In case you didnt know, I am running for city council here in town. Please vote for me! I just wanted to let everyone know the paper sent out a questionnaire. I filled it out and sent it back in. However, I am sure it will get edited and so I wanted the original version available for everyone to see. I DO NOT know how to post a word document on here, so I have copied and pasted it. Just wanted everyone to know what was really said on my part in case there are some things that get left out. 1.) What do you hope to accomplish if elected to the Mapleton City Council? I feel Mapleton would greatly benefit from additional involvement by all of its community members. We need to support a much larger involvement in voter registration and turnout with our younger citizens. We need to encourage our local businesses to be ADA compliant so that EVERY citizen can shop in all locations. This will increase revenue for the businesses and the town. We need to create additional uses for our local public cable access channel. Council Meetings should be televised for the elderly and those that are homebound and cannot attend. Special events such as birthdays and anniversaries could be posted. Our town employee activity could be posted. New and current ordinances that are interesting could be posted. All this should help to stimulate additional community involvement. I would like to have all meetings covered by a reporter from the Mapleton Press so that we can get more detailed information as to what the topics of our meetings are. We need to know who is voting which way and why decisions are made the way they are. Our council needs to know they are going to be held accountable for their decisions and that their community DOES care about what’s happening or NOT happening where they live. 2.) What is your vision for the community of Mapleton? I would love to see Mapleton grow at a healthy rate. We need to create a thriving progressive community that will allow our children to be able to stay in Mapleton and not have to move away because there is no lucrative employment for them. I want to be able to see my grandchildren raised right here and not have to move away. We need to create an environment in which our families can thrive and maintain their roots. We need new business that can compete with existing business to keep our citizens from being monopolized. A little healthy competition is good for everyone. I want to see new places for children and family of all ages to enjoy. Progressive thinking places that will attract new families to the community and offer things that other towns can’t. If we don’t grow we will soon be being compared to towns such as Smithland and Oto. 3.) What are your feelings about the termination of John Holten as Mapleton Police Chief and the circumstances leading up to his termination? I believe the termination of John Holten is his private business. Our current council members were voted into office by, “We the People”. We have to trust our small town government to handle town business appropriately. If we cannot trust our local government then we need to encourage higher voter turnout and have more people involved in running for office. As citizens it’s inappropriate for us to form opinions on John Holten’s termination when most of us do NOT know the facts. All we really know are rumors that have spread throughout town. I think our local paper needs to be more involved in covering important stories and events in our town so that we can get the facts and not feel the need to base opinions off of rumors. I don’t think the coverage in the local paper did a very good job on reporting the facts for us to be able to form knowledgeable opinions. 4.) What are your feelings about the current state of the police department? I think we are currently headed in the right direction. I feel Jerrad Clausen is going to be a great asset to our community. I do think he is young for a police chief, but I think he’s got a great understanding of what needs to be done in our town and some good ideas on how he can make things better than what they were. I honestly believe that he is going to follow through on all issues and see that they have the appropriate resolution. If he can keep his head about him and not get involved in the “politics” then this town will definitely benefit from having him in its employ. As far as the department itself, I am concerned with the lack of broken, missing and outdated items that are needed for our department to function as necessary. If we were to have an emergency, department materials that we do NOT have will keep us from responding appropriately to those emergencies. 5.) What is your vision for the future of the Mapleton Police Department? I would like to see a progressive, forward thinking police department. One with updated, working equipment. Proper supplies and materials needed so that a variety of situations, both emergent and non-emergent can be handled. Up-to-date training and education on procedures. If we are going to have a police department then let’s make it the best it can be. As the granddaughter of a police chief, and a personal friend to the Clausen’s I surely hope we have the best available safety equipment for any officer(s) we employ. 6.) What are your feelings about the current Mapleton City Council members and the Mayor? I think our current council and Mayor have gotten so used to our citizens NOT being involved in council meetings and town affairs that they have forgotten that public participation should be the “norm” and not the “exception”. They have gotten used to making decisions based on their own personal feelings and not necessarily those that are in the best interests of our town as a whole. The more that our citizens get and stay involved in their towns affairs, the more used to it that our council will become and things should get back on track rather nicely and our council and Mayor will not feel the need to have to be defensive when it comes to their decisions, because they will be decisions made for the best interests of our town. 7.) How would you make the Mapleton City Council Better? I would make our council better because I would continue to have our meetings be a welcome place with open forums for discussion. I would pursue the interests relayed to me by our citizens. I would have yearly reviews of all town employees to make sure they keep up-to-date on innovative ways to make our town a better place to live. I would have them pursue grants and funding that can be used to bring money into our town to help make much needed improvements. I want all our employees to be interested enough in our town to put forth a little extra effort and get excited about the possibilities that we could bring to our town and not be upset because they may have to do some work that goes beyond their usual scope of duties. I would allow a Q & A session at each meeting that would allow our residents to discuss their concerns and opinions. I would have our council activities posted on the internet and in the paper so that people who couldn’t attend can know what’s happening in their town. 8.) What are your thoughts about the citizens who have been speaking out and asking questions about the police department controversy during City Council meetings? It’s embarrassing! Most people in our community are embarrassed by the behavior of just a select few people. I believe that the council should be approached and spoken to respectfully and professionally. That’s just common sense behavior that should be practiced every day by everyone, all the time. If our citizens are allowed to speak out at meetings, then there would be no need for a “concerned citizens” group in our town. 9.) Do you believe members of the community should be allowed to speak during City Council meetings, and why do you believe that? Of course I believe our citizens should be allowed to speak at council meetings. It is their right to do so. However, they need to do it in a professional, respectable manner. 10.) As a Councilmember, how would you interact with/get feedback from community members? I would have my personal information listed on Channel 3, as should all members and the Mayor. I would also welcome any feedback at any time during normal daylight hours. My phone # is 712.212.1896, my address is 905 Walnut St., and my email is kerbecodu@longlines. All information for all council members should be public information. If they care about public opinion, (which they should), because they are doing what’s best for our town at all times – they should have a desire and need for hearing our opinions. The information should be posted every month in the newspaper and on the door/window of the city hall building. 11.) What other issues in Mapleton do you feel need addressed? I feel child crossing safety at our schools is very important. Street repair is a major issue that’s not happening. ADA Accessibility in our town is not up to federal guidelines and should’ve been for over 20 years. We need to have stricter property clean up ordinances. We need additional housing and jobs desperately.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 15:15:19 +0000
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