Candidates cite issues, Celina Record

Growth, infrastructure cited by City Council candidates as key issues facing Celina Lisa Ferguson, lferguson@starlocalmedia.com Apr 21, 2016 Three candidates will vie for a pair of seats on the Celina City Council when early voting begins Monday. The election will be held May 7. Mayor Pro Tem Chad Anderson is running unopposed to retain his Place 6 spot. Meanwhile, on the ballot for Place 1 is incumbent Erik Geiger who last year ran unopposed to fill the vacancy left when George Kendrick resigned. Geiger is running for a full three-year term. He will face off against Bill Webber, who previously served on the council from 2010-2014 as well as the Planning and Zoning Commission in 2009. A special election was called in January to allow citizens to vote on eight city charter amendments which will also be on the ballot. (A sample ballot can be viewed at collincountytx.gov/elections/election_information/Sample%20Ballot%20Documents/BS9.pdf.) In advance of the election, Anderson, Geiger and Webber shared their thoughts about the big issues facing the city as it grows. Chad Anderson Number of years in Celina: 13 Education: Tarleton State University, BBA, Management Career: Managing Partner Moyer-Anderson Insurance Group; branch president for an area bank Family: Michelle (wife), Molly, CJ (children) Public Service/Community Involvement: Current •Celina Mayor Pro tem; City Council Place 6 •Chairman of Greater Celina Chamber of Commerce •Park Fest committee member •Director of Tarleton Alumni Board Previous •Chairman of Frisco Ducks Unlimited •Leadership Frisco graduate •Leadership Frisco board of directors •Frisco Rotary Erik Geiger Number of years in Celina: 10 Education: Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management, Humboldt State University Career: Director of Sales, Gold Medal Pools, Frisco Family: Melanie (wife); Ryan, Austin (children) Public Service/Community Involvement: Current •Celina City Council, Place 1 •Celina Quarterback Club member Previous •Redwood (California) Region Logging Conference Board of Directors •Medocino County (California) Farm Bureau Board of Directors •Long Valley (California) Fire Protection District Board of Directors (all in California). •Coached youth sports in Celina and California Bill Webber Number of years in Celina: 9 1/2 Education: Loudoun County (Virginia) High School; National Institute of Real Estate Career: Nationwide business development for law firms; 17 years in the mortgage banking/real estate field; Sales associate with DFW Improved Family: Amanda (wife); William Jr. (child) Public Service/Community Involvement: Current •Founding family/board member, Grace Academy of North Texas •Greater Celina Chamber of Commerce member representing DFW Improved, •Volunteer at city-sponsored events Previous •Celina Planning and Zoning Commission member, 2009 •Celina Main Street board member, 2010-2014 •Former two-time Celina City Council member, Place 5, 2010-2014 Why are you running/re-running for Celina City Council? Chad Anderson: I chose to rerun to help the city develop into one of the best in North Texas. My vision is for Celina to be a place where you can live, work and play. Erik Geiger: When I ran last year for the final year of the vacant Place 1, my intention was to see if I could handle the position. By that I mean give it the time necessary while still taking care of my “real job.” It has been an exciting year, and I am eager to dig in and serve a full term for the citizens of Celina, if they will have me. Bill Webber: I have chosen to throw my hat back in the race again and run for a couple reasons. First off, I feel that I can make a difference and complement what Mayor Terry has done since being elected, which has been a wonderful job. Secondly, I am focused on our future and where we are going. My track record speaks for itself from being in this position before. I’m not here to benefit myself for business, I am here for the people. There is no hidden agenda with me. You get what you see - nothing more and nothing less. How do your career/personal experiences equip you to be an effective City Council member? CA: I was a commercial lender/manager in banking for 13 years. With my past history I have been fortunate to deal with all types of businesses. This gives me diversity and an ability to make logical decisions when reviewing opportunities for our city. EG: I have always worked well with people - often people with diverse perspectives. I think that ability is probably the most important thing that I can bring to the table as Celina is facing many exciting opportunities/challenges as the growth that is coming arrives. BW: My personal experience includes the over five years combined working with the Celina Planning and Zoning (Commission) which was for a year, and sitting on City Council which was over two elections to include four years total. For my time in those seats, I was never one to just vote based on others sitting next to me. An example from when I was on Council: There was a tract of land brought to us wanting to have some high-density housing. I was the only one on council to vote against this and it did not go any further at that