Page 5 - Clear Lake Mirror Reporter E-Edition 10-28-2015

Local NewsOct. 28, 2015
al Take a closer look at City Council candidates
Clear Lake MARK EBELING
0900 from page 1
Clear Lake of Commerce, following my sec-
0-606-3552 ond term as President. During my
tenure, I dealt with the impending
Clear Lake closure of the All Vets golf course as I want to take an active role in the
757 well as the resignation of the Cham-
ber’s Executive Director. I served as
, Clear Lake Co-Chairperson for the Ignite Clear
88 Lake fireworks endowment cam-
paign in which we have raised over
Lake • 357-8118 $1,000,000 to ensure that the fire-
works will go on in perpetuity. I am
Shops also a board member and Past Presi-
dent for the Association for the Pres- nurturing a growing small business
ore ervation of Clear Lake. When I was
A Whole Lot More! my children’s age, the lake looked
0 Hwy. 18 W. entirely different than the one they
Clear Lake now enjoy. Our efforts, along with
our many partners, have improved
1) 357-7117 the water quality for all that use the ness is and always has been a driving
lake and those that depend on it to
s make a living. I am proud to have
been a part of this truly important
., Clear Lake achievement.
17 My wife Kristin and I have been
married for ten and a half years. We
•High Speed Internet have two daughters, Elleanor, 8, and
•Phone Georgia, 5. Kristin is an elementary
•Digital Cable TV
•Business Solutions RICH OEHLERT
•Wireless from page 1
•Home Security
portation Co., Billings, Mont.,
eet • 357-2111 Gulf-Tex Oil Co., Houston, Texas.
w.cltel.com We have been living in Clear
Lake the last 30 years, where Cherie
mation retired from Opportunity Village.
ertising Why have you decided to seek elec-
ge call tion? Is there a specific issue which
the: interests you?
Our family has been living in
131 or Ward One, or Sherwood Hills since
porter.com 1968. Our Councilman was moved
MIKE CALLANAN
from page 1
You have served on the Council for
two terms. What have some of the
major accomplishments been dur-
ing your eight years on the Coun-
cil? What made you decide to seek
a third term?
We have definitely moved Clear
lake forward while holding the tax
rate the same (with the exception of
the voter approved fire station bond
issue) for the past ten years. A new
fire station and city hall, police de- centives have helped to bring several
partment remodel (without any bor-
rowing) plus two new million gallon
water towers lead the infrastructure
improvements. They are followed
by a South Shore and North Shore
Drive rebuild, the Surf Area en-
hancement project and the CDGB
JIM BOEHNKE
from page 1
interests you?
I am running for re-election for
the same reason I ran the first time.
I love this city and just want to see
the city continue to prosper and
hold onto hometown values. We
are a unique community and I want
to help both large and small busi-
nesses prosper.
DANA BRANT
from page 1
sible and blessed community where
we live.
Why have you decided to seek re-
election? Is there a specific issue
which interests you?
I have decided to run again
because I love people and the chal-
lenges that come with dealing with
the day to day issues of running a
city. The specific issues I would like I would like to continue progress on
to see get finished are the Veterans
memorial. The continued effort to
make the City Beach area an attrac-
tion for citizens and tourists. Work
with developers to encourage new
construction of homes and busi-
nesses. Work to identify areas of
our infrastructure that still need to
be updated and redone.
special education teacher at Clear
Creek.
Why have you decided to seek elec-
tion? Is there a specific issue which
interests you?
I chose to seek election because
public process and enhance the
quality of life and direction of Clear ter supply and sewer systems. We
Lake for all our families.
As a member of the business
community and a business owner, I
am particularly interested in main-
taining fiscal responsibility, expand- is expected to bring several new
ing plentiful job opportunities, and
base. Attracting a large business like housing? What can the City do to
McKesson to Clear Lake was no
small feat and clearly demonstrates
that Clear Lake is a hospitable com-
munity to do business. Small busi-
force and cannot be overlooked.
The City has tackled a number of
infrastructure projects in recent
years. What projects do you see as
the next priority for the City?
Though this is not a specific
project, I feel that the biggest pri-
ority for Clear Lake is the lake it-
to another ward. This is a perfect
opportunity to represent our friends
and neighbors. Being in the hous-
ing rental business, I receive four to The City has successfully helped to
10 calls a week from people looking
for housing in Clear Lake. With all
the new business coming to town,
housing will be a priority.
The City has tackled a number of
infrastructure projects in recent
years. What projects do you see as
the next priority for the City?
I’ve only been to a handful of
meetings, but the projects they are
proposing are well in line with the
Sewer project. We have looped the
community with 12” water mains
and upgraded the water treatment
plant. We have lined thousands of
feet of old sewers, and resurfaced
many blocks of city streets.
