Elections 2012: Q&A with Stillwater City Council Ward 3 Candidate Tom Weidner

Stillwater Patch recently submitted the following questions to all four of the candidates running for seats on the Stillwater City Council. The candidates were asked to keep their responses below 350 words each.

Here are the answers provided by Ward 3 Candidate Tom Weidner:

Browns Creek Trail

The Brown’s Creek Trail will have an obvious impact on the future of Stillwater, but the DNR has stated there is not enough funding to complete the trail. If elected, would you push to get the trails completed sooner or later? How would you go about doing that? Would you see this as a prudent use of city funds to hire a lobbyist? 

The Brown’s Creek Trail will provide benefit to the City of Stillwater and its residents. There is currently funding to develop the trail from downtown Stillwater out to Manning Avenue. Presently the plan is for the trail to end at Brown’s Creek Park until a safe crossing can be built over Manning Avenue. The cost of the trail is being paid for by the State of Minnesota and Washington County. While it is true that the DNR doesn’t have enough funding to complete the trail out through the City of Grant and connect to the Gateway trail, there is a proposal to seek funding from the State in next year’s legislative session to develop a safe crossing at Manning Avenue and finish the project. 

I propose continuing to work with both County and State officials to secure funding from sources other than the City Stillwater. The trail has been developed through the cooperative efforts of multiple levels of government and should be allowed to continue on that path. I would work with the State and County to push forward with the crossing sooner rather than later but without city funding. Whether a lobbyist is necessary is yet to be determined as all efforts relating to county, state and city cooperation have not been exhausted. It is premature to consider hiring a lobbyist without first trying to shepherd the funding effort with city officials and staff.

Levy Project Funding

The levy project in Lowell Park has been going on for years. The Army Corps of Engineers have recently said they will begin the final phase next spring. The city has said it will go with the Army Corps plan now, but if ground isn’t broken by next spring, they will consider doing the project internally. City staff states the project can be completed cheaper if the city does the work. If this project is delayed again, would you support working with the Corps to complete the project, or having city staff work on it? Why? 

The levy project is in its third phase which is mostly underground storm sewer work that is necessary to handle the flow of water in the event of flooding. The project is intended to stabilize the storm sewer system beneath Lowell Park as the soil composition is unstable because it is comprised of mostly man made lumber byproduct from the old sawmills. The third phase of the project originally included building another short wall the help prevent flooding. That portion of the plan was abandoned because of lack of funding.

While I understand the city’s current frustration with undelivered promises by the Army Corps of Engineers, I feel it’s prudent to allow the Army Corps the opportunity to complete the project as proposed. Although the City has the ability to complete the project at a lower cost than that proposed by the Army Corps, it does not make sense to step in now and spend $500,000 from the City budget, if a six to nine month wait would insure the Army Corps of Engineers pay for the entire project. Absent an immediate public safety or public health risk, common sense would dictate waiting in order to save city resources.

The failure to complete the storm sewer phase is holding up previously approved construction projects in Lowell Park including resurfacing parking lots and grading for the proposed amphitheater. These projects do not pose an immediate threat to public health and safety, therefore, I would propose working with the Army Corps in the short term. If the Army Corps fails to perform, a new proposed time line should be developed and the City re-examine the balance between savings to the city and the immediacy and necessity of the parking lot surfacing and amphitheater construction.  Also to be considered when examining a further delay, is that the longer the wait to complete the project, the amount of work that can be completed with the previously designated funds will diminish due to inflation.  

Employee Health and Retirement Benefits

What is your position on the city paying for employee health and retirement benefits? Do you believe the city should continue to pay 100 percent of the benefits or negotiate for greater employee participation? 

When negotiating compensation packages, flexibility is essential. The City must remain competitive in order to retain competent qualified employees and attract new quality employees. That competitiveness must be balanced against the limited city budget, especially, during the recent economic times. It’s always important to analyze total compensation packages, including both wages and benefits, when negotiating employee compensation.

I have been involved in negotiating compensation packages with employees for the last 17 years at my law firm. While it’s always important to offer competitive compensation packages, both employers and employees must but recognize the total cost of employment to the employer. All items of compensation should be negotiable.

Distressed Housing

Residents have raised concerns about an increase in distressed housing in Stillwater. Do you see distressed homes as an issue in Stillwater, and if so, how would you go about addressing it? 

While walking the different neighborhoods of Ward 3 during this campaign I witnessed some distressed housing throughout the Ward.  When referring “distressed housing” I mean homes obviously going through the mortgage foreclosure process that appear uninhabited.  Although I didn’t see a large number of homes in that situation, it was clear that all neighborhoods have been affected.

Poorly maintained distressed housing usually sells for under market value causing decreased home values to the surrounding area.  The City has to remain vigilant in its code enforcement regarding distressed housing so defects in exterior maintenance and yard maintenance does not negatively affect the surrounding neighborhood. While the city appears to have been doing a good job with this issue in Ward 3, it is important to respond to neighbor complaints and strictly enforce property maintenance issues.

 I’m hopeful that we’re nearing an end of the foreclosure boom. My response only deals with the after effect of foreclosure and doesn’t address foreclosure prevention services. I don’t believe the City should become involved in the pre-foreclosure process because Washington County HRA (Housing and Redevelopment Authority) has free foreclosure prevention programs available. There is no need for the city to duplicate the services available at the county level.