time. This was a tract of land adjacent to Carter Ranch, which is where we reside. Many have asked me why I left the seat: I took about a two-and-a-half-year break to allow someone else to bring fresh ideas, and take a break for my family. I always said, if I found a reason to come back into the political arena it would be for good cause. Well, here I am running again. As for my extensive career in business development, it surely will help in the negotiations of new developments coming and trying to get the best deal for the city. Not to mention my ability to work with all people, listen and represent the folks of Celina. Other than growth, what do you feel is another major issue the city needs to address soon? CA: I believe infrastructure is a major component of any growing city. It needs to be implemented before the growth gets here. We are fortunate to have a very strong public works department (and) city manager who tries to stay ahead of the growth. EG: I think we need to try and maintain some of the things that make Celina, Celina. This will be a great challenge, but I think we have the right people in place to do it. That is still related to growth, but needs to survive despite the growth. If you think about it, essentially all the major issues we face are in some way related to growth - schools, infrastructure, transportation, etc. BW: The downtown area still needs to get some projects into play and I would like to finally move toward some resolution to those areas. We have drainage issues, and sidewalks for the children walking to school just to name a couple. We need to move forward with more parks - not ones that we rent out to make revenue for the city, but ones that our children can actually enjoy and play on for sports on a regular basis. What are the city’s most pressing issues (economically, socially, developmentally), and how do you think the council/city should address them? CA: Streets are one of the most pressing issues. We have several streets that are in need of major repair. When I first came on the council funds were limited for this type of repair. Growth has enabled us to begin certain repairs this year and identify others for the future. EG: I believe that economically we are on the verge of being able to provide much more to our citizens. We need to be conscious of all the decisions we make as leaders to ultimately provide the best service to our customers, the taxpayers. As the development that is currently in the works happens, we need to be constantly working to insure new projects meet a high-level standard. BW: The one big issue that keeps coming into conversations that I am having with many folks (is), what are we going to do about more apartments. My response is and always has been, there is a time and place for them and we are many years away from having such developments. It will choke our fire and police as it has done in Prosper. They spend way too much valuable time for non-taxpayers, not to mention what it would do to our schools. We don’t have much space as it is for more children as of today. At the end of the day, we need to make sure that monies being collected are appropriated to the correct spots. Examples: new parks, water, sewer and city services that make sense. The city needs to make sure that the new developments bring something to the table that benefit the people of Celina and not just line the pockets of the developers. How would you handle negative feedback from the community (residents, developers, businesses)? CA: Everybody is entitled to their opinion. With growth you will have negative feedback. I am a person who listens to both sides before I determine my opinion. Sometimes negative feedback can be positive as it opens your eyes to certain situations in the city that may be overlooked. EG: Negative feedback comes with the job. In this past year I have received some. I think open dialogue is the only way handle objections/negative feedback. BW: Same as I have always done and still do today: listen to what concerns them (and) try to get them more information as they may not fully understand why the city made decisions that they have made. The first thing most elected people forget is the people (who) elected them and then once in the seat they forget the people. I have never done that, nor will I ever. How should the council/city help ensure that Celina maintains its unique culture, history and traditions as further growth and development occurs? CA: We always want the small-town feel. Our events on the square and park help preserve the culture, history and traditions of our town. EG: It simply needs to be a priority, on a case by case basis. We have the tools to control things that compromise these things and should prioritize the most important aspects of each. BW: We need to keep continuing the efforts that are in place now. Keep adding events to the city and building off these events. I was fortunate enough to have been on council to vote for the rehab of the downtown square and fire station that we have today. I will keep these efforts in place and not forget Celina’s past and move forward in a respectful way to continue the heritage. Follow the Celina Record on Twitter @celinarecord.