We have upgraded public safety
with a new ladder pumper and two
new ambulances. A new computer
system and several new squad cars
have kept the police up to date. A
retail incentive program has helped
attract sever key merchants to the
downtown business area. City in-
new businesses to our community
including Titan Pro, McKessen and
Kwik Star. We have continued to
make improvements to our public
areas including the outdoor recre-
ation facility, various parks and the
lakefront. Upgraded street lights
The City has tackled a number of
infrastructure projects in recent
years. What projects do you see as
the next priority for the City?
The city staff is always analyzing
the needs of the city. This is played
out in a future plan of potential
projects. It is our job as Council-
men to give them the tools to tackle
a needed project.
The City has successfully helped to
recruit a major employer which
The City has tackled a number of
infrastructure projects in recent
years. What projects do you see as
the next priority for the City?
I would say the reconstruction
of South Lakeview Drive from the
Y all the way to Clear Lake State
Park. Yes, that will be a BIG one,
but I see that needing to be done in
the next several years. Also, the im-
provement of the brick paver side-
walks downtown on Main Avenue.
developing or expanding the City
Industrial Park. I also feel as a city abatements, infrastructure credits.
we need to have a priority of doing
all we can to aid developers with
new home construction.
The City has successfully helped to
recruit a major employer which
is expected to bring several new
self. The City (as well as the State
of Iowa) must maintain the great
improvements we have made and
needs to remain committed to the
Lake’s long-term well being.
Part of our quality of life is the
quality of our infrastructure proj-
ects, to include the roads, local wa-
must maintain and constantly pro-
vide the best services that we can.
The City has successfully helped to
recruit a major employer which
families to Clear Lake. Do you
feel the city has enough available
help families choose to make Clear
Lake their home?
There certainly is market de-
mand for homes in Clear Lake.
This is evident in the cost of hous-
ing which doesn’t seem to go down.
This has spurred some new home
developments and housing options
to fill this need. Keeping property
tax rates low is a major priority. To
be able to do this the City has to
make the smartest possible decisions
on how our tax dollars are spent.
future of Clear Lake. This will take
time and money! As far as I can see,
the city is financially stable.
recruit a major employer which
is expected to bring several new
families to Clear Lake. Do you
feel the city has enough available
housing? What can the City do to
help families choose to make Clear
Lake their home?
All we have to do is have hous-
ing available. Everyone wants to live
here. We are so fortunate to have a
Chamber that has events going all
have enhanced the walking experi-
ence. We have an ongoing invest-
ment in upgrading the equipment
our public works department uses
to serve our citizens.
I love this community and have
enjoyed serving as a councilman. I
hope to continue the forward prog-
ress and help implement our side-
walk improvement plan. I am also
working with three members of the
VFW to find an agreeable location
for the Veterans Memorial that will
help get it built.
The City has tackled a number of
infrastructure projects in recent
years. What projects do you see as
the next priority for the City?
We hope to rebuild the brick
paver sidewalks in the downtown
area and replace defective sidewalks
throughout the community as iden-
is expected to bring several new
families to Clear Lake. Do you
feel the city has enough available
housing? What can the City do to
help families choose to make Clear
Lake their home?
I feel the city can sell itself. We
have first class fire, police and am-
bulance services. Furthermore, our
city staff is excellent and helpful.
Our downtown is beautiful and our
Chamber is always having some-
thing in the park for families. All
families to Clear Lake. Do you
feel the city has enough available
housing? What can the City do to
help families choose to make Clear
Lake their home?
As an active real estate inves-
tor in Clear Lake, I can say for sure
that we do not have enough rentals
available for our future needs. The
city is limited in what can be done
to curve the real estate issue that we down the old bathroom. Enlarge
are faced with, but the city can work
with developers, entrepreneurs, and
businesses through incentives, tax
This, in turn, allows for our com-
munity to grow, creates options and
continues the enhancements to our
beautiful Main Street area and sur-
roundings. As a landlord in this
community, people tell me all the
Affordable housing is a prob-
lem and challenge not only for those
who live in Clear Lake, but for the
young families that want to return
to their hometown to raise their
families. Many other communities
face similar circumstances, so we
will have the benefit of learning how
other towns face this challenge and
improve on how they tackled the
problem.
Safe neighborhoods and schools
are a priority for any family and
must be for Clear Lake. Support for
our police force and our volunteer
firefighters are paramount. Encour-
aging partnerships and fostering re-
lationships with schools and other
community entities must be pur-
sued if we are to achieve the desired
results.
Equally important, as Clear
Lake continues to grow, the sense of
community cannot be lost.
Please identify the biggest chal-
lenge you see facing the City of
Clear Lake in the short term (1-2
years) and long term (10-20 years):
I think both short-term and
long-term challenges are housing
four seasons. What a job they do!