Ordinance Scofflaws

With the chicken and bee ordinances came discussion about the enforcement of scofflaws. How would you suggest addressing issues that may arise with the enforcement of noise, problem properties ordinances and the various provisions written into ordinances such as keeping bees and backyard chickens?

I have prosecuted code violations for nearly 20 years for as many as a dozen cities. Most complaints of code violations originate from frustrated neighbors and are usually not isolated offenses. Those “scofflaws” normally have a long history of openly ignoring the law and negatively impacting their neighbors. I have found it most effective for the city staff to make the first attempt to talk to the violator giving them the opportunity to voluntarily abate the violation. Deadlines for compliance are essential. If the “scofflaw” continues to violate the law after been given reasonable opportunity for abatement, the enforcement should escalate. If the violation involves permitting, the remedy should be an administrative process to revoke the permit, if not a permitting issue, the violator should receive a criminal citation.

In most cases communication and cooperation between the “scofflaw” and city staff usually resolves the problem. In the rare case criminal citations are necessary to ensure compliance. Criminal citations are not the recommended initial course but at times necessary to maintain the public health and safety. 

Dog Park / Swimming Pool

There are groups in Stillwater trying to gain city support for an off-leash dog park and a municipal pool. If elected, how would you address these two proposals? Are you in favor of a dog park? A municipal pool? Why or why not? 

These two issues present a larger problem that I see repeatedly facing the City of Stillwater.  Many groups approach the City with requests to fund amenities that may enhance the quality of life in the area, but these proposals rarely involve funding from surrounding municipalities that would also benefit from the amenities. Whether it is an off-leash dog park, swimming pools or gymnasiums the City should partner with surrounding communities in funding and completing such projects. The City of Stillwater does not have the financial resources to engage in these projects alone.

I am aware of the efforts of the organization, Friends of Stillwater Area Dog Park, and their desire to create a fenced, off-leash dog park. I have been to an off-leash dog park in Minneapolis near Lake of the Isles with my lab and have witnessed the social benefit, both human and canine, of that type of park. While I commend the Friends of Stillwater Area Dog Park organization for their energy and fund raising efforts to date, I don’t see the off-leash park as a priority for the city at this time. I am willing to help their effort however I can, but I don’t see spending public funds at this time.

I agree with the City’s recent denial of the municipal swimming pool proposal for the same reason. This type of project must be a larger collaborative effort of more community partners, both public and private, to be viable.  While a community pool sounds like a great idea, the City of Stillwater cannot afford it.

Budget Management

What do you think about city spending? How would you work to keep amenities and services residents want and expect up to par while managing a budget? What areas would you consider cutting? Is there any circumstance in which you’d be in favor of increasing city budgets? 

Budgeting requires common sense and discipline. The primary function of city government is to provide core services such as police, fire, street maintenance and sewer. It’s the city council’s responsibility to provide those services both efficiently and effectively while maintaining and enhancing the quality of life in the city without burdening those it serves.  

I have no targeted areas to cut or protect within the city budget. All expenses should be examined. When creating a budget, the city must find every way possible to deliver the core services in the most cost efficient effective manner. City spending has increased by almost 14 % over the last two budgets, however, the total levy has increased at a slower rate because the city has recently been able to refinance its debt at lower interest rates. The city can’t keep increasing spending at this rate.

The City of Stillwater is required to spend money to provide services and protect its quality of life. The city council must spend the public’s money wisely. City councils are at times faced with replacing infrastructure that will benefit the city for decades. If the replacement has not been properly planned for, or emergency repair and replacement are necessary, city budgets may have to increase.

 

 Police Department Expansion

With the proposal to move the fire station to the new armory location, there is talk about expanding the police department into the fire station space. If elected, would you support expanding the police department? If so, how would you suggest paying for it?

I do support expanding the police department into the former fire department space at the existing City Hall. There will need to be renovations to meet the needs of the different department. This appears to be the most cost effect solution to expansion by utilizing the existing space. The timing of the expansion would be over the next several years. The police department expansion should be completed after completion of the fire department and only when the city can afford it.

New Liquor License Ordinance

The city council is currently considering an amendment to tighten the city’s liquor ordinance in an attempt to “improve conduct” at Stillwater bars. How would you propose the city moves forward with this issue?

While I understand the desire of the City to address bad behavior from the patrons of local bars and restaurants, I feel the City’s attempt to pass the proposed ordinance may have chilling effect on overall public safety. What the City is trying to achieve is behavior modification of both businesses and their patrons. The proposal is to punish businesses for multiple police calls during a given period. I fear this would cause bars and restaurants to hesitate to call for proper assistance when confronted with public safety issues and try to handle them themselves. This is not good for anyone involved. 

I recently had the opportunity to work with the City of Woodbury, as their city attorney, on a similar issue involving the Red Roof Inn and the excessive police calls and crime at their business. We were able to work together with city officials and the business owners to accomplish our goals without ordinance modification, such as those proposed by the Stillwater City Council.

I believe communication and dialogue with bar owners is essential to effect change. Start with communication and training, set expectations for good business conduct and what is expected to be a good business citizen.  I think the ordinance was hasty and didn’t get enough involvement from those affected businesses and residents. I think both sides can work this out without the proposed ordinance.