Second C of C forum…well, it was different than the first

New moderator, new cast of characters, new questions – it was an interesting mix at the second of two PACE/Chamber of Commerce Salisbury City Council forum kicked off at noontime yesterday to a cast of onlookers which included the Daily Times, WMDT-TV, and two bloggers (although the other just took pictures.) The four gentlemen in the hot seat this time were Muir Boda, Joel Dixon, Tim Spies, and Michael Taylor.

Matt Creamer, who was supposed to moderate last week until he fell ill, did the honors this time after thanking Mike Weisner for handling part 1.

After each candidate had five minutes to deliver an opening statement, the questions dealt with health insurance for City Council members, the prospect of user fees for stormwater expenses, fire calls, non-resident accidents, and the like, afterschool programs, nonconforming uses, and a quick closing question on whether there should be a skateboard park in City Park along North Park Drive.

As I did last week I’ll go through each candidate in turn, with Michael Taylor drawing the first slot.

Taylor literally came from work to play his part; his task today was helping to set up the Civic Center for tonight’s Fernando Guerrero fight. He works for Wicomico County, but ran for Council to “help the city of Salisbury the best I can.” One piece of his past he pointed to in his opening statement was a background in construction.

Since Michael was brief in his opening statement and had allotted time remaining, Matt Creamer opened the forum to questions specifically for Taylor. I asked, given his construction background, whether he had any insight into improving business and development. Permitting and licensing could be “more user friendly…(it was) very, very difficult” to secure permits. However, Michael’s experience was that Salisbury wasn’t much different than other cities for permitting. (Perhaps this “streamlining” could be something we can take advantage of.)

Taylor “would say no” to part-time Council members getting health insurance paid for. He’d also say no to user fees unless they were “necessary, fair, and equitable.”

Michael informed the questioner regarding afterschool programs that the county already performs these tasks. “Having somewhere for kids to go is paramount.”

To Taylor, the mayor’s neighborhood housing initiative was “essentially killing an industry.” Instead, each of the seven parts should be passed on its own merits after some necessary “tweaking.” He added, in response to another audience question directed specifically at him, that we need a “balance” of places to live because many in the working class lack their own transportation, thus they live close to work in the city.

Finally, Taylor agreed the need is there for a new skate park, and the county’s parks and recreation department is looking into suitable venues for one.

Following Taylor in his opening statement was Muir Boda. Boda went over his background and work experience in his opening statement, pointing out that 1/3 to 1/2 of his current job deals with criminal activity. But he was running because “I love the city of Salisbury.”

“We all get frustrated with the political environment,” continued Muir, who called on the process to be “inclusive, not exclusive.” He applauded the current Council’s decision to spread out capacity fees over 24 months as “a wise decision,” and saying people affected by City Council “need to be part of the process.” He wrapped up the statement (and his time) by challenging the faith-based community to step up.

He agreed that City Council members don’t need to have their health insurance paid for, and while we could pick through the budget to question specific items from the past (as Tim Spies did in answering before him) the Council should have benefits similar to those of other part-time positions in the city.

Boda believed we could look into a stormwater fee, but the fire department could benefit from a system similar to Worcester County’s. There each department gets a base contribution but additional funding depends on the number of calls serviced. Muir also thought it time to take a fresh look at the tax differential.

Muir was familiar with some youth programs through his church, which served as a mentorship to WiHi. Government could create the environment but needed to identify partners to lend a helping hand.

The neighborhood housing initiative was an example of legislation crafted without input, Boda believed. He also opined that Salisbury was using the wrong comparison models – instead of Dover and Annapolis, he thought better comparisons would be Morgantown, West Virginia and Blacksburg, Virginia – towns which house West Virginia University and Virginia Tech, respectively. They have relatively similar renter to homeowner ratios as Salisbury’s.

Boda would only support a skate park if the residents wanted it.

Tim Spies described his experiences in the Navy and with returning to the Eastern Shore after his military service. In the early ’90’s he bought a house he described as a “fixer upper” and eventually he became involved with the Camden Neighborhood Association. He’s contributed “ideas, time, and energy” to the city since.

Crime was at the “forefront” of issues and the crime rate was “rather embarassing,” but “employers are what we need here.” And while crime was down 11 percent, as a questioner claimed, it’s gone up “400 percent” since he came to the city.

In responding to the question about health insurance for City Council members, Spies pointed out previous foibles like the acquisition of the Cypress Street property for the new Station 16 for $660,000 shortly after a previous owner bought the property for $175,000. “The foolish spending has to stop,” said Spies, but “$10,000 (to cover health insurance for Council members) is paper clip money.”

“I think you need more incentive (to run) than a $10,000 salary,” said Tim.

But when it came to a response fee for those from out of town who were unfortunate enough to cause an accident, Spies borrowed a familiar phrase. “You betcha,” he said. In addition, a stormwater fee wasn’t a bad idea but it had to be “scientific,” based on the total property area and impervious surface. “There is money to be generated,” he said.

Spies also reflected on his previous experience running the “Weed and Seed” program in answering the afterschool activity question. “We can’t have enough afterschool programs,” Spies enthused. He added that faith-based organizations have their place too.

The “seventh and most deadly” part of the neighborhood housing initiative turns out to be the nonconforming use provision. Spies doesn’t support it “to this point.” Compromise with the housing industry on that portion and get the other six parts rolling, pleaded Spies.

And build the skate park – just not in a dense residential district, concluded Tim.

Our final contestant in opening statement order was Joel Dixon. He drew the last position in his first public campaign event.

In his opening statement he passed around a prop – a chart from the Salisbury Police Department showing a 29.4% drop in Part One crimes vs. the total one year ago. It’s a “good step in the right direction,” said Dixon, a firefighter by trade who works in Anne Arundel County and volunteers here on his off days. He’s a volunteer lieutenant at the aforementioned Station 16.

He jumped into the race as a victim of crime. “I didn’t want to sit back and complain about it,” said Dixon. He also felt that his age (25) brought a different perspective than the others would have.

Since he also came in under the five-minute wire in his opening, Joel got the opportunity to confess his ignorance about a nearby community center in his first answer. But he promised to look into what was offered there.

On several of his answers, Joel came across as a fiscal conservative. For example, paid health benefits for City Council members would be “a good tool” but right now wasn’t the time for that.

“I don’t think I could support any new fees at this time” was his succinct answer to the fee question, although he conceded Anne Arundel County is implementing accident fees similar to what the questioner proposed.

Community-based and citizen-based afterschool programs could create the proper atmosphere for youth, Dixon argued. He also opined on the Neighborhood Housing Initiative question that there was no plan for relocating those affected and asked if they could afford the newly created single-family units.

In his final answer, Dixon echoed Muir Boda (who answered first) in leaving the question up to those affected. Joel’s answers were usually the most brief but generally conveyed the points he wanted to make adequately. (This also tended to be true in his responses to my questions.)

Upcoming forums include the AFP effort at Brew River next Wednesday and the NAACP forum at the St. James AME Zion Church the next night.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.

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