And because of our police depart-
ment, we are basically crime free.
I have personally worked with the
police department; they are a dedi-
cated group of professionals who
know how to do their jobs. The
city crews keep our streets and parks
clean, water flowing to our homes.
I’ve seen crews in our neighborhood
at midnight fixing a broken water
main, working through their shifts
moving snow during blizzards. Not
to forget our Clear Lake people
who keep their lawns and proper-
tified by our 2014 sidewalk study.
We have an ongoing program to re-
surface needy streets and to address
improvements to storm water and
sanitary sewer projects as necessary.
South Lake View Drive will prob-
ably be the next big street project we tax abatement in Pine Brook for
look at.
The City has successfully helped to
recruit a major employer which
is expected to bring several new
families to Clear Lake. Do you
feel the city has enough available
housing? What can the City do to
help families choose to make Clear
Lake their home?
I feel the city has a shortage of
housing in the lower-priced catego-
ries as we have become a desirable
location for many weekenders and
retirees which have helped drive
property values up. The city can-
this with our best feature, our lake.
Please identify the biggest chal-
lenge you see facing the City of
Clear Lake in the short term (1-2
years) and long term (10-20 years):
I see Clear Lake continuing to
actively pursue business growth,
which could lead to housing issues.
I also think that we need to stay fo-
cused on current businesses and of-
fer to support them in any way we
can.
You and your opponent in the
time that Clear Lake is a great place
to live.
Please identify the biggest chal-
lenge you see facing the City of
Clear Lake in the short term (1-2
years) and long term (10-20 years):
Short term I would say mak-
ing sure the Veterans Memorial
gets done. Build a new and bigger
bathroom at City Beach and tear
the Splash Pad to enhance the very
popular City Beach area. Long
and short term would be to have a
great working relationship with the
police, fire and ambulance depart-
ments. At this point if you’re still
reading these answers, please take
a moment to reflect on your sur-
roundings. You’re in an amazing
and blessed community.
Page 5
and issues related to maintaining a
healthy lake. Another significant
challenge is how retirement friendly
will Clear Lake be and what can we
as a community do to attract and
keep more young people here or to
come (or return) to Clear Lake to
work, live and play. We have way
too much to offer to not be consid-
ered a great place to retire or raise a
family and continue a career track.
Additional comments:
I entered the race for City
Council to have the chance to serve
the citizens and to work towards
the type of community in which
my children and grandchildren can
thrive and prosper. I have seen how
working together and bringing con-
sensus to key issues can bring own-
ership to solutions and solve knotty
problems. In short, I want to do my
part to bring out the very best in
Clear Lake in every way that I can.
I ask for your vote and support and
would be honored to serve as your
Ward 1 City Council representative.
Thank you for your consideration of
my candidacy.
ties in immaculate condition. Why
wouldn’t you want to live in Clear
Lake? It is a beautiful city.
Please identify the biggest chal-
lenge you see facing the City of
Clear Lake in the short term (1-2
years) and long term (10-20 years):
I think Clear Lake is in its in-
fancy. The biggest challenges short
and long term will be housing and
having enough people to fill jobs
that will be created. If we all work
together we can “keep Clear Lake
moving forward.”
Additional comments: None.
not really impact the free market
in real estate, but we have tried to
do a few things to encourage devel-
opment. These include partnering
with developers on some infrastruc-
ture items and a five year property
first-time new home buyers. Mak-
ing some upgrades to an area such
a Lincoln Village also helps develop-
ers build units which might free up
existing single-family housing.
The city’s most important func-
tion in this area is to continue to
make Clear lake an attractive place
for people of all ages to live and help
attract and retain employers who
pay good wages to help our citizens
buy affordable housing.
Additional comments: None.
Ward 3 race are both experienced
incumbents. Why should voters
choose you?
First, I must say my opponent
is a good man. I feel I’m willing to
listen to the people in my ward, do
my homework regarding an issue,
and if necessary be a stand alone
vote to best represent the major-
ity in our ward. I refuse to rubber
stamp a vote. I am honored to have
been the voice in Ward Three and
I’m asking for your vote.
Additional comments: None.
You and your opponent in the
Ward 3 race are both experienced
incumbents. Why should voters
choose you?
Voters should choose Dana
Brant because he takes a fair and
balanced approach to all matters
related to city growth. There is the
letter “i” in city, but as the old say-
ing goes, there is no “i” in “team.”
The city needs a well managed, bal-
anced and fair team to continue the
blessed success of Clear Lake.
Additional comments: If you take
some time to ponder the big pic-
ture in life and agree there is a lot of
chaos in the world, I choose not to
engage in chaos, but choose to find
solutions, balance and lead with in-
tegrity. I ask for your vote in Ward
3 on Nov. 3.