BY PATRICK LAIR
ALBANY DEMOCRAT-HERALD | Posted: Thursday, October 23, 2008 12:00 am
BROWNSVILLE - Candidates for Brownsville City Council expressed different priorities for office, which included keeping a tight rein on spending and ensuring the city develops in a manner agreeable to its residents.
Six candidates are running for three open council seats this year.
Lynda Chambers, 54, said she'd be fiscally conservative with the city's money if elected.
Chambers has served five years on the city's budget committee and on the Linn County Pioneer Association board of directors.
City residents are experiencing higher water and sewer rates and higher property taxes, she said, which means the council should only support funding projects that people really need.
The city is retiring around $360,000 of debt each year from a 2004 wastewater bond that funded work to upgrade the sewers to DEQ standards.
Water and sewer rates rose 3 and 5 percent respectively this year, with a monthly $15 fee added to pay down the debt.
A fire district bond passed by city voters in 2006 also levies $1.25 per thousand dollars of assessed property value to pay for a new station and engines.
Chambers said she'd like to see more affordable housing for seniors but she doesn't want any more subdivisions.
Robert Boyanovsky, 47, is a first-time candidate, and also expressed a concern for city spending.
An equipment operator at the Georgia-Pacific paper mill in Halsey, Boyanovsky said as councilor he'd scrutinize any additional expenditures that would be passed on to the community.
"Property taxes are high here. It'd be nice to find a way to reduce that," he said.
Carla Gerber, 42, who's previously served on the city Parks Board, said her interest is to ensure the city follows through with its strategic planning.
"The city has done a lot of work with focus groups to see where we'd like to go," said Gerber, a social worker in Eugene. "I want to make sure we're following the vision the city and community has articulated."
Marilyn Grimes and Nan Van Sandt both said they'd like to facilitate cooperation between the various groups in town while promoting local businesses.
Grimes, 44, a private caregiver who's worked as a union organizer and campaigned for Al Gore, said she'd like to see the arrival of new businesses that would fit the town's unique atmosphere.
"No huge commercial buildings. We want to keep the town's historic atmosphere," she said. "Maybe a bowling alley."
Van Sandt, 52, is a registered nurse at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene. She said she wants to keep local businesses healthy and growing but prevent any kind of urban sprawl.
"Basically, I see Brownsville as really vibrant and community-oriented. I'd like to keep it that way," she said.
Jay Marsh said he's running to give regular citizens a voice in the government.
Marsh, 44, is a first-time candidate who receives disability since he had a stroke.
The city government is too group-organized, the same people have run things for too long and there's no debate, Marsh said.
"I think everybody needs to have input and not just certain people," he said.
Marsh said he'd push for a city skatepark if elected.
The council consists of six councilors and the mayor. Council seats are for four years.