Question 1: Why have you chosen to run for office and what personal and professional experience do you bring?
Carla L. Blockson
I am running for the honor of serving as District 2 Commissioner because Lake Worth Beach is at a crossroad. We are at a place where we can either regress or progress toward our vision. This year will be my 25th Anniversary of serving in the city. I have served on the Electric Utilities Board, Community Relations Board, Project Graduation at Lake Worth High School, For The Children and currently newly appointed Commissioner for District 2. I retired from the Social Security Administration after 30 years of service. I progressed from a technical expert to an operations supervisor, overseeing and evaluating 27 employees. These experiences have taught me to build bridges and seek consensus. I am an independent thinker who thinks outside the box and am willing to listen to all sides before deciding a course of action. I bring a sense of diversity to the Commission. My degree in Urban Studies has helped me navigate the complex business of running a City government. I have met with all Dept. heads and other city staff, within the past month. I have asked tough questions and learned much. I am prepared to continue Moving Lake Worth Beach Forward Together.
Paola Branda
No written response
Christopher McVoy
For some time now, the City Commission meetings have drawn attention, even nationally, for their lack of decorum, poor transparency, and unwelcoming atmosphere for public involvement. Many do not believe that this helps our city. I chose to run for City Commissioner because I have the commitment as well as the tools to bring back the important (and dignified) exchange of ideas and much strengthened public participation. As a scientist, I have a lifelong dedication to facts and evidence-based decisionmaking. As an active participant in Everglades restoration, a multi-agency, multi-billion dollar state-federal effort, I have extensive experience working with diverse stakeholders to reach fact-based solutions. Personally, I have been very fortunate to be able to live and travel in a multiple countries where speaking the language allowed me to learn how widely differing cultures solved problems. Additionally, through 20+ years in Lake Worth Beach, 17 as homeowner, I have great affection for and commitment to my chosen city. I served as a commissioner from 2010 to 2017.
Ryan Oblander
It’s simple really, I was asked. I was asked to run back in 2019 by Commissioners Omari Hardy and Herman Robinson. They knew that as a civic leader and my involvement with my neighborhood, EUAB, NAPC, and various other non-profits, that I would be the right fit for the position. I moved to Lake Worth Beach in 2005, and within the first year I helped form the Sunset Ridge Neighborhood Association and have served as president since 2008. While we don’t always have a large turnout, we do have a large email list and I keep my neighbors informed on commission meetings, one-on-ones with the city manager, electric utilities, PBSO, and planned developments. I served on the Electric Utility Advisory Board since 2017, so I’ve been exposed to the nuances of our utility. I joined the NAPC and serve as Secretary of Communications, keeping all of the neighborhoods up to date, and volunteer all the time. I’m a graduate of the Lake Worth Municipal Institute, a city sponsored program designed to educate citizens on city government. Professionally I work as an application and database developer, so I have a strong background in technology, something the city is quite behind on.
Question 2: What do you see as the long-term plan for the Lake Worth Casino building on the beach?
Carla L. Blockson
The long term plan for the Casino building should involve a “Public–Private Partnership” that would allow it to become an “individual cost center”. The cost center should be self-supporting and showcase the beauty of our ocean front. The partnership between the city and the investor should be profitable to both sides. This partnership must be negotiated by professionals familiar with this type of venture. The initial cost may be greater, but will save the city money during the life of the contract. City staff may be a part of the process however the commission is not in the business of real estate development. The city’s stipulations within the Request for Proposal (RFP) must insure that a capital plan for maintenance and future infrastructure improvements are well documented.
Paola Branda
No written response
Christopher McVoy
The Lake Worth Casino building is relatively new, was professionally designed and does a good job of integrating an appropriate amount of businesses into a public park. I appreciate that its lighting was designed in accordance with state laws that protect sea turtles. I would like to see the ballroom be more of a focal point for community activities. Many senior residents have shared with me fond memories of community dances in the old building. I saw some myself. Once Covid is under control, I would push for incorporating more Lake Worth history into the ballroom and for making it a center for multi-generational activities in our community.
