|
1. What is your opinion on light rail throughout Folsom?
I’m not sure what the question means by “throughout Folsom” as light
rail is not currently planned to traverse our city other than its
current construction from Folsom Boulevard to the Old Folsom
station. I have supported and continue to support the existing light
rail construction as I believe it is imperative to relieve some of
the congestion along Highway 50. I also support the expansion of
light rail service to El Dorado Hills so long as it parallels
Highway 50 and does not interfere with current Folsom roadways and
our planned development of professional offices along Iron Point
Road. My support of light rail is not without some reservation,
however. I am concerned that light rail has the potential to bring
some level of increased criminal activity to the city that we must
be diligent in preventing. Management of the Folsom Premium Outlets
has expressed concerns to me about the light rail station near Iron
Point. Owners of the automobile dealerships in the mall have also
expressed some concerns. I have shared these concerns with Police
Chief Spiegel and he is aware of the issues related to mass transit
and crime and is working with me to develop plans to increase public
awareness and police monitoring once the system is operational. I
want to be sure the City of Folsom can offer its citizens an
alternative mode of transportation without jeopardizing the safety
and property of all residents.
2. What is your view on the south of 50 situation? What do you
support in terms of development?
I believe that the annexation of the land south of US Highway 50
into the City of Folsom is very important to our City to protect our
existing residents and to assure the long term financial stability
of the city. Folsom cannot allow the City of Rancho Cordova or the
County of Sacramento to control the development of the Sphere of
Influence area. I have never been impressed with the County’s
planning efforts to date (observe Highway 50 from Bradshaw to
Hazel). Conversely, the City of Folsom has done an impressive job
planning its City. The development along Highway 50 from Folsom
Boulevard to East Bidwell Street is some of the best in the region.
Development planned for the Mall site, Kaiser Hospital and the
business parks along East Bidwell and Iron Point Road are perfect
examples. It is without question that the Sphere of Influence area
will be developed by someone. I want to assure the residents that
when the sphere of influence is developed, it will meet the strict
standards and design criteria we have established so as to
compliment our existing city and not contrast with it.
Most important, however, is the long term financial impact of this
area. The revenue potential for both residential property tax
increment and commercial sales and property tax are critical to the
success of our City. If the County of Sacramento or the City of
Rancho Cordova were to annex the land and develop it, they would
retain the revenue benefits and bear few, if any, of the burdens.
Folsom’s roadways, parks, businesses and other infrastructure would
be substantially impacted by any development there without the
revenue enhancements that would allow us to fund the law enforcement
and public works impacts. Not annexing the property makes no
economic sense.
The land needs to be carefully planned as the City is currently
doing with the residents through the visioning process. Once we know
what we want as a community south of Highway 50, we can work with
the landowners and developers to make sure we get what we want. This
city has historically let the developers tell them what they are
going to do. This property should be different, we should control
the process. I think that the area needs to be developed with the
primary goal of bringing another significant employer to stabilize
its tax base. Right now, Intel is the only major employer in the
City. If anything were to happen, the loss of that employer would
have a devastating impact. Intel is a great corporate citizen. But
we cannot afford, as a City, to have all of our “eggs in one
basket.” I have worked hard to recruit new businesses in Folsom. I
am proud to be a part of the team that brought Trader Joes and
Costco to our City. The addition of Kaiser Hospital on Iron Point
Road will bring us one step closer to this goal as that facility
could employ as many as 1000 people. But that is not enough. I
believe that one of the primary motivating factors for annexing the
Sphere of Influence area is to allow us to add one more key employer
to help buffer our City from any future economic downturn. I am
currently working with City economic development staff, the Chamber
of Commerce and Folsom Economic Development Corporation to develop a
list of targeted businesses and create a master recruitment plan to
accomplish this major objective.
We must also grow our retail base in the city and accommodate the
additional housing needs for the jobs that are created. The Sphere
of Influence area is the only place that this can be accomplished.
