|
 |
Brown calls for city-wide street repair, planning
|
|
|
Mayoral candidate Sharon Brown says if she is elected mayor of Clay Center she will begin "immediately" finding ways to finance repair of all streets in the city.
The city council president also told Clay Center Rotarians Thursday noon that if she is elected she will resign her position as director of the Clay Center Chamber of Commerce.
"Both jobs need full time attention," Brown said.
Brown said the streets repair project could be funded either by a long term loan from USDA Rural Development funds alone or by general obligation bonds or a combination of the two.
She said Rural Development has offered funds to the city not only for the infrastructure around the proposed Center Heights housing development northeast of the Clay Center Community Middle School, but also for the rest of the city.
"If we're borrowing for Central Heights we owe it to our citizens to repair all our streets," Brown said.
She said the loan or bonds could be paid back with tax revenue, including sales tax revenues which have been increasing, or increasing the sales tax itself. "Nothing is free," Brown said. "But housing will pay off in the long run."
She said fifty military families have moved to Clay Center alone in the last year. Military personnel interested in Clay Center tend to be families looking for excellent schools and a safe place for a spouse during deployment.
"For that, Clay Center is a community ranking near the top," Brown said.
She said she would push for more long range planning in the city, something "we do not do enough of now."
"City government tends to be reactive rather than proactive," Brown said.
Brown said she would promote improving technology with a user-friendly and informative web site citizens could use to find information including the city's building codes.
She said she would call for joint city, county, school and hospital board meetings at least annually and pledged to attend the meetings of those bodies to improve communications. She said she would call on the city council to hold regular study sessions to keep council members as informed as possible on ongoing events.
During a question session, Brown said the city negotiating with the developer of Center Heights and are waiting for a response to the city's last offer. She said the housing project will be built in phases and that the off-site infrastructure might be done in phases also, if that is the best way to go financially.
She said she voted for the new city water treatment plant because regulations coming from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment will soon mandate standards that will require the water to be treated.
"The price (of a new plant) is not going to go down," Brown said. "It won't be less two years down the road.
Brown said the issue of a new municipal swimming pool should go before voters on a ballot if groups promoting the matter bring the issue to the council.
"Either the city or county can put the issue on the ballot. Then voters could decide if this is something they want to do or something they're willing to pay for."
She said she agreed that city employees should be drug tested regularly as a safety issue related to workers compensation and to set a good example. "It would demonstrate that this is a community norm, that we expect city employees to be drug free," Brown said.
She said streets and drugs were among top concerns citizens mentioned in a recent survey conducted by the Economic Development Group.
Brown faces incumbent mayor Don Reed and council member Shiela Backstrom in a primary runoff Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2006..
|
|
©Clay Center Dispatch 2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
angi cranmer |
Feb, 06 2007 |
| |
Good Ideas Sharon.I wish you all the Luck you deserve.
GETTERDONE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