Ryan Oblander
Do you remember when then the raft race was canceled so the NAPC threw a pool party/kayak race? Fun times! I used to take my son there for swim lessons and just when I renewed we learned the pool was closing. So I waited, and waited, went to the charrettes and waited some more. I thought about this for a long time, then one day I happened to meet with the Director of Parks and Rec for Riviera Beach and he said it was a no-brainer that we should build a family friendly zero-entry splash pad and wading pool and if it makes sense, a multi-lane lap pool as well. The revenue that a family friendly pool attraction on the beach would bring would be substantial, well more than an olympic sized pool could generate on its own. Couple that with a snack bar and a new phone app with menus and delivery options from other Lake Worth Beach restaurants without using the business-unfriendly delivery apps like uber eats and delivery dudes. For the upstairs, a restaurant. For the parking, I’d like to see more resident spaces and possibly a parking garage. We’d need a master parks plan for
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Question 3: Do you believe any of the penny sales tax should be spent on the oceanfront park? Please be very specific (for example, if you support spending on the pool, please indicate so).
Carla L. Blockson
If the penny sales tax monies should be spent on the oceanfront park, we must first determine if the pool is a “core service.” It would be a “core service” that does not make a profit. Many communities absorb this cost because it is offset by their desire for amenities enjoyed by tourist and its citizenry. Post-Covid world of dwindling resources and increased demand for services, has the Community’s priorities changed? If citizens deem the pool as essential, how will we pay for ongoing maintenance? This becomes a matter of planning and allotting excess revenue from another source to maintain it. Beach parking is now $3 per hour. If we raise it too much more, people may not come. I support adding the pool to the Public-Private partnership initiative for the Casino and ask investors to underwrite the cost. I also support building a Community Center in the center of town and placing an indoor pool there. I am open to using a portion of the penny sales tax as leverage regarding the pool. Other options may include adding a splash pad that will appeal to more visitors. I certainly would want more community involvement in the decision making process.
Paola Branda
No written response
Christopher McVoy
Yes, I do. The intent of the penny sales tax was primarily to allow municipalities to make investments that would improve the community for the long term. To date, much of the usage seems to have gone more for normal repair or operating costs, that while needed, often do not have long term benefits. Residents have wanted the pool reopened for many, many years. Let’s do this asap, for seniors, for swim team members, for competitions, for the many that could first learn to swim in their community pool. I see benefit in considering modest improvements to the pool area to make it, like the ballroom, a community gathering point.
Ryan Oblander
I think we need to spend some of that money on a master parks plan that would include the oceanfront park to the tune of $150k. City staff kept saying we couldn’t afford it but now we can. Without that plan we are just guessing. I know that some money was earmarked for the pool project, so if the master parks plan indicates that building something like I suggested earlier, a revenue generating family friendly facility, we can issue bonds for the project and cover a multitude of things including parking and facility upgrades.
Question 4: Do you support closing some street entrances into the South Palm Park neighborhood to vehicular traffic and why / why not?
Carla L. Blockson
I have seen closing of neighborhood streets have a negative and positive impact. Residents near the initial closure site may have the inconvenience of living at the end of a one way street. Property owners on the proposed streets must be considered and their opinions given added weight. If this idea is supported by the Commission, how would we implement a policy for city wide requests from other neighborhoods? Your issues with Federal Highway are unique and I feel special consideration may be warranted.
Paola Branda
No written response
Christopher McVoy
I understand the concern about people and activities coming into the South Palm Park neighborhood
Ryan Oblander
Yes, I would support this. If the residents of South Palm Park feel safer with some of their entrances closed off then I’m all for it. We’d just have to get the OK from the fire department to see if this would create any delays for service calls. Mind you, building walls would not send the best message, so if they were say, metal gates instead, that could work. I think it would help to have reflective signage indicating which streets were open. I would also support if other neighborhoods wanted something like this to prevent speeding through side streets. If it went forward, we’d need to analyze its effectiveness after the first year.
Question 5: Do you support keeping the contract with PBSO and why / why not?
Carla L. Blockson
I support keeping the contract with PBSO. Lake Worth Beach has benefitted greatly by being part of a larger department. Additional availability to SWAT, more traffic units, a helicopter, grant access, and better investigative services are just a few of the amenities we now enjoy. We were recently awarded a $900,000 grant to reduce crime in District 1 by PBSO. If we cancelled the contract we could not afford to purchase the needed equipment and lure the deputies back to a stand alone department.
Paola Branda
No written response
Christopher McVoy
Yes, I do support keeping the contract with PBSO. I also support seeking opportunities to make improvements to the contract. These would include building in typical contract features such as milestones or performance measures to help PBSO achieve the best outcomes in Lake Worth Beach. There are still parts of the city where potential homeowners are reluctant to buy due to inadequate public safety. We need to stimulate owner-occupier investment by turning this around, possibly through expanded community policing. An emphasis on strengthening community-officer relations might be a part of that. More bicycle and foot patrols might be a part, as well as informal, in neighborhood joint sports activities.