I personally have been working hard to bring a university to our
area and I feel that the Sphere of Influence area would be ideal for
such an endeavor. I agree with Dr. Robert Fountain, professor of
Economics for the Sacramento State University, when he states that
the Folsom area has the opportunity to be one of the regions most
powerful and influential economic “nodes.” We have the best
jobs/housing balance in the region, major employers and retail
establishments and an infrastructure that can accommodate the
growth. The only thing we are missing is an educational component.
While the Folsom Lake College is a gem for our city, a four-year
university is necessary to generate the skilled and educated work
force necessary for the high-tech employers in our city. Given
Folsom’s highly educated and affluent residents, the demographics
fit perfectly for a university. I have made inroads with the people
necessary to bring a university to this area and if elected, I will
continue my efforts to make that dream a reality.
And finally, we will have to accommodate a wide variety of housing
inventory. We must have housing for the jobs we want to create so
that residents can live and work in the same community and not have
to commute to Sacramento for employment.
3. What actions would you like to see taken to mitigate excess high
density housing in south Folsom?
I am not aware of any plans for high density housing in the Sphere
of Influence area at this time. However, the question appropriately
raises a very good concern. As I stated in response to question 2,
if Folsom does not control the development of the Sphere of
Influence area, we will have no control over the type and amount of
housing that can be developed there. Because we can expect over 1
million people to migrate to this region in the next 20 years, some
high density housing will have to be built simply because most of
these people will not have the economic means to own their own homes
like most of the rest of Folsom. Multi-family housing offers an
opportunity for many people who might work in Folsom to live in
Folsom. High density housing is also needed to house the workforce
needed to keep our economic base solidified. So while many people do
not want to see any apartments ever built in Folsom, I believe that
a proper mix of all types of housing stock is necessary to meet the
needs of the growing population as well as comply with the
requirements of California housing law. I do agree that we must be
very careful to build only the appropriate amount of multi-family
housing for our region. We cannot become the dumping ground for high
density housing for the region. We must control the land to the
south so that the County of Sacramento and the City of Rancho
Cordova do not use that area to meet their affordable housing
requirements by dumping excessive high density housing so close to
our borders and reducing property values within the city. If
elected, I will continue to use my position to assure Folsom
residents voices are heard on the issue.
4. What are your opinions on growout population for Folsom? 70,000,
90,000... over 100,000?
Folsom’s population is currently capped at just over 69,000. We
expect to build out the city by 2013 and that figure won’t change
until and if we annex more property. It is difficult to answer this
question until we know whether residents want to annex any
additional land. We could annex the Sphere of Influence area or part
of the Aerojet land near the Automall. One or both of those
annexations would impact our population count. Until the residents
speak on the issue of annexation this November, discussions of
population counts would be pure speculation.
5. What plans do you support to control out of town traffic within
the city, without interfering with residences right to access?
I don’t think we can control out of town traffic and I’m not sure
you want to. The small retail businesses in Folsom rely heavily upon
the commuters for their survival. Our city is very dependent upon
the retail businesses for our share of the sales tax we receive. The
city receives 49.69% of its general fund revenues from sales tax.
The General Fund is where we pay for parks, public works, cultural
and recreational activities and our public safety personnel. We want
those “out of towners” to come to our city and spend their money. We
get the tax revenue and don’t have their burden on our services. I
agree that we don’t want those people who merely commute through our
city and don’t support our businesses. All they do is ruin our roads
and cause congestion. I am hopeful that the new roads being
developed in El Dorado Hills, namely, Sophia Parkway and Empire
Ranch Road will help route some of this traffic around Folsom and
not through it but it is not a perfect solution. We need to have the
Federal Government re-open the dam road or expedite the construction
of the new bridge to bring real relief to the traffic congestion
problems in the city. If elected, I will continue my efforts to
accomplish that objective.
