Tuesday, August 12, 2008
An Open Letter
Since today is the filing deadline for the election this fall, last night the reporter for the Ann Arbor News, Lisa Allmendinger, asked me and others running for office this fall, “Why do you want to run for Council again and what do you want to accomplish in the next four years?” The short answer:
Parks, Police, Projects, and People - Continuing to work on the Mill Creek Park and ongoing improvements in our park system, including pedestrian access to all residents; ensuring police services remain adequate to our needs and searching out the best value possible for the dollars we spend on public safety; continuing the projects we have started, especially water and sewer improvements and the street maintenance and replacement plans; continuing to meet and listen to people in the Village and incorporate their views and opinions in the plans we make as a community.
Here is my open letter to Lisa, aka, the long answer:
Dear Lisa,
“Why do I want to run for Council again and what do I want to accomplish in the next four years?” Good question!!!
I guess that is one of those interview questions that you should always be able to answer off the top of your head, especially when you are running for office. I thought about it last night and this morning (a 45 minute drive into work can be useful for something!) and put my arms around it a little bit.
I think the Council has done a pretty good job on taxes, which was the top issue among the hundreds of people Susan Turner and I spoke with during our campaign in 2002. I am proud of the fact we have reduced the millage rate and have the lowest (except for Barton Hills) taxes of any city or village in the county. Of course, elected officials always talk about such things, but the rest of the story is how we have gotten there: providing services our residents value and trying to make our dollars stretch. I used to ask myself, “What can I tell a resident they get for their tax dollars?” Over the last few years we have funded bus services, including a door to door service, through WWAVE. We have replaced so many sidewalks in the Village that there is almost not any left to be repaired or replaced. We have maintained the leaf pickup and the DPW still cleans up and chips tree branches after storms. We provide (I think) the best service in the county when it comes to clearing roads of snow. We provide police and fire services, as most communities do, but we also pay for 50% of the school police officer at the high school, something that most communities do not do. We have a great tree program that continues to plant trees throughout the Village, an investment which will pay dividends for generations. We have funded Community Park, including a gazebo, play equipment, and now a basketball court. I have yet to drive past Community Park and not see people using that equipment, enjoying those additions to our Village parks. And we did all these things while still keeping our taxes low.
Of course, that doesn’t answer the questions, “Why, and what next?” Well, the Village has a lot of projects going on right now, projects in which I’ve been lucky enough to participate. I continue as one of the representatives for the Village on the Dexter Area Fire Board. I believe the DAFD is an excellent example of cooperative efforts between communities and the Village is well served by the fire fighters in the DAFD. I have been able to participate in the Mill Creek Park Committee and look forward to the park plan developing over the next year, with input from the public on what will become a jewel for the Dexter community. I have worked on the Parks Commission to continue to make our parks more useful to our community and there will be much to do to implement the plan developed for the Mill Creek park. As a member of the Utilities Committee, Shawn Keough and I have worked on a number of issues that literally impact Village residents on a day to day basis. We very much need to secure a second well field to address the capacity we need for the Village. We are also in the middle of discussions with the DEQ which will, within the next four years, lead to an equalization basin for the sewer treatment plant, allowing us to manage the rainwater that enters our sewer system and will allow us to best utilize our sewage treatment capacity. The Council has also just implemented a road maintenance program which over the next four years should result in our residents having the majority of our streets in good condition and will reduce the ongoing cost to the Village of replacing streets by keeping them in the best shape possible. I feel very strongly about the importance of this plan and we need to manage our Village assets as wisely as possible. On top of that, we have a number of projects for roads going on right now: the just completed Third Street, Dexter Ann Arbor Road from Mill Creek Middle School to Ryan Drive, the Jeffords Street project, and of course, the Main Street Bridge. The plan the Downtown Development Authority has for the downtown is nothing short of amazing and will redefine the western end of downtown along Jeffords and through the redevelopment of the Tupper property between Broad Street and the Mill Creek. I would like to continue to work on all these projects.
In the next four years I think we will have new challenges. I believe police services will become an issue from a cost standpoint as my fear is the County may soon price us out of contracting with the Sheriff. I do not have any hard evidence of this, but the percentage increases from the County over the last 6 years have been significant and I don’t see the situation getting any better. The DAFD is an excellent model and a regional police department might be a good option. We need to determine a plan for the future and how we can best continue to cooperate with our surrounding communities. I would like to continue to work on the projects that are ongoing at this time. I also am looking forward to working more toward pedestrian access from the west end of the Village (the “Westridge” neighborhood and Cedars of Dexter at Gordon Hall) into the Village in conjunction with the Metro Parks and connecting Warrior Creek Park into the border to border trail system. When I was walking home from Dexter Days I saw a family completing their climb over the railroad bridge with a stroller and two children. We need a better way for all our citizens to be connected and it looks like this might finally come to fruition. I want to work to make our streets the best they can be and ensure we have a process to keep those streets in top condition. The streets are another area which literally impacts our residents every day. Providing the most value possible to our residents in important. Streets and parks also provide another opportunity for the Village through grants. We need to become experts at seeking out and applying for grants for the community.
Most of all, I have been fortunate to work with tremendous people on Council and in the community. I enjoy hearing from our Village residents about how they feel about the issues and what their concerns are regarding those issues. Nothing makes me happier than seeing people served by the Village and hearing the pride in their voices when they talk about Dexter as their town and what a great place it is to live and raise a family. What I found when I came to Dexter was friendly people and a welcoming community. I’d like to see those things continue into the future and I hope I am fortunate enough to participate on Council in that future.
Joe