Ryan Oblander
In a perfect world, nobody would commit a crime and everyone would be good to one another, but we don’t live in that world unfortunately. We live in Lake Worth Beach, a city once overrun by gang activity and sober homes. I was in sticker shock when I saw just how much of our general fund goes towards paying for PBSO, and we can’t even see, by law, what exactly they are spending it on. I know they submit for federal grants from time to time, like the current DUI saturation and traffic patrols until August 2021. I think as a city, we are better off with PBSO than without. Could it be better? Sure. With increased community policing and foot, bicycle, mounted, atv patrols, we could see crime go down in all parts of the city. We have some fancy new tech like license plate readers, and I’m sure over the years we’ll be getting fancier to solve our crime issues. We’ll still have to find other ways to resolve addiction, homelessness, and mental health issues that ultimately find their way to our public spaces.
Question 6: Do you support Lake Worth Beach keeping our electric utility and why / why not?
Carla L. Blockson
I support keeping the Lake Worth Beach Utility. We are a publically owned municipal utility and can chart our own destiny. The Utility supplements the general fund in a direct annual contribution of $4.5 million and indirect contributions of another approx. $6 million dollars. The indirect contributions include salaries from other departments, the visitor center, and even the cleaning of the cities alleys. Our rate is among the lowest in the state. In contrast to FPL, the rates are comparable LWB (110.64) vs. FPL (107.31). Our increased investment in solar energy will position us as an industry leader by 2024. System Hardening and Reliability Improvement Project (S.H.R.I.P) has made great strides in improving reliability and efficiency. We recently signed a letter of intent with FPL for a new Canal/Davis substation linking our powerlines to theirs. We will enjoy increased efficient distribution lines within the city. FPL is willing to share the cost. The investment for FPL in this venture is 15 million dollars. We cannot afford to lose the Utility.
Paola Branda
No written response
Christopher McVoy
I definitely support continued community ownership of our electric utility. City ownership makes sure that any gains stay within our community rather than rewarding external investors. By keeping funds within the community, the utility is able to contribute substantially to the city’s budget. I do feel that the potential for utility to benefit the community has been greatly underutilized. I would like to see the utility make Lake Worth a Florida leader in solar energy; in distributed PV, solar hot water and an expanded solar farm. The utility could help through bulk purchase pricing of system components. The utility could bring favorable recognition to Lake Worth Beach by testing cutting edge approaches to storage of renewable energy, by exploring renewable energy sales during peak load times, and by working with research institutions to develop technical solutions for phased remote grid reconnects after outages.
Ryan Oblander
As a former EUAB member and chair, I have a keen interest in this subject. I can’t stress this enough… our electric utility is a huge asset. It would be ludicrous to sell our utility now that multi-million infrastructure projects are in the works and other debt services will roll off soon. From system hardening and reliability upgrades, to a second tie-line on the north end for ultimate redundancy, to being well on our way to 50% carbon free in our energy sources, to ocean current energy generation technology that has been talked about for years that can now finally be built due to the way FAU changed how it can issue grants for such a project. We will have two huge solar farms going online by 2024, so with our own solar field, that’s 38 KW of energy just from solar, almost 40% of our energy mix. We have the potential to be the leader in green energy in the entire state of Florida. We also allow for solar net-metering on residential and commercial properties if you choose to install your own panels. Some areas that need improvement are our billing software, payment options, customer service and commercial rates.
Question 7: What are your top two priorities should you be elected?
Carla L. Blockson
My first priority would be to ensure better community access to the office of Commissioner. I would hold regular office hours and town hall quarterly meetings in my district with myself and department heads within the city. The next priority would be fighting for the Coronavirus vaccine for our city residents. We cannot move forward economically or socially without flattening the curve. We must educate our citizens to take the vaccine and ensure its availability.
Paola Branda
No written response
Christopher McVoy
My top priorities include restoring respectful, civil and open city government, reinstating a strong energy conservation program, reopening the pool with penny sales tax funds, pursuing skills training for residents, increasing traffic calming and improving community policing. Of these, the top two might be community policing and lowering electric bills through a strong conservation program.