6. What are your opinions on the Folsom Library?
I support the construction of a new library in Folsom. The existing
facility is completely inappropriate for a community our size. I had
opposed earlier plans for the library because I felt that they were
too grandiose and did not take into consideration that the
traditional library thinking was outdated given the rapid
development of technology. However, not every Folsom resident has
the luxury of access to computers and I softened my position after
to speaking to many residents and exploring further the true uses of
the Folsom Library. After this analysis, I concluded that the
proposal presented to construct a new, smaller library and include a
branch within the new Folsom high school would not only accommodate
the new technology, but also give the residents more library access
at a reduced cost. I also believe the new library will revitalize
the area around the park, increase attendance at our zoo facility
and be part of a “city center.” I am concerned that further delays
in the process will result in significant cost increases as material
cost seem to be rising on a daily basis. We need to get this done
while the City has sufficient funding for this major public work.
7. Why is Folsom trying to keep its own solid waste system when a
great savings and better service for the residents of Folsom can be
obtained by contracting this service out? What are your plans to
revisit this in the near term?
Folsom is currently prohibited from contracting its solid waste
services by a provision in its Charter. There is some speculation
that this charter was added as political punishment when Folsom was
governed by a very different type of leadership. Whether that is
true or not, I cannot say, however, I do believe that every
opportunity to reduce costs to the residents must be explored.
Because I have a business background, I try to bring business
reasoning to every decision I have made while acting as a
councilmember. I do not accept the excuse that we do something
because that is always how we’ve done it. If there are better ways
to provide city services they should be explored. The first thing we
have to do is to change the Charter to allow us to explore other
possibilities. However, I’m not convinced privatization of all
public services is always the best. Both Rancho Cordova and Elk
Grove are working to get out of their private contracts for law
enforcement. I would also carefully assess any change from public
service to private service. For example, if we were to change our
existing solid waste service to a private company, we would have no
further need for the millions of dollars of equipment we currently
have. Since we would not want to spend taxpayer’s money to maintain
vehicles we did not use, we would likely sell those vehicles to
other communities. My concern would be that if the private company
then increased its prices and all of their competitors increased
theirs (as most companies tend to do) or there were no other
competitors, it would be cost prohibitive to convert back to public
service. We simply have to thoroughly think through these decisions
and be prepared to deal with all of the ramifications.
I asked the utilities department to provide survey information of
the residential solid waste rates in the region and want the public
to know that their service are not only more complete but are also
cheaper than most other cities, both publicly and privately
operated:
|
Rates for 90 gallon container |
|
Folsom |
$22.50 |
Public |
|
Rancho Cordova |
$24.26 |
Private |
|
Sacramento County |
$25.50 |
Public |
|
Davis |
$24.39 |
Private |
|
Roseville |
$17.61 |
Public |
|
Woodland |
$29.46 |
Private |
|
El Dorado Hills |
$29.50 |
Private |
None of these cities provide the breadth of service Folsom provides
to its residents. I’m not suggesting we don’t keep looking at the
issue, but we are in a good position right now and I’ll work hard to
make sure we stay that way.
8. What are your opinions of the Dam Road closure? Do you think an
effective compromise is obtainable?
The closure of the Folsom Dam road should be, in my opinion, the
number one concern for any person you elect. The closure of the road
and the associated traffic congestion in the City of Folsom is
having a devastating effect on business and the overall quality of
life in Folsom. As Mayor and Councilman, I have worked diligently to
find some solution to this major crisis. I testified twice before
the United States Congress in support of the bill that was
ultimately signed by President Bush authorizing the construction of
the new bridge. However, the battle is far from over. Issues
relating to federal funding for the bridge still require Folsom to
remain very vigilant. I worked very closely with Congressmen Ose,
Doolittle and Pombo to make sure threats to our funding were
countered. We will be required to protect this interest every year,
especially in light of anticipated federal deficits. My experience
and contacts in Washington D.C. make me the ideal candidate to
ensure that the bridge project continues to move forward.
