Page 8 VctJ# CMMLJNITV :h e r. - October 10, 2012
/ Profiles
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ganizations were well deserving of
the small contribution that the city
made to them. They all are helping
people within the community of
Sweet Home.
I see first-hand on a daily basis
how the backpack food program has
benefited the children in our com-
munity. The thing that I love and
enjoy about living in Sweet Home
is how we as a community come to-
gether in times of need to heli9 one
another. I felt that providing funds
to these well deserving organiza-
tions was money well spent.
Raises for Non-Represented
Employees: I was vehemently op-
posed to giving raises in a time of fi-
nancial crisis, even if they are well-
deserved. Businesses surrounding
us were making cuts and the school
district employee s all took pay cuts
or had their pay frozen. It was my
understanding that even people in
the healthcare profession were also
making sacrifices. I felt that city
employees should not be receiving
raises when others were making
sacrifices and facing pay cuts.
Both Councilor McKee and my-
self went on the record stating that
we were still opposed to the raises;
however, we knew that a city could
not be run effectively and survive
without a budget in place; therefore,
we ultimately approved the budget
with the raises.
Private Property Rights: Did
not respond.
Police and Library Levies:
Did not respond.
Lighting Ordinance: Did not
respond.
Royce Cantrell, 61
Education: High school, six
years of military security - com-
munications class A, C.D.L. with
20-passenger endorsement.
Occupation: Retired.
Previous civic and volunteer
experience: Three years coaching
with the Sweet Home Boxing Club.
What do yon hope to accom-
plish? I hope to find ways to gener-
ate income for the city through eco-
nomic growth with new business.
A vote for me means I am willing
to ask questions that other people
won't.
Role: The role of city council
is that the interests of the people of
Sweet Home come before my own.
Economic Revitalization: Re-
vitalization of downtown is always
connected to economic growth. It's
a mistake to think the Jamboree is
the only answer.
Chicken Ordinance: I think
the chicken ordinance is much ado
about nothing.
Blighted and Vacant Struc-
tures: Our city council needs to
tread lightly on private property.
After all, the person that owns that
property has put their own time and
money into that said property.
Sign Code: Did not respond.
Charitable Budgeting: Bud-
geting for charitable organizations
is fine as long as the money is ac-
counted for.
Raises for Non-Represented
Employees: Raises should only be
given if money is available and the
person receiving it is actually doing
his or her job to their fullest.
Private Property Rights: Pri-
vate property rights are just that -
private. The community, as a whole,
doesn't always consider the property
owners' interest r
with theirs.
Police
and Library
Levies: More
taxes from lev-
ies will not
work unless lo-
cal government
learns to man-
age tax money. Cantreil
Lighting
Ordinance: Did not respond.
Jim Gourley, 55
Education: Sweet Home High
School graduate, LBCC, Oregon
state journeyman, first responder in-
structor, Medic first aid instructor.
Occupation: Millwright
Previous experience: 20 years
on City Council, Mayor, President
Pro Tem, 18 years Boy Scouts Of
America Scout Leader, Sweet Home
Youth League V.P., governor's ap-
. pointment to Interagency on Haz-
ardous Communications Council,
State Emergency Response Com-
mittee.
What have yon accomplished
during your tenure.'? Each person
in the council brings a unique per-
spective. Mine is to bring balance
between business and community.
Since in office, we have a new fire
hall, police station, Boys and Girls
Club/Senior Center and new water
treatment facility. This was done
with the council and community
working together.
What do you hope to accom-
plish? A safe, healthy and long-term
productive community. I bring a
unique perspective as a former busi-
ness owner and paper mill worker.
These experiences gix, e me the abil-
ity to make decisions that represent
different perspectives. ,
Role: To help oversee the bud-
get. Be responsive to the community
and citizens. To make local legisla-
tion that meets the needs of the com-
munity. The city should listen and
support the citizens and businesses.
• By working together to ensure that
legislation is current and supports
the needs of our community both
now and in the future.
Chicken Ordinance: Citizens
brought an issue forward. It was
addressed in committee, where citi-
zens had the opportunity to work to-
gether to formulate an ordinance. It
worked correctly.