Ryan Oblander
That’s tough because I have a lot of things that I would like to accomplish. Since I’m only allowed to pick my top two, I would have to say the beach complex and the ocean current energy projects would be on top of my list. I say this because they both would increase tourism, and we need the money, badly. The beach complex obviously would attract families from all over the county, and hopefully they would also spend their money at our downtown and nearby restaurants and shops after their visit. The ocean current energy project because this could be what puts Lake Worth Beach in the international spotlight as a global leader in renewable energy. Think eco-tourism and tech companies setting up shop and relocating their families here. More tourism would mean more hotels. With this increased revenue and tax base, we could do a whole lot more to improve our infrastructure, communities and schools, which is also a high priority, which is why I joined the Lake Worth Beach Education Task Force.
Question 8: Are you supportive of legalizing AirBNB in Lake Worth Beach?
If so, under what circumstances?
If not, why not?
Carla L. Blockson
AirBNBs in the City of Lake Worth Beach are here to stay. We must find a way to legalize and regulate them to insure that they enhance the tax base. The State legislature allowed this practice within the state and any new rules prohibiting AirBNBs is deemed illegal. The legislature made these guidelines without providing clear directions on how the cities should proceed. Lake Worth Beach city ordinances limited rentals to not less than two months. This disconnect between the state and city regulations must be changed. We must ensure more local control and cite owners who do not have a business license and who do not allow inspections. The city is investigating best practices and exploring avenues of support with the League of Cities and industry leaders.
Paola Branda
No written response
Christopher McVoy
In general I am sympathetic to the idea of AirBNB’s for their potential to provide supplemental income to owners and possibly to other city businesses. However, based on the experiences of neighbors to AirBNB’s at this time I do not believe we have the mechanisms in place to reliably protect neighbors. These concerns are not theoretical; they have already been experienced. Also, I would distinguish between AirBNB situations where the dwelling is owner-occupied and a room or two within the dwelling is rented with the being owner present from situations where the whole house is rented out and no owner on premises. At this point I do not support the latter; I would consider the former.
Ryan Oblander
Absolutely, yes. Guess how many 4 or 5 star hotels we have in the city? Zero! We have the Sabal Palm House Bed and Breakfast at 3.5 stars, and Tideline Ocean Resort is 4 stars but it’s not even in the city. With the fate of the Gulfstream Hotel uncertain, and banks not financing hotels in the city right now due to a lack of comparables, vacation rentals fill that void with tourism dollars that we need. Property owners should be allowed to conduct short term rentals and not be treated as commercial properties with all the ADA and fire code regulations that traditional hotels need to have. In chasing that 5 star rating, most property owners over-upgrade their properties. I’m sure we can put our heads together and come up with some ground rules that everyone needs to follow. If someone visits our city and falls in love with the area, who knows, maybe they could decide to buy a house and move here. When it comes to parties and noise, even homeowners and long term renters can be a nuisance, so it’s not just an AirBNB problem.
Question 9: What would you do to champion South Federal Highway development other than halfway houses and recovery centers? Please provide details.
Carla L. Blockson
We must develop a long range Master Plan specifically for this stretch of Federal Highway. Our lack of a planning has allowed for a proliferation of rehab housing, sober homes, day and hour motels and vacant properties. We must explore grants and funding options to ensure effective development incentives are offered to appropriate partners. The CRA should serve a vital role in the development of the Master Plan and the Neighborhood Association must be a willing partner.
Paola Branda
No written response
Christopher McVoy
I would have the city look into the appraised value of any vacant properties along South Federal. The City should have a qualified agent independently appraise the properties and subsequently present a comparison with the current property appraiser’s appraisals. Low appraisals discourage development, so I would have the city present any and all underappraisals to the County for re-evaluation. Separately, the city’s current process for designating properties for urban development has a 1⁄2 acre minimum. As some of the properties may not have sufficient frontage to meet this minimum, they do not benefit from the city’s leew ay on density, setbacks, parking, etc., so they may remain undeveloped waiting for adjacent properties to become available. I would ask the city to re-evaluate this situation, looking for ways to remove these types of obstacles. Finally I would ask that the city look into the potential disincentives associated with our current system of impact fees.
Ryan Oblander
One option would be to allow the CRA to take over a portion of South Federal Highway, but that would greatly reduce the tax base for the city for a while. Perhaps just a few blocks near the south end so we could get some new projects going and hopefully that would trigger additional projects. This area is designated as mixed use, so the plan would be to have businesses with residential. We could also reach out to developers who work with smaller boutique hotels. Another option would be to create a South Federal Highway Redevelopment Committee that would be tasked with attracting new businesses and working with the tools and incentives that the city has already provided to do so, without the purview of the CRA. I’m confident that over the next decade we will see a renewed interest in South Federal Highway based on infrastructure improvements, increased tourism, strong neighborhoods, and better schools.
