1 . Briefly Describe Your Background in the Areas of Education, Business and Government

1. Briefly describe your background in the areas of education, business and government.

I am currently serving on the Corvallis Planning Commission and the Housing and Community Development Advisory Board. More than that, for the last few years I have been attending the Corvallis City Council meetings to keep up to date on local issues and community concerns.

I attended Oregon State University for Computer Engineering, and after that started working at HP here in Corvallis. Currently, I am working at ON Semiconductor in the field of Computer Engineering.

2. Why are you running for City Council, and what are your top three priorities for the City?

Top three priorities are hard, I see a number of issues facing the City with the next Council having a lot of work to do.

My top concern is fiscal responsibility. I see the City spending money it does not have, depending on extra funding being approved. Further, I see spending on projects that are not part of the City critical services while our infrastructure is decaying. Add this to the impending impact of PERS spending, and the city is facing real fiscal issues, and it is the Council's responsibility to get this under control.

Second, we need to get our code and plans updated and cleaned up. Some of this work has been started this Council term, but there is a lot of work left to do to ensure that those using our Land Development Code, Master Plans, etc can read an understand them. Further, the goal needs to include the ability for certainty and clear and objective standards to allow those who wish to develop to understand the requirements for developing in Corvallis and what the community expects of them to come to Corvallis and be successful.

Third, the current Council has just moved the issue of the Men's emergency cold weather shelter and it's location on 4th street to the next Council. This is an issue that has to be addressed, and not just in a way that kicks it down the line to future Councils. The business community and the neighborhoods in the downtown and Avery area deserve to have this resolved and certainty brought to the problem. There are many other issues, and I think that the next Council needs to address the actual business of the City, and stop pursuing pet project and Councilor goals. We as a City have enough core functions that have to be addressed to keep spending time and money on anything else.

3. What should the City do to address the housing market challenges?

As above, this is a critical problem for Corvallis. We have to many people that would like to live in Corvallis but can't find a home. As our housing stock remains low, and OSU grows, students will always win the battle. As a City we have to have a good plan to grow, but we do need to add housing to house not only students, but those individuals and families that would like live and work in Corvallis. Part of this is making sure our LDC and plans are easy to read and understand by all involved, so both the developers and community can have clarity on the process and expectations.

4. What are realistic priorities for the City’s new Community Development Director to address?

I would place the highest priority on the LDC and Master plans, and getting them up to date, and cleaned up. This is going to be a difficult process, so I would listen to the community on other priorities that they would like to see.

5. What problems do you see with the City’s land use planning and development processes and what could/should be done to improve these policies and practices?

I feel strongly on this issue, as can be seen in some of my other responses. However, the City of Corvallis has a Land Development Code that is at times very difficult to understand which has led to instances of undue interpretation for applicants. I believe that the code needs to be clear and concise so that everyone with an interest in development can read the code, understand their responsibilities, and if a project is feasible. We need both the public and developers able to understand the rules, so the process is up front and fair. This is not an all out call for development, and we can't afford to just stop developing, but we as a community have to be objective and fair so everyone is playing under the same set of rules.

6. What could/should the City do to offset increasing costs (such as PERS) and assure itself a more sustainable fiscal future? PERS costs are going to be a major problem for all jurisdictions in Oregon, and the State is the only entity that can approach the costs side of the equation. This leaves local governments with an unfunded liability that seems to be growing at an alarming rate, without any real control of the problem. Add in the other increasing costs the City is facing, and we have a large problem. As a City, there are only two ways to manage this, cut costs or grow revenue.

I believe that the taxpayers of Corvallis are stretched very thin, with their incomes staying static or growing very minimally, many times not even keeping up with the increasing costs of living, while multiple local governments are trying to increase taxes. I don't believe this is a sustainable way forward, and taxing more will just drive individuals and businesses out of the area, creating a worsening situation. So, if we are to grow revenue, we need to attract new business and try and grow our area. We need to bring taxpaying business and the new employees that will come with them into the area. To do this, we have work to do, and the nine people sitting on the Council will have to facilitate that, and listen to the community on how to do it.

I would like to close with the idea that I will never have all of the answers to the problems we will face as a City. My commitment to the community is to listen to the people of Corvallis and keep the community engaged and active in finding the solutions. I also have no problem with discarding ideas I have when better ones come along. As a City Councilor I feel my ideas are but one of many in the community, and have no more priority than any other person's ideas. I will work with others to bring solutions and strive to keep Corvallis as a place I want to be, and hopefully the rest of the community will feel proud to call home.