Suamico trustee candidates share ideas New growth center of most questions By Anna Krejci News-Chronicle Five of the six candidates running for a village of Suamico trustee position shared their thoughts on what the best decisions are for the area that is growing in drastic progressions. The village of Suamico, which recently acquired new land under its jurisdiction, is facing 34 new developments with a potential for 2,045 new homes. Gary Clevers, president of one organization sponsoring the forum, the Suamico Citizens for Informed Decisions, Inc. from a February Howard-Suamico school district newsletter that predicted 100 new students would be in the schools next year and the village faces a $9.5 million infrastructure investment. With large amounts of new development expected in the village of Suamico, a key question raised by constituents was how candidates would balance growing urbanization with rural areas. One question submitted asked how the cost of paying for new development would be handled, especially in regards to new sewer and water systems. Paul Garvey, president of the Suamico Sanitary District for four years, said a commercial district would be able to pay for some of the development, especially since he believes a residential area does not really pay for itself. He said to expect services required by residential growth to cost $1.15 for every $1 collected as tax revenue, while the cost of establishing commercial development would be 35 cents per $1 in tax money. "The key is balance. Balanced growth leads to a balanced budget," Garvey said. Dale Smith, a manufacturers representative who served on the Green Space Ordinance Committee said he advocates a method of paying for the sewer and water systems that is fair for landowners and affordable to tax payers. Jerry Vandersteen, who has volunteered on the Green Space Ordinance Committee, trail committee and performed work on the park commission, said he favors waiting for the septic system to reach its life span before asking others to benefit from a new system. Rob Zastrow, who has spent six years as a town supervisor and village trustee, said he wants to make the systems pay-for-use where people pay for what they use as they come to the area. He also expounded on how a water system should be designed, from the center out. Robert Byrne, a retired Proctor and Gamble employee who graduated from UW-Madison, said he will wait for a study that is scheduled to come out next month to determine fees, but added he believes paying what one uses is a fair way to allocate the expenses. He raised questions for the future, such as where another school is built will influence the location of sewer and water lines. Candidates focused their attention on whether a utilities commission should have village status and what responsibilities it should be charged with. Smith said he has no definite stance on the issue because he is seeking more information, but wants to ensure that information on the village's utilities is shared with the entire community and not just restricted to committees. The rest of the candidates expressed positions in favor of creating a utilities commission that would be distanced from political influences. Vandersteen, who has dedicated time to the Village's Incorporation Committee, said he supports the utility commission as a separate body, but that it should still work with the board in terms of budget issues. Zastrow said he supports either a commission, committee or board, but that he wants to see it be approved by the city board, comprised of board members and other citizens whose positions have term limits. The commission's responsibilities would propose a budget and make recommendations to the board on taxes, assessments, building infrastructure and borrowing. He also said he would want the utilities commission to address cable installation and trash and solid waste removal issues. Byrne said he would add a recycling program to the commission's responsibilities and it would have its own budget to work with. "Let them more or less run their own show," he said, adding that the commission should be distanced from political motives but be accessible to citizens. Garvey said he supports offering local professionals a position on the commission or a means of receiving their input. "The work would be too much for the town to handle," he said. The commission would pre-approve contractors and advise local government on policies and keeping the projects on schedule. "It's good to keep infraestructure in this community one step away from politics," Garvey said. In the midst of Suamico's development frenzy, candidates answered how they would protect a standard of quality of life while allowing for the construction. Vandersteen said just having trucks whiz past on the roads creates stress. He said truck routes would have to be carefully selected and slower speed limits enforced. Zastrow said it is possible to preserve rural areas while permitting growth and advocated the Conservation by Design program that he said can maintain 30 to 40 percent of the area's open spaces. Garvey said he too supports the Conservation by Design concept. Byrne advocated adding one or two parks and a river dock to accommodate fishers. "To me the quality of life in Suamico is the rural atmosphere," Byrne said. Smith said he would rely on the Green Space Ordinance Committee to manage development and all of the inconveniences to regular routines while the community undergoes a high-construction period. "It's gonna touch you, all we can do is to minimize it," he said. Road repair and its place on the priority list was raised at the forum. Vandersteen placed road repair high on his priorities. He said road repair should be looked at one road at a time, beginning with the ones in worst shape, unless the government has reason to believe that road will be torn up in a near-future construction project. Garvey said road repair was an important issue because no money in 2004 was allocated to road reconstruction. Smith introduced his idea that roads should be funded by those in the immediate proximity to it and Zastrow said road repair is important but he is looking forward to the areas of new development where new engineering standards make roads easier to plow and narrower in areas not traversed by farm equipment or animals. Byrne said before roads can be put in place, water and sewer plans must be finalized. All of the candidates at the forum came out in favor of developing a new industrial park for increasing the tax base and making more money for the community. A sixth candidate, Jeremiah Farrell, could not attend due to a family emergency. The forum will be aired on Time Warner cable at noon March 24 and 31 and at 5 p.m. March 26 and April 2. The candidates are running to fill three trustee positions in the April 6 election. The League of Women Voters also sponsored the event.