Question 10: What is the plan to maintain the mangroves that have been planted along the ICW in Bryant Park?
Carla L. Blockson
The mangroves provide a vital service in keeping the water clean. However, they do obstruct the view that many residents purchased their homes for. Staff has been working hard to maintain a balance. City staff has been horticulturally trained in the trimming and maintenance of the mangroves. The removal of dead leaves and correct thinning of the plants should help relieve some of the problems. The number and placement of the planters have been reduced.
Paola Branda
No written response
Christopher McVoy
Palm Beach County has a permit in the city’s name allowing the city to trim the mangroves in the “Living Shoreline” planters bordering Bryant Park to 6 feet high. The city can choose or not choose to trim to 6 feet, but cannot trim shorter than 6 ft.
Ryan Oblander
This is a timely question because I recently signed up my son for Lake Worth Lagoonies, an educational program designed by the Lake Worth Waterkeepers. Renaldo took us to Bryant Park and the kids climbed down into the planters and were tasked with removing trash and black mangroves, which grow too fast and crowd out the red mangroves. So he sort of adopted the planters and his group maintains them with the help of volunteers. I’m not sure if the city had any plans of maintaining the planters themselves, so I’m glad people like him and his organization are involved. It’s a long term experiment to see what affect these planters have on the water quality, and how well they protect the expensive sea walls.
Question 11: Is the CRA doing a good job?
If not, what would you change?
If so, what would you do to promote their work and / or improve their effectiveness?
Carla L. Blockson
I think the CRA has done a good job to fulfill their role according to state statute and the Redevelopment plan. Their primary role is to work with developers and investors to increase development and infill within affected areas. The use of Tax Increment Financing increases local leverage for projects and keeps tax revenues within the designated area. The CRA has flexibility and real estate expertise that the City Commission does not have. The CRA has not done a good job of public outreach. They are deemed ‘non-transparent’. They do not have the support and buy-in of surrounding residents. The perception has become “the rule”. The validity of these perceptions must be vetted by all concerned. The board and the citizens must come together to reach a consensus on their role going forward. Their projects should be showcased in city literature to celebrate their successes. Their meetings should be more accessible to residents and citizen participation encouraged. The CRA board is made up of citizens appointed by the Commission.
Paola Branda
No written response
Christopher McVoy
The CRA has certainly provided benefit to the city, particularly through the NSP housing program. That said, I am very concerned regarding the CRA’s current efforts in our downtown. Many believe that the atypical nature of our downtown, the “flavor” or character of our downton, especially between Dixie and Federal Hwys is a major economic engine for our city, both in attracting paying customers to downtown businesses and in attracting new homeowners who appreciate the downtown. I am concerned that the CRA is not hewing to its stated mission of protecting historic districts. I am concerned that the approach of aggregating multiple parcels into large blocks runs counter to protecting the character of the downtown. And I am very concerned that there has been essentially no effort to actively involve Lake Worth Beach residents in a robust visioning process for the downtown, prior to issuing RFPs.
Ryan Oblander
I feel the CRA is doing what they were tasked to do with the tools they need to do it. I’m seeing new businesses and housing options every year, so it’s obvious that they are doing it. If there were some procedural missteps recently, we’ll find out take corrective action if needed. The CRA is also helping the NAPC with their neighborhood guidebooks this year with the graphic design and printing so we can get these in the hands of new residents and realtors to showcase our various neighborhoods. I was a part of this project and got to take pictures all over the city. As far as accessibility, it was always a tough decision to either go to a CRA meeting or a commission meeting, since they both fell on the same date. Now, with zoom meetings and the ability to leave public comment in advance, we sort of have a workaround for someone to be in two places at once. I’m not thrilled with the CRA’s website, as all links to things like maps and budgets are gone and you must make a public records request, so hopefully that’s just an ADA issue and can be resolved soon.
Question 12: What would you do to advance the improvement of the condition of our city streets?
Carla L. Blockson
The $40 million bond referendum (Neighborhood Road Program) fixed 34% of our existing roads. Roads, after decades of neglect, were ranked worst condition to best condition. Worst roads were fixed first. While many of us are unhappy about the streets that were not done, it was more of a lack of finances than a lack of will. We must explore other avenues of financing to complete the projects. The Public Works Dept. has received two grants from the Transportation Planning Agency. The Local Initiatives Grant will provide monies to ensure that the City’s roadways are ADA compliant. Another grant will redo infrastructure from Lake Ave to 6th Ave. South and Eastcoast St. to Dixie Hwy. The city must prioritize revenues and research grants to address the rest of the roads. I would authorize a grant writer staff position to address funding specifically for roads and infrastructure projects.
