Election preview: Five vie for three Denmark seats Two incumbents, three newcomers seek trustee position By Steve Arveson For The News-Chronicle With the village facing a new era of development, the role of Denmark Board Trustee is as crucial as ever. Two new subdivisions have been approved on the north end of the village and, with all industrial land nearly sold, the board is looking to the Interstate 43 corridor for future business development. Now, two of the three incumbent trustees are looking to retain their seats on the board while three new faces will challenge. Trustees Roger Stein and David Krall seek re-election and are challenged by Peggy Collinsmith, Marian Haltaufderheide and Gerald Steinberger, while incumbent trustee Cindy Thompson will not seek re-election. "I think I'm doing a pretty good job of holding the taxes down and supporting growth for the village and I listen to the people who have concerns," Stein, who has sat on the board for eight years, said. "My first concern is keeping the taxes down and the lines of communication open to village residents. Their questions and concerns are a building block for village improvements." Paramount to Stein's campaign are improvements throughout the village including roads, sewer and waterlines, new business and housing. "We want to maintain quality in these areas for the growing village population," Stein said. "We have a great community that is growing by leaps and bounds." Stein also voiced his concern about the wastewater treatment facility and getting all current and potential problems solved. "They need to do their jobs and get everything on the up-and-up," Stein said. Stein's board colleague David Krall, a 28-year resident of Denmark, also is seeking to retain his village board seat. "I've seen a lot of changes in the village and Denmark is a wonderful community to live in," Krall said. We have great businesses and caring people who live here." Krall voted in favor of the two new subdivisions and said growth, in a responsible fashion, should be in the village's future. "Putting Denmark's best interests first is my main priority," Krall said. "By working together and looking at both sides of the issues, this will help find the right solution for our village to grow in a positive way." Peggy Collinsmith is a newcomer to the village race but a familiar face in the area, acting as the president of the Denmark Community Business Association for two years. "I want to encourage people in the community to voice their opinions and bring people together," Collinsmith, who has a background in volunteer coordination said. "I can't tell someone to do something if I don't do it myself." As co-owner of her own business, Collinsmith encourages fiscal responsibility as growth occurs. "We need to look at the money we have in the budget, the necessary things we need to spend it on and our capital improvements," she said. "I've been in discussions with some of the people in the village about how the garbage truck is in need of replacement." Collinsmith's legal name is Peggy Collins, but she also adopted her husband's last name, Smith, after marriage. Her legal name, Collins, will appear on the April 6 ballot. "I want to get as many opinions out there as possible and it's the responsibility of the trustees to do the research necessary and talk to experts to find out the truth and long-term effects of a plan," Collinsmith said. "I encourage development but it has to be based on smart-growth plans. If we get a stronger residential base, it will promote a stronger business base. I would hate to see things like Main Street Market not be here. If we don't have residents, those kinds of things are going to fall by the wayside." Marian Haltaufderheide has lived in the village longer than any of the candidates and said she likes the direction the village is heading, and wants to see it continue. "We need to get someone in there who has common sense and will listen to people," Haltaufderheide said. "We need to move ahead with business and residential areas. Weâve got to grow or other areas are going to grow right over us." But business and housing aren't the only growth needed, she said. Industry is also a factor. "Dufeck's is a great thing and Milprint is great," Haltaufderheide said. "Those industries are clean and that's important too. We need to be aggressive in securing a long-range plan to make development opportunities materialize. From there, hard work as a community will make residential and business developments a reality." Haltaufderheide also said the upkeep of the wastewater utility is crucial. "We have to keep up the wastewater plant if we're going to grow. It's just like a home, if you don't keep up your home, it's going to fall apart," she said. "If elected, I will not only work hard to help the village as a whole, but also listen to and be respectful of individualsâ concerns by using common sense as well as my experience as a life-time resident." The third newcomer to the race is Gerald Steinberger, who said he got involved after talking with Village President Nancy Malewiski. "I'm open-minded about things and sensible about making decisions. It was our village president who asked me to run," he said. Steinberger said he has no grand master plan for changing the village but said he will find solutions for problems. "If there are problems out there, I solve them when I see them," Steinberger said. "I'm not going to say that I'm going to do this or that, but when something comes up I will take care of it." Steinberger said trustees need to focus on the future of the village and bring in residents and business, but also need to keep the atmosphere to which community members are accustomed. "We have two subdivisions and two more that could come up besides that. We'll have to provide services while protecting our resources. I believe we should try to attract business that will create jobs for people in the village so they can live here and improve our economy," Steinberger said. "Hopefully we can keep our small-town atmosphere but if we want to grow and be prosperous, we're going to have to grow, have jobs and places to live." Denmark Village Board Name: Peggy Collinsmith Age: 44 Occupation: Co-owner of Cerebral Systems Software Design Community involvement: two-year president of Denmark Community Business Association, helping to organize the fall festival, village-wide rummage sale, breakfast with Santa and other association events. Family. Husband Name: Marian Haltaufderheide Age: 63 Occupation: Retired, worked in health care field with Dr. George Hering and Bellin Health Community involvement: volunteer work with All Saints Catholic Church and Cerebral Palsy Inc. Family: Two children Name: David Krall Age: 51 Occupation: Moulder, Eck Industries; Production manager, Dufeck Manufacturing Previous elected office: Trustee for two years. Community involvement: Girl Scout leader, member of All Saints Catholic Church Family: Wife, four daughters Name: Roger Stein Age: 51 Occupation: Operator Previous elected office: Trustee for eight years Community involvement: Girl Scout leader for 18 years Family: Wife, three children Name: Gerald Steinberger Age: 60 Occupation: Retired Community involvement; Previous member of Denmark Zoning Board, eight years as head of buildings and grounds committee at All Saints Church Family: Wife, three children