November election. Since I have not seen the language in the code change proposal, I will not comment on my district s vote. Short Term: Equity in resource allocation. Much of the tax levy funds are spent on one or two areas of the city. The key to the future success of Appleton is for the city to invest in other economic corridors; Richmond Street and Wisconsin Avenue need to be considered for future city investments. Key Issues that will affect the future of Appleton include: 1. Economic Development: Attraction and retention of businesses that provide good paying jobs for our citizens. This will also provide growth for our tax base. 2. Maintain the high level of quality services without increase cost to the taxpayer. Constantly be looking for cost savings. 3. Invest in sustainable green practices to decrease energy costs. A great example of this is the Biogas Project at the wastewater plant. I served on the Utility Committee when we supported the composting pilot project: fall leaves with the lime sludge from wastewater treatment plant to create usable compost. 4. Promote safety and encourage active neighborhood watch groups. 5. Enhancement of quality of life issues - parks and providing a variety of activity opportunities for all ages. 6. Maintaining Valley Transit Service and advocating the development of a Regional Transit Authority

4 10. If you want to reduce or cut spending by the city, what would you cut and by how much? 11. Has there been any discussion about the parking issues at the Fox Cities Exhibition Center? County employees now park in the ramp and this is causing issues for people attending events at the Exhibition Center and in the downtown as a whole. 12. How do you feel about dogs in the park? 7. Maintaining and repairing our infrastructure; including pipes, sewers and streets. Appleton has its own law, put in place by the tax payers for our own levy limitations. This makes the entire Council, Staff and Mayor work hard to control the city s expenditures. We have a very low debt ratio compared to other Wisconsin Cities. The budget process has every standing committee review their area of the budget. We ask questions of the Directors and staff during this process. On budget Saturday the Finance Committee reviews the entire budget presented by the Mayor. We constantly look for ways to control expenses. This last year I advocated for a change of expenditures that allowed for the planning of bathroom design for Summit Park. The idea of this is to use this design as a template for other parks that do not have bathrooms County employees now park in the ramp and this is causing issues for people attending events at the Exhibition Center and in the downtown as a whole. According to our current parking study, there are no problems. I reached out to our Director of Public Works and she confirmed that the ramp by the Exhibition Center only reaches capacity when there is a yearly luncheon at the hotel. She also confirmed that many of the County employees wanted to park in the green ramp instead of the ramp by the exhibition center. I believe that the current ordinance is a happy compromise. People must use the sidewalks to walk their dogs through the park. Park and Recreation Grounds Staff are monitoring where and how much fecal matter is encountered. Some mothers from my District voiced their concerns regarding

5 13. What would you like added to quality of life for Appleton residents in general and for your specific district? 14. What are your thoughts on replacing most or all of the yield signs with stop signs, especially as increased rental properties bring an increase in the number of vehicles per residence? 15. A basic service of the city is WATER treatment of waste water and the water we use. allowing dogs to be near the pavilion and the play areas. They did not feel it was safe for their children. The quality of life has improved for my District since We no longer have the flooding issue on the west side of the District. When I was elected, I was presented with pictures of kayak s and canoes floating down our District s streets. I advocated for the storm water plans to be implemented in our district. Our parks are important to the quality of life in our District and throughout the city. I have supported the trestle/riverfront trail system development both on the county and city levels of government. We have new playground equipment in both parks. The tennis court at Summit Park have been striped for Pickle Ball. Summit Park will host the first Pickle Ball League this summer. The walkability of our city and the commitment we continue to make to the sidewalk program enhances the quality of life and the safety for our community. The cost of replacing yield signs with stop signs would be a large expense for the citizens of Appleton. Most of our city streets can absorb much more traffic than what citizens think is normal. Evaluations are made by our traffic engineer to determine if the accidents reported at intersections in the city need a change in signs; from an uncontrolled intersection to a yield sign or a yield sign to a stop sign. Appleton water has won national awards for it s quality. At the commission of the water treatment plant there were many challenges with water production. Never was the water unsafe for consumption by our citizens or customers.

6 How is Appleton doing? What problems/issues related to Water does Appleton face? 16. Why should I vote for YOU? We have changed to a safe and costeffective UV light sterilization process and are poised for the growth of our city. In the wastewater area we continue to decrease our costs by the Biogas Project Since 2004, I have listened to the District and have advocated for improvements; including retaining the tennis courts at Summit Park, new playground equipment in both Summit and Kiwanis Parks. My ongoing commitment is to reduce the flooding that plagued the western area of the District. In the 2018 budget consideration, I lead the effort to fund the planning for a bathroom in Summit Park and I would like to be in office to ensure this happens. Appleton is a fantastic city to live in and I want to serve the citizens of District 12 by working hard to preserve our quality of life and keep our tax rate as low as possible. An independent voter I am not affiliated with any group or party. I am willing to listen to multiple viewpoints prior to making any decision. My desire is to serve the citizens in District 12 and I enjoy helping them with navigating the city departments to obtain assistance and serve We have a major decision regarding the library placement. I am actively seeking the input of District 12 citizens. I want to listen to their opinions before casting a vote on the issue.