First C of C forum breaks little new ground

About two dozen people took time from their lunch break yesterday afternoon to hear what four of the eight Salisbury City Council hopefuls, including the lone incumbent running, had to say. The forum, sponsored by the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce and PACE, featured candidates Terry Cohen, Orville Dryden, Bruce Ford, and Laura Mitchell.

Unfortunately, the time constraints and format only allowed for a limited number of audience questions. In order, they dealt with the conduct of meetings, the prospect of adopting a city manager form of government, and a two-part question about a wastewater commission and bringing new development to the city. The candidates also made opening and closing statements.

Thus, the wayI’ve decided to tackle this is to summarize what each candidate had to say as a whole, beginning with Terry Cohen.

In one of the lengthier opening statements, Terry told us she ran originally because she “wanted to be a voice for the citizens of Salisbury.” A second term would be a continuation of this while she focused on a pair of priorities: crime, where we have “made headway but (are) not where we need to be”, and city finances.

When asked about the conduct of meetings Cohen reminded us that the “dotting of i’s and crossing of t’s is important” and work sessions need to be more productive places where details of legislation are hashed out. Yet the rules in place need to be about facilitation and not control. She also revealed, in the next question, that she would be “open” to the prospect of a city manager, but it’s not a priority item right now.

Terry was more in-depth about the wastewater treatment plant, reminding us that the city was a “guinea pig” for a new type of design and that fixing it may not necessarily cost $55 million, which was one figure tossed about. Once the plant can be brought up to standard, the need for fixing via the sequential list of solutions proposed would be over. She had a “high degree of confidence” in the suggestions presented.

As for development, one of the “key things” we need is to cut crime. But we also need to be cautious and judicious with incentives and focus on small, local businesses – the recent story of Evolution Brewing coming to Salisbury was a success thanks to some diligence on the city’s end.

She closed by reemphasizing she was running to serve once again.

On the other hand, Orville Dryden was perhaps the most succinct and understated of the four candidates.

It began with his introduction, where he recounted his past career as a postmaster and current job as a bailiff – it was a setting where he saw firsthand the effects crime had on the city. He vowed to work closely with the State’s Attorney and law enforcement to combat the problem while his other priority would be to keep and attract new businesses.

He was equally brief in answering the question about conduct, merely suggesting that a dose of common sense would help in allowing Council to work together. Dryden would also be “very open” to hiring a city manager, believing that a city this size may require one. However, he would also like to have an idea of how many hours a week the mayor puts into the job.

Orville also suggested a panel of experts for the wastewater plant, in conjunction with the Maryland Department of the Environment and thought impact fees were “too high.” To that end, he presented the idea of splitting the costs over a longer period of time to give fledgling businesses a break.

Dryden closed by suggesting the election was about the city and not the candidates, but also implored people to get out and vote.

Turning to Bruce Ford, he was a candidate who would be guided by one question: “is it right?”

In his opening he lamented the “slow decline” in both his neighborhood and the city at large, telling those assembled, “this cannot continue, something’s gotta change.” He wanted to address the issues which cause crime by acting on Mayor Ireton’s Safe Streets Initiative and encouraging change in the neighborhoods. Also, Ford called impact fees “horrendous” and said the wastewater treatment plant “doesn’t function” as it should.

He repeated the “is it right?” response in addressing the conduct of Council, noting also that “compromise and civility are tools.” Regarding a city manager, Bruce wondered if there would be more stability.

A wastewater treatment panel was a “good idea,” and Ford also asked a key question – when do we outgrow the system? But his ire became most apparent when discussing business development as he related a story about a local business which had to invest $8,000 into covering up already-installed (and approved) fire windows because of a mistake made by the city of Salisbury. Bruce claimed the business owner told him, “I wouldn’t come back to Salisbury again.”

Ford also believed that every city should have a “jewel”, or a place one would want to go on the weekend. He suggested that downtown development should also address the North Prong at the same time.

“The election is more important than any candidate here,” concluded Ford, who also revealed he was instituting a nonprofit organization to “pull neighborhoods together.”

Laura Mitchell also had her say on the issues. “If you don’t get your house in order, you can’t worry about anyone else’s,” remarked Mitchell in her opening. We needed to have a civil conversation about issues, but she also contended that had we moved more quickly on the Safe Streets Initiative, we wouldn’t be where we are now.

“We all have a common goal,” Mitchell continued, “I want to be that voice to bring everyone together.” But she also noted, “Council can’t be experts on everything.” Community involvement was necessary, and it’s a theme she returned to often.

This began with the meeting conduct question, where Laura suggested that the council hold monthly evening public meetings to go over the next month’s agenda. She was also open to hearing any ideas on the city manager position, and believed we should tap into the expertise provided by Salisbury University.

Where Mitchell stepped away from the crowd was her ideas for development. We “need to focus on infilling empty spaces,” she said, and rattled off a list of ideas such as tax increment financing (which she acknowleged had a spotty success record here), strategic use of enterprise zones, and spacing out impact fees. She noted that we can’t keep Salisbury University’s graduates here due to a lack of good jobs.

Another proposal for retention of city police officers was to partner with local colleges for tuition assistance for them and their families – it was a carrot to keep officers from leaving once they were trained and got to know the city.

But, in the end, Mitchell insisted she had no agenda – “I’m trying very hard to be Switzerland.” All she wanted to do was move toward common goals.

From what I understand, the hour-long forum was taped for a future broadcast on PAC-14 and would be packaged with a second forum featuring the other four City Council candidates (Muir Boda, Joel Dixon, Tim Spies, and Michael Taylor) – but they wouldn’t necessarily get the same questions. (It’s possible they may roll tape on this one and attempt to reuse the questions for part 2 – I know it was a topic for discussion afterward.)

Still, if you wish to see those four candidates in person the second forum is slated for noon next Friday at the Chamber of Commerce.