Candidates Present Views at Sun Daily Forum
Six candidates for Grove City Council answered questions on casinos, utility rates, new taxes, money from a political action committee, trust authority boards, enforcement and penalties for illegal utility thefts, and Chamber of Commerce ribbon cuttings, at a Grove Sun Daily-sponsored forum Monday night.
In addition to opening and closing remarks, the audience was allowed to submit written questions to the group session, moderated by Tim Langley, General Manager of the Sun.
Candidate Dustin Phillips did not participate in the forum.
The first question asked was "Yes or no, do you favor casinos in our community?"
Nuckolls, Worley and Davenport answered Yes; Parham answered Yes and No, and Adzigian and Trippensee answered No. Parham explained he was against them personally, but favored them from a business standpoint.
"Do you favor councilpersons also sitting on the trust authority boards?"
Adzigian--minimum of one, maximum of two.
Davenport--one.
Trippensee--not 3, one is OK.
Parham: Zero
Worley: Zero
Nuckols: One or two.
"Did you ask for and receive any money from a political action committee?
Davenport: Yes from supporters, none from a PAC.
Trippensee: Zero dollars from a PAC, great outpouring from citizens.
Parham: Zero dollars from GrovePAC, check the records at city hall.
Worley: None from a PAC.
Nuckolls: I received three checks but don't intend to cash them and will return them after the election. I have never accepted donations and have paid for everything myself.
Adzigian: No, and No.
On the Grove Chamber of Commerce only doing ribbon cuttings for Chamber members:
Davenport: That's the Chamber's deal, they have done a good job.
Parham: I disagree. If Chamber is not going to do a ribbon cutting for every new business, cut their funds. Can't separate the members and non members, show them the courtesy of cutting the ribbon.
Worley: We don't need to tell them how to operate, the money we give them is to promote the town.
Nuckolls: Every business in Grove should be supported, they all collect sales taxes and that's where the Chamber gets its money from the city.
Adzigian: I support the Chamber getting city funding, ribbon cuttings are a benefit of membership.
Trippensee: This is not a council decision, they do a good job.
What form of government do you prefer for Grove, Strong Mayor or Council-Manager?
Trippensee: Strong Mayor form.
Parham: Council Manager form is just fine, works well now and for the future.
Worley: Council Manager form, offers better continuity on projects.
Nuckolls: I have no problem with the Council Manager form, council has more input.
Adzigian: Council Manager form, the electorate has a choice every two years, versus four year terms for a Mayor with more concentration of power.
Davenport: Strong Mayor form, I also like the Council Manager form, see the charter.
All the candidates expressed support for the Downtown Revitalization Project and are eager to get on with the program for the sake of the merchants. All are opposed to new taxes, unless approved by a vote of the people, to build a new swimming pool or events center; several promised to roll back utility rate increases planned for June but Adzigian pointed out that 54% of the people will be unaffected as they use less than 3000 gallons of water or sewage, on which no increase in rates is planned.
In opening remarks, Parham and Adzigian disagreed over campaign statements made, with Adzigian offering a public apology for a statement regarding Leisure and Baycrest road construction attributed to Parham in an earlier campaign letter. Portions of Parham's statements in the official minutes were not included in Adzigian's letter, which led one to believe that Parham was critical of the engineering and use of city crews to do the work, when in fact he was only mentioning that he had received criticism from citizens. Adzigian defended his earlier statement that Parham said on tape that he had leased property to a Family Dollar Store. Parham says that was earlier, in another city, and has nothing to do with Grove and his council position.
All candidates expressed support for prosecuting anyone who steals water or gas with illegal taps and Parham differed on an Amnesty program, saying "if you do the crime, you should do the time. Stealing water or gas is no different than bid splitting." All said a wi-fi meter reading program for Grove would be too expensive, up to $6.5 million, and the city should replace old water meters which are leaking.
In addition to opening and closing remarks, the audience was allowed to submit written questions to the group session, moderated by Tim Langley, General Manager of the Sun.
Candidate Dustin Phillips did not participate in the forum.
The first question asked was "Yes or no, do you favor casinos in our community?"
Nuckolls, Worley and Davenport answered Yes; Parham answered Yes and No, and Adzigian and Trippensee answered No. Parham explained he was against them personally, but favored them from a business standpoint.
"Do you favor councilpersons also sitting on the trust authority boards?"
Adzigian--minimum of one, maximum of two.
Davenport--one.
Trippensee--not 3, one is OK.
Parham: Zero
Worley: Zero
Nuckols: One or two.
"Did you ask for and receive any money from a political action committee?
Davenport: Yes from supporters, none from a PAC.
Trippensee: Zero dollars from a PAC, great outpouring from citizens.
Parham: Zero dollars from GrovePAC, check the records at city hall.
Worley: None from a PAC.
Nuckolls: I received three checks but don't intend to cash them and will return them after the election. I have never accepted donations and have paid for everything myself.
Adzigian: No, and No.
On the Grove Chamber of Commerce only doing ribbon cuttings for Chamber members:
Davenport: That's the Chamber's deal, they have done a good job.
Parham: I disagree. If Chamber is not going to do a ribbon cutting for every new business, cut their funds. Can't separate the members and non members, show them the courtesy of cutting the ribbon.
Worley: We don't need to tell them how to operate, the money we give them is to promote the town.
Nuckolls: Every business in Grove should be supported, they all collect sales taxes and that's where the Chamber gets its money from the city.
Adzigian: I support the Chamber getting city funding, ribbon cuttings are a benefit of membership.
Trippensee: This is not a council decision, they do a good job.
What form of government do you prefer for Grove, Strong Mayor or Council-Manager?
Trippensee: Strong Mayor form.
Parham: Council Manager form is just fine, works well now and for the future.
Worley: Council Manager form, offers better continuity on projects.
Nuckolls: I have no problem with the Council Manager form, council has more input.
Adzigian: Council Manager form, the electorate has a choice every two years, versus four year terms for a Mayor with more concentration of power.
Davenport: Strong Mayor form, I also like the Council Manager form, see the charter.
All the candidates expressed support for the Downtown Revitalization Project and are eager to get on with the program for the sake of the merchants. All are opposed to new taxes, unless approved by a vote of the people, to build a new swimming pool or events center; several promised to roll back utility rate increases planned for June but Adzigian pointed out that 54% of the people will be unaffected as they use less than 3000 gallons of water or sewage, on which no increase in rates is planned.
In opening remarks, Parham and Adzigian disagreed over campaign statements made, with Adzigian offering a public apology for a statement regarding Leisure and Baycrest road construction attributed to Parham in an earlier campaign letter. Portions of Parham's statements in the official minutes were not included in Adzigian's letter, which led one to believe that Parham was critical of the engineering and use of city crews to do the work, when in fact he was only mentioning that he had received criticism from citizens. Adzigian defended his earlier statement that Parham said on tape that he had leased property to a Family Dollar Store. Parham says that was earlier, in another city, and has nothing to do with Grove and his council position.
All candidates expressed support for prosecuting anyone who steals water or gas with illegal taps and Parham differed on an Amnesty program, saying "if you do the crime, you should do the time. Stealing water or gas is no different than bid splitting." All said a wi-fi meter reading program for Grove would be too expensive, up to $6.5 million, and the city should replace old water meters which are leaking.
posted by Editor | 2:52 AM
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