Until the bridge is built, however, our next priority is to convince
the United States Bureau of Reclamation to re-open the road during
commute hours. I have worked very closely with our Congressmen and
law enforcement personnel from the region to prepare all of the
evidence needed to support our position and to provide the security
measures necessary to assure federal officials that this very
important asset will be protected. I have met personally with the
Bureau Director and representatives of the Bush administration to
plead our case to re-open the road. If elected I will continue my
efforts in that regard and will ensure that the City is prepared to
respond to and influence the environmental impact report that will
be produced early next year.
Folsom residents need to become more engaged in this issue for us to
have any success in a temporary opening. I urge everyone to write
and call Senators Feinstein and Boxer to express their displeasure
with the Senators refusal to re-open the road.
9. With the growing population, how will the city ensure adequate
public safety services?
To adequately deal with the impacts of growth on public safety
services, the residents have to elect council people who have a
strong commitment to public safety. Many of the candidates say that
parks and recreation or the building of the library should be the
highest priority in the city. I do not agree. With crimes against
persons increasing by 10% between 2002 and 2003, I am a fervent
advocate of public safety. Without a strong and responsive police
and fire force, all of the other amenities in the city will be worth
little. Without adequate police protection, our parks, libraries and
other city facilities will be vandalized and rendered useless. Just
look around at several examples of other cities that have not made
public safety a high priority. Their property values have gone down
as a result of spiraling crime rates. Public safety has been a very
high priority for me for the four years I have served this city.
During my four years, we have added 30 police officers and 12
firefighters to the departments. We have completed the new fire
station on Clarksville Road and moved the main fire station to a
larger and more modern facility on Glenn Drive. The city developed
and implemented a fire and police master delivery plan that
forecasts public safety needs into the future to assure that our
residents will continue to be protected. While we have done much,
the lack of attention from previous councils has still left this
city behind the curve in terms of staffing needs. We must continue
to add additional police and fire personnel to bring the response
times down to more acceptable levels. The work is far from done. I
remain committed to the continued funding of the public safety
delivery plans for this city.
10. Rainbow bridge is a landmark to the city. It is also one of the
more memorable sites to visitors. What will you do to clean up the
graffiti from RB and preserve this city treasure?
Not only is the Rainbow bridge one of the more memorable sites, it
is also one of the most beautiful and historic. This treasure must
be preserved and protected. I know that the members of the city’s
public works crew work very hard to deal with graffiti issues.
However, the recent rash of “tagging” that has occurred in the city
demands that we take a much closer look at the issue. I’m concerned
that the graffiti is a symptom of a greater problem. From my service
as the city’s representative on the Criminal Justice Roundtable I
know that this type of activity is often linked to gangs in the
region. We need to look at this problem from a different perspective
and determine whether the root is gang related and then address that
problem. I have been in discussions with the police chief and his
gang task force to monitor gang activity in the region to make sure
it is not working its way into Folsom again. Our police force did an
excellent job of eradicating an earlier movement into the area and
we have to remain vigilant in this area. If elected I will continue
to make sure that city staff respond quickly to graffiti on our
public buildings but am also very committed to making sure that the
more serious problems related to graffiti are not rearing their ugly
heads.
11. How do you plan on making Folsom more bicycle-friendly?
As an avid cyclist, I have worked hard to ensure that bicycling has
been incorporated into all of the development and parks and
recreation plans in the last four years. Cycling is not only healthy
for our residents, but it is also a very important component of our
overall strategy to reduce air pollution in our region. Many Folsom
residents commute by bicycle. This City should continue to encourage
this activity. I have worked, and will continue to work on making
sure that gaps within the City’s trail system are filled and that
ultimately residents will be able to get around town completely on
Class I bike trails or with minimal travel on existing roadways. I
think Folsom has already done a fantastic job with its trail system
and I want to make sure it continues. This will involve a careful
balancing of the limited budgets we have for our Parks and
Recreation department as not everyone in the City thinks the trails
are the most important priority. Citizens need to elect people who
can effectively balance the City’s limited resources to serve the
greatest need.
