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Civic duty
A council race, a tax vote and governing board memberships hang in the voters’ balance Tuesday.
Published Sunday, April 6, 2008
April elections typically have low voter turnout, but Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren says they have a much deeper impact on the day-to-day lives of citizens than state and federal elections that draw thousands more people to the polls.
“These smaller elections, they determine where a big chunk of your taxes go, where your kids go to school, the cost and quality of your water,” Noren said last week. “So much is based on this.” Noren said April elections in Boone County can draw to the polls anywhere from 11,000 to 25,000 of the 85,000 or so active Boone County voters. “I expect this year will be somewhere in the middle of that,” Noren said. The Columbia Public Schools tax issue will bring out a concerned group of voters, she said, as will questions affecting the Columbia municipal sewer utility and the Boone County Regional Sewer District. A Columbia City Council First Ward race usually is a low-turnout event, but four candidates in the running make this race hotter and could bring out more voters. “This is the most active I’ve seen in a long time, certainly since Almeta” Crayton “was first elected,” Noren said, referring to the First Ward incumbent. “In part, it’s because there is a culture of political activity that has evolved, not so much in the ward, but large groups are involved in get-out-the-vote efforts.” In this presidential election year, Noren said, the voter registration drives and somewhat heightened political activity overall result in higher turnouts for local elections. She said absentee voting and change- of-address forms have been coming in with greater frequency in recent weeks, which is sometimes a predictor of increased turnout on the day of the election. “Some people look at the ballot and see sewer, schools,” and think, “ ‘Big deal,’ ” Noren said. “But one of the worst things that can happen is having bad sewage problems. … I use April elections as my ongoing civics lesson.” — Sara Semelka COLUMBIA CITY COUNCIL FIRST WARD: Three candidates are running for the First Ward seat, including incumbent Almeta Crayton. It is the first time the race has been contested since Crayton took office nine years ago. The unpaid position represents the First Ward, which encompasses most of the downtown area. Only First Ward residents vote for this position. Karen Baxter, 58, is a licensed practical nurse for Candlelight Lodge, an assisted-living residence. Baxter has been active in neighborhood involvement on a grass-roots level since she moved to her home on Fourth Avenue about 10 years ago. She served as the vice president of the Ridgeway Neighborhood Association for two years but is best known for her charitable work of holding “free garage sales” to distribute new and used items to people in need. Baxter favors development that meets city guidelines and a stronger city stance on crime. John G. Clark, 65, works as chief financial officer for KOPN radio. He has been involved with the community for 15 years, especially through his work in the North Central Columbia Neighborhood Association. Clark also volunteered for the city’s recently completed visioning process and helped form the NCCNA overlay zoning proposal. Clark ran twice for mayor against incumbent Mayor Darwin Hindman in 2004 and 2007. Clark advocates more city planning and greater resident participation in governmental processes. He has lived in the First Ward for 30 years. Paul Sturtz, 43, is co-founder and program director of the Ragtag Cinema as well as the co-founder and director of the True/False Film Festival. Sturtz also helped found Columbia Locally Owned Retail and Services, or COLORS, an organization that promotes local business, as well as Big Canoe, an urban garden project. Sturtz took part in the group of residents who worked to preserve the Stephens Lake area as a city park. Sturtz said his top priorities are improving First Ward infrastructure and services, creating a vibrant downtown and pushing for sustainable development across the city. Almeta Crayton, 48, works as a cafeteria monitor for Gentry Middle School. Crayton has represented the First Ward on the council for nine years, focusing on improving social services for kids in the First Ward. Each Thanksgiving, Crayton leads an effort to hand out food baskets to hundreds of families in need and also makes a Thanksgiving dinner open to anyone in the community. Crayton worked to get a Successful Neighborhood Resource Center established for kids to have Internet access. Crayton said her priorities remain making not-for-profits accountable for the money they receive and working proactively with kids to prevent crime. FIFTH WARD: Laura Nauser, 44, works for Boone Title Co., and represents the Fifth Ward on the city council. She is running unopposed in her bid for a second term. In 2005, she won 55 percent of the vote in