Paola Branda
No written response
Christopher McVoy
It is disappointing to me, and likely also to many others, that the road bond issued a few years ago will cost city residents many millions of dollars in interest; that the financial oversight board formed to ensure fair administration of the bond has not been able to carry out its duties; that multiple roads have been torn up multiple times; and that some roads remain in terrible condition. I would insist that the budget includes regular ongoing maintenance and that the Public Works director present (1) a clear current status assessment; and (2) a clear plan, with multiple alternative options, for how to address the remaining needed work.
Ryan Oblander
More bonds! No, we need to look at the remaining funds of the current road bond project once all phases are completed and make a decision to either fix the highest rated roads first, since we can fix more of them at lower cost, or fix the roads with the lowest rating first, and fix less of them, or a combination of the two. We then need to ensure that public works has enough money in their budget to continue to maintain the roads and sidewalks year after year so we don’t have to do this bond referendum again. As part of this process I’d like to see traffic calming as well, especially near parks and schools. I’d prefer not to spend penny sales tax monies on roads, but those funds are intended for infrastructure, so if we exhaust all other options it’s something we could look at.
Question 13: We have many vacant storefronts downtown with some landlords charging high rents / making property too expensive to promote redevelopment. What would you do to fix this?
Carla L. Blockson
The downtown corridor has long been at the mercy of its landlords. The city can hold them accountable by charging fees for vacant properties. The Commission should enact ordinances to require minimum investment in the vacant storefronts with minimum fees for utilities and excess fees for idle properties. I would encourage the CRA to purchase vacant properties and offer incentives to lure new businesses.
Paola Branda
No written response
Christopher McVoy
This is challenging. I would explore the use of some form of vacancy taxes and look into the best practices of other cities under similar development pressure and with similar problems of low occupancy.
Ryan Oblander
This is unfortunate, and it’s not just happening downtown, but on Dixie Highway as well. The idea is that landlords are waiting to land that big tenant, but the reality is that retail overall is suffering, especially now. Some cities have opted to install a vacancy tax in order to force landlords to accept lower rents, but that doesn’t always work. Other landlords attract pop-up stores, helping digital brands get into brick-and-mortar locations with short-term leases. Other big name stores may offer smaller, local, versions of their
stores. We need more tourism, since our residents aren’t enough to sustain our downtown. We need more hotels, and we need to get the Gulfstream reopened. During their presentation in 2020, they claimed as restorers of historical properties, once one of their properties is restored and reopened, there is a revitalization of the downtown area. I’d like to believe that. So I’m open to forming a Tourism Board to help the city market itself, as we have a lot to offer.
Question 14: Covid-19 has taken a toll on our country and our city. What initiatives would you propose the city make to help our residents and businesses recover?
Carla L. Blockson
We cannot recover without an effective rollout of the vaccine. We must institute a robust EDUCATION plan to ensure that our residents understand the importance of wearing masks and getting vaccinated. There is a contingent of our population that may be resistant to taking the vaccine. The Biden Administration has proposed legislative aid to states and cities. We must act now to develop shovel ready projects to enact once funds become available.
Paola Branda
No written response
Christopher McVoy
The city should actively document the tolls on our city and use that information to lobby at the state and federal level for additional assistance. Given the increase in more contagious variants of Covid-19 it might be wise to explore innovative ways to encourage increasesd use of masks.
Ryan Oblander
I know that during this legislative session that it’s going to all be covid, covid, covid. Various recovery packages are in the works from the Federal and State levels, and we’ll have to work closely with the County to ensure we get our share of the funding. As a city we don’t have much of any money to dole out. We have utility payment plans, many going into default, with costs we could recover from State funding. We have weekly feeding programs and school feeding programs to help our vulnerable residents meet their dietary needs, and will continue supporting that. The tourism industry, bars, restaurants, and other small businesses got hit hard by all the restrictions, which is why I support a Tourism Board and vacation rentals. It may take years to fully recover. I’d like to see the city work with downtown restaurants and keep the temporary outdoor dining for now, as well as lower commercial electric rates. With the vaccine rollouts, and remaining cautiously optimistic, we should start seeing more people leaving their homes and enjoying their lives once again.