Blighted and Vacant Struc-
tures: I think we have to be careful
anytime we make ordinances that
affect people's lives. Hopefully, we
will be able to develop something
that helps everyone. We have not
"finished this process yet.
Sign Code: The original sign
codes that were proposed, I felt,
were too restrictive. The sign code
was changed to accommodate the
needs of businesses and consumers.
Charitable Budgeting
I think that decision was made
before the city knew that there was
a shortfall. Given the information at
the time it was a good way tO invest
back into our community. But, after
the iaews of the shortfall came out, it
changed our priorities.
Raises for Non-Represented
Employees: The resolution was in
place and we honored our promise
to the employees.
Private Property Rights: Pri-
vate property rights are. important;
and with that comes the responsibil-
ity to not infringe on others' rights. I
think the city should be responsible
to its citizens.
Police and Library Levies:
I think this is a very big issue and
will be decided
by the people of
the state of Or-
egon. Because
of the original
Measure 5 im-
pact on Sweet
Home, we don't
have our police
and library in-
cluded in our Gourley
city's general
fund. They are funded exclusively
by levy. We are only one of two
municipalities in the state that are
affected this way. I think changes
should be made through the Legis-
lature to resolve this issue.
Lighting Ordinance: I don't
believe in a full "dark skies" ap-
proach. Small cities have to balance
the safety within the city and any
ordinance with the needs of all indi-
vidual property owners.
Anay Hausner, 37
Education: Douglas High
School, Winston; Umpqua Commu-
nity College, Winchester; Linn-Ben-
ton Community College, Albany
Occupation: Department of
Revenue, Special Programs Admin-
istration, Salem
Previous civic and volunteer
experience: Sweet Home Planning
Commission, Vice Chair; Board of
Directors, Oregon Virtual Academy
(ORVA)
What do you hope to accom-
plish? Why should we vote for you
in particular? What sets you apart
from the other candidates?
. I hope to accomplish what mat-
ters to the citizens of Sweet Home
with a fair and unbiased demeanor.
I am a person that looks at the facts
and asks tough questions to get an-
swers to my concerns. I am just and
fair in my findings and am not afraid
. to be passionate about what needs
to be done, and I am not afraid to
debate against something I oppose,
regardless if some people find my
unbiased opinions not suitable to
conformity.
Role: The role of the City
Council is to function as a body that
creates, proposes and votes on or-
dinances and balances city budgets
and to work with the commissions
and committees that are appointed
with local community members to
help govern the needs of the city.
The role of the city government is to
provide the community with various
types of supporting roles, including
police, fire, city maintenance, Public
Works and water/sewer services.
Economic Revitalization: The
city should think differently and
outside the box when it comes to the
revitalization of the downtown area
and economy. Most cities follow a
pre-planned program strategy to
help revitalizing their most declin-
ing areas. What the city needs to
do in our situation is to recycle the
old strategies and come up with our
own very unique plans that not only
follow the laws above our city but
enable our city to demonstrate dif-
ferences that might attract new and
exciting opportunities to our city.
Chicken Ordinance: The
"chicken ordinance" involves much
more than chickens, but the main
focus of the ordinance was placed
on chickens. I know that the ordi-
nance was not popular with some of
the community members, but I do
" believe that the ordinance is well-
balanced for what the city needs in
today's time.
Blighted and Vacant Struc-
tures: Most cities, regardless of the
size, are dealing
with this situ-
ation. With the
decline in the
economy and
the abandon-
ment of homes
and businesses,
it has attract-
ed unwanted
n u i s a n c e s. Hausner
The city has
a duty to protect • the community.
The responsibility must fall to the
owner(s) of the properties to handle
the appearance or maintenance of
their buildings on theii- property,
and if not, the City Council needs
to have the proper regulations in
place to take over the responsibility
to accomplish the goals that our city
strives for.
Sign Codes: I think that the sign
code revision needed to be done, but
I was a little concerned about how
long the project lasted. I have ex-
perience creating, reviewing, work-
ing on and proposing regulations
and ordinances and understand that
the process takes a lot of time, but
I think constant involvement from
all the members involved is vital
in making sure the process stays on
track and is completed within a rea-
sonable governmental timeframe.