a three-way race. Nauser is considered a pro-business voice on the council and owns Nauser Beverage Co. with her husband, Greg Nauser. She believes in setting good city policies, rather than evaluating issues on a case-by-case basis, and working proactively to prevent crime. — Kat Hughes COLUMBIA SCHOOLS TAX Columbia Public Schools is asking voters to approve a 54-cent per $100 assessed valuation tax increase. Approval of the increase would boost the district’s total levy to $5.25, adding $153.90 to a home valued at $150,000 for a total property tax bill of $1,496.25 a year. Houses are assessed and charged at 19 percent of their estimated value. District administrators say they need the tax increase to offset losses in state funding and keep up with the rising costs of benefits, utilities and transportation. The district also is facing a $10.35 million deficit after creating new positions and increasing salaries using one-time reserve funds this year. The district is making $3 million in budget cuts next year and expects to save an additional $2 million by changing accounting practices. If the tax proposal fails, the school board plans to cut an additional $5 million from operating expenses. — Janese Heavin COLUMBIA SCHOOL BOARD Six candidates are vying for three open seats on the Columbia Board of Education. The seven school board members serve three-year terms and are not paid. The candidates, listed in the order they filed, are Rosie Tippin, Darin Preis, Tom Rose, Arch Brooks, Ines Segert and Gale “Hap” Hairston. Tippin served as principal at West Boulevard Elementary School from 1994 to 2004 and previously was a teacher and owner of a preschool. She believes her in-the-trenches experience qualifies her for the school board. Tippin said her goal is to continue what she considers excellence in the district while improving lines of communication with the public. Preis, 37, is finishing his first term on the board. During his tenure, he’s been an advocate of early childhood education, improvements in nutrition and innovation in schools. Preis, the executive director of Central Missouri Community Action, is next in line to become school board president. Rose, 45, was appointed to the board last year to fill the unexpired term of Don Ludwig. A local veterinarian, Rose believes his experience as a small-business owner gives him firsthand insight into how to prioritize and balancing expenses. Rose also has become known for trying to improve lines of communication between the district and community. Brooks is running for the school board for the fifth time. He accuses the district of being racist and giving preferential treatment to homosexual employees. Brooks, 56, recently was arrested on suspicion of domestic assault. He declined to be interviewed for Tribune profiles. Segert, 49, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri Department of Psychology, thinks her college-level experience gives her a unique perspective of seeing students who have gone through public schools. Segert is also a vocal critic of recent school board and district decisions such as not including the public in selecting a high school site and choosing a concept-based math program instead of a more traditional instructional program. Hairston, 58, is director of educator preparation at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and has 37 years of educational experience. He has been principal at both New Haven and Rock Bridge elementary schools and has taught at the college level. He believes he has the background knowledge necessary to be “ready to go” if elected. — Janese Heavin HOSPITAL TRUSTEES The Boone Hospital Center Board of Trustees is a volunteer board responsible for managing the county-owned Boone Hospital Center. Five members of the board each serve five-year terms. Keith Schnarre, former Boone County presiding commissioner and a Centralia-area farmer, is attempting to unseat Fred Parry, a radio personality and magazine publisher. Schnarre, who has the support of former board member Llona Weiss, said he would be a “solid” board member who has served on numerous panels, including Boone Electric Cooperative and MFA Oil Inc. He also cites his work as county commissioner in opening the Sanford-Kimpton Building, which houses the Columbia/Boone County Health Department, and improving nursing service at the Boone County Jail. If elected, Schnarre said he would look at opportunities to partner with local not-for-profit organizations and ensure the hospital can adapt to the quickly changing health-care market. Schnarre was a nonvoting liaison to the board as it renegotiated its lease with BJC HealthCare and said he is a stronger candidate because in the end, Parry voted against accepting the renegotiated lease. Parry cites his role in renegotiating the lease as one of the highlights of his tenure on the board. Parry said he and board member Robert McDavid voted to cancel the BJC lease in September 2006 as a way to bring the management company to the table. McDavid is supporting