12. How do you see Transit Oriented Development (TOD) fitting into
Folsom's future (north or south of 50)?
Transit Oriented Development is a critical component for the entire
region not just Folsom. We must find a way for people to live near
their work so we can reduce commuting. As a member of the Sacramento
Metropolitan Air Quality Management District for the past four years
I am particularly aware of the dangers of ozone and Nox omissions in
our region. We have to find ways to get people out of their
automobiles. Developing areas where major employment centers can be
near housing is a must as I explained in response to an earlier
question. Folsom is a perfect example of such development. Folsom
has the best jobs/housing balance in the region. Many of our
residents live and work in Folsom and do not have to commute. Other
cities need to emulate our city. Our system of bicycle and walking
trails is second to none in the region. Incorporating light rail
into the development of land south of the highway will be an
important feature as we are learning from the residents at the
visioning meetings being held throughout the city.
13. What would you propose to improve the long-term (after the new
bridge) prospects for traffic in Folsom, particularly in the
historic district?
The construction of a new bridge below Folsom Dam is the linchpin of
any improvement of traffic flow within the City. Once that bridge is
constructed we will be able to re-open all of the roadways in Folsom
to improve traffic flow. The closure of the Folsom Dam road forced
some 20,000 additional vehicles onto our roadways. There is simply
no way to absorb that amount of traffic on our exiting system. We do
not have that type of infrastructure in the city. That is why the
re-opening of the Folsom Dam road, even if only during commuting
hours, is absolutely critical.
I am currently working with the Sutter Street merchants and
advancing a plan to improve traffic circulation within the historic
shopping district in time for the upcoming holiday. The dam road
closure has been devastating to businesses and we have to find a way
to help shoppers find their way around Old Town. This new traffic
circulation plan will help shoppers better access the district.
14. Many of our major roads (Prairie City, Iron Point, Greenback)
are major thoroughfares, yet are unlandscaped. What would you do to
help beautify these areas?
The streets mentioned are in areas that are still being developed in
the City. As such, we will be able to impose conditions of
development that require the developer to install landscape medians
when the projects are built. After the initial construction and the
improvements are dedicated, the City takes over the responsibility
to maintain the improvements. Most frequently, lighting and
landscape districts are established to accomplish this task. I agree
that these roadways are the gateway to our City and must be
developed properly. I will continue to insist, as I have done for
the last four years, that these roadway improvements be made part of
any approved development.
15. What are your thoughts on Measure T?
(Note to voters:
Measure T will not be on the ballot)
Since the proponents of Measure T failed to comply with the
requirements of state law, it will not appear on the ballot in
November. I believe that the City’s proposal and the visioning
process is a better alternative and urge voters to support Measure W
to ensure a strong and vibrant future for Folsom.
16. What are your thoughts on Measure W?
I support the citizen’s measure, Measure W. The reason I call this
the citizen’s measure is because through the visioning process that
the City of Folsom is conducting right now, the citizens will
control what is built in any land annexed by the City. We are
listening to what our residents want to see if the land is annexed
and demanding that any development that takes place there include
what the citizens reach as a consensus. Measure W allows us to
approach this land different than this city has ever approached
development. For years, city leaders and officials would merely
rubber stamp what developers put before them. But with my election
and Eric King’s election as well as the selection of a new city
manager, Martha Lofgren, when we came aboard, the old boys network
has been broken up, or at least only a few remnants of it still
exist. There is a new way of doing business in Folsom. We now
control what we want in our city. The Sphere of Influence land
allows us to implement this new approach to development and help
assure this city’s financial security and quality of life for all of
its residents for years to come.
|