Charitable Budgetingi There
is no doubt that charitable organi-
zations in today's tough economic
times need more help than ever, but
I do not believe that public ftlnds
should beinvolved in such matters.
If I want to contribute, then it should
be a personal choice, not a govern-
mental one.
Raises for Non-Represented
Employees: Say you were an em-
ployee working for a company that
needed you to give up your raises
for two years straight, but in return
after those two years, you would
receive the raise that is due to you.
This situation is no different; those
employees gave up their raises to
help the community and in return
were assured by the council that
they would receive their raises this
year. To my understanding those
provisions were already included
into the previous year budget plans
and should not have been an issue to
the current budget determination.
Private Property Rights:
There is no doubt that land use has
changed in the last few decades and
finding a balance is a fundamentally
challenging role for our city - and
Measure 50 has help from regulato-
ry take-overs. Land conservation is a
critical key component to achieving
long-term development and growth
and it must strike a balance for all
involved.
Land use policies and regula-
tions should be reviewed on a yearly
rotation to ensure the right path for
our city is taking place. Our city is
governed by the state with some
things, and there are limitations to
what our city can do. BUt the city
can take the necessary precautions
to help reduce unbalanced interests.
Police and Library Levies:
I think that the measurements on
property tax limitation needs to
be-outside the current limits under
Measure 5. I believe that the use of
the current compression system dis-
allows our city to use the funds in
ways that are needed at the time it is
needed. Instead of using the current
compression system to calculate
how much can be used for levy-
funded police and library services, it
will give our city the freedom that is
desperately needed for those types
of services.
Lighting Ordinance: I would
support the proposed lighting ordi-
nance if there were a way to enforce
it. I would imagine that some will
consider the outlined proposal to be
too restrictive, especially to a com-
munity that is not used to this kind
of ordinance.
When our city is at the point to
where the community is producing
light pollution that mars the view
of the stars, then it wouldbe a good
idea to revisit any lighting ordi-
nance that may be in force to revise
it to reflect a "dark skies" approach.
I do hope that if the proposed light-
ing ordinance does not fit the needs
of our city at this time, that the com-
munity would be ope0 to a lighting
ordinance that could be used for fu-
ture developments.
Bruce Hobbs, 36
Education: High School
Occupation: Real Estate
Previous civic and volunteer
experience: Chamber of Com-
merce, Traffic Safety Committee,
All-Hazard Committee, city Budget
Committee.
What do you hope to accom-
plish? For the most part I believe the
city does a good job of mana " the
day-to-daybusi-
ness of Sweet
Home. On oc-
casion, though,
I believe that
it steps on per-
sonal property
rights in an ef-
fort to make
improvements
to the city. I Hobbs
would like to
be a voice for those rights.
Role: I see the City Council as
point of contact for concerned citi-
zens that allows for a more rapid re-
sponse to the wants of the local citi-
zenry without having to.go through
the ballot option. The city govern-
ment's role is to strike a balance be-
tween the needs for safety and ser-
vices in the city of Sweet Home and
the fights and means of it citizenry.
Economic Revitalization: The
role of the city is to encourage the
growth of business by not encum-
bering it with unneeded regulation.
I believe it is OK for the city to ac-
tively recruit businesses to Sweet
Home, but there are very few in-
stances where it is appropriate to
use taxpayers' money to incentivize
them.
Chicken Ordinance: I am very
happy that the city adopted a bal-
anced ordinance on having chickens
in the city. I was one of the citizens
who asked the city to consider this
ordinance.
Blighted and Vacant Struc-
tures: I understand what the idea
behind the ordinance is: to help
improve the look of Sweet Home.
But I do not think this ordinance is
going to get the results it is looking
for. The ordinance, as it is written,
steps on thQ rights of the property
owners.
I can sympathize with those
who believe their rights have been
stepped on by these eyesores. Fortu-
natelyr there is legal process in place
if a nearby property is impacting the
value of other home in a meaningful
way. I always worry when any gov-
ernment institution feels it knows
what looks the best or is the best
way to use private property.
Sign Code: Overall, I think
they struck a good balance between
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