Parry in the election. As a result of lease negotiations, Parry said, $100 million more is staying in Boone County and the Boone County Commission receives an extra $500,000 to commit to local health needs. Parry said his track record on the board and his business background qualify him for the job. If elected, Parry said he wants to create a financial master plan for the hospital to ensure it’s in a strong position when the BJC lease expires in 2015. — Sara Semelka FIRE BOARD EXPANDS The Boone County Fire Protection District Board of Directors is expanding from three to five members, and voters will chose from five candidates to fill the positions. The candidates are: Mike Becker, Phyllis Fugit, Mike McMillen, Mickey Nichols and John Sam Williamson. Whoever receives the most votes will serve a six-year term, and the second-highest vote-getter will serve four years. They will join current members John Gordon, Dave Griggs and Shelly Dometrorch. Griggs is running unopposed for re-election, and his name will not appear on the ballot. Eighty-six percent of fire district voters in April 2006 approved expanding the board of directors by two seats amid complaints from former volunteer firefighters about the leadership of longtime district Fire Chief Steve Paulsell. The expanded board of directors will be responsible for renegotiating a territorial agreement with the city of Columbia and working on capital improvements that might include a proposal for a bond issue. A salary review committee is also examining salary levels for fire district employees and is expected to make recommendations soon. Of the candidates, Becker, a former UPS worker and labor steward, has been the most critical. He said he thinks Paulsell is paid too much. McMillen, a former lobbyist for the insurance industry, emphasized the importance of rewriting fire district bylaws, which he said are outdated. Nichols has volunteered with the fire district for almost 30 years and is the only candidate with firefighting experience. Williams is a longtime farmer in the McBaine area, and Fugit is a retired city of Columbia clerical worker. The tax-supported fire district responds to fires and medical emergencies in 532 square miles of Boone County and has an operating budget of about $3.4 million. Board members receive a monthly stipend of $75. — Joe Meyer ASHLAND SCHOOL BONDS Ashland voters will deciding whether to approve a $1.7 million bond issue to complete the Southern Boone County School District’s new elementary building. The money would allow the district to add a fifth-grade wing to the school, which opened this school year. The new building was built using proceeds from a $6.2 million bond issue approved in 2006. The new elementary school now houses third and fourth grades, and fifth-graders are in the middle school. If the bonds are approved, the district would have a K-2 primary school, a grades 3-5 elementary building, a 6-8 middle school and a 9-12 high school. — Janese Heavin COLUMBIA SEWERS The city of Columbia is asking residents to approve a $77 million ballot issue to use bond financing to pay for improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment plant and sewer collection system. About $67 million of that total will update the wastewater treatment plant near McBaine to meet federal Clean Water Act requirements by 2013. The city will use the remaining $10 million to eliminate private common-collector sewers within the city, extend city sewer trunk lines farther to development and improve the city’s wastewater collector system. The city must install the improvements to meet federal requirements, but using bonds to finance it will save residents money on their sewer bills by allowing the city to pay for improvements over time. — Kat Hughes BOONE COUNTY SEWERS All Boone County voters, including those in Columbia, will be asked to approve a $21 million revenue bond that would fund improvements to the Boone County Regional Sewer District’s wastewater treatment methods. The vote will not affect rates paid by Columbia residents. The district’s general manager, Tom Ratermann, said recently changed state and federal requirements have raised the standards for water quality of streams into which the district discharges treated wastewater. During the next five years, the district will consolidate outdated lagoon systems and either hook them into existing city sewers or build new wastewater treatment plants throughout the county. The bond would be paid for with district customer-user fees, which likely will double by 2013. Ratermann said the district will have to implement the changes even if voters do not approve the bond. That would cause rates to rise more steeply in the coming years and level off at a higher rate in 2013 than if the improvements were paid off through the bond. — Sara Semelka
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Copyright © 2008 The Columbia Daily Tribune. All Rights Reserved.
The Columbia Daily Tribune
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