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Growth issue leads discussion at Mount Airy candidate forum

The seven running for office met to discuss the major issues the town will face in the next four years

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Growth and water were the big issues at the candidate forum Tuesday night as the seven candidates in the May 1 election — three for mayor, four for council — met to hash out their solutions to issues facing the town.

The candidate forum, sponsored by the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce and The Gazette, gave candidates a chance to campaign and answer pre-determined questions submitted by the community. About 50 residents attended the forum.

The three candidates for mayor are Keith Gehle, Frank Johnson and Dick Swanson, and the four candidates for council are incumbent Chris DeColli, Gary Nelson, Jay Neuman and John Woodhull.

The candidates include current and former councilmen, town volunteers and residents who have become active in opposing the controversial Zeltman annexation, which brings a regional park, a two-campus school site and space for 275 homes in exchange for 79 acres of what has been called ‘‘unbuildable” town-owned land.

Johnson served on the council for two years from 2000 to 2002, and has lived in town since 1994.

Swanson most recently served on the town’s Ethics Commission, and has been a town resident for 25 years.

Gehle has served for the past 20 years on the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission, living in town for 25 years; Neuman has served on the planning commission since 1999 and has lived in town for 10 years.

Nelson and Woodhull joined more than 30 residents in petitioning to get the annexation on the May ballot, and since the fall had been outspoken against the annexation. Woodhull has lived in the town for about 10 years, and Nelson, 13 years.

DeColli is the only councilman running for re-election, and has lived in the town for 10 years.

The candidates agreed that the major issues facing the town are managing growth and finding water.

‘‘If we don’t solve the water problem, we can’t solve the other problems and plan for the future,” said Swanson, who explained that he supported balanced residential and commercial growth.

Swanson said he agreed with the Hazen and Sawyer report, a firm hired by the town that in March suggested the town tap into Frederick County water via the Potomac River. But he added that he agreed with whatever solution would bring the most and the best water at a reasonable price to the town.

The town has been considering three options to solve the water crisis: the Frederick County solution, a Gillis Falls Reservoir, and a developer-funded reservoir and treatment plant on the South Branch of the Patapsco River.

Gehle said he thought the town should find a secondary water source to encourage managed growth. ‘‘We cannot close doors to commercial and residential growth or we will suffer higher taxes as taxpayers.”

DeColli agreed. ‘‘Without water, this town stops growing. This town shuts down.”

‘‘Infrastructure is the key to finishing the downtown revitalization,” Neuman said, referring to plans to revamp the downtown historic district to create a destination streetscape.

Neuman added that there should be a water reserve in order to ‘‘protect citizens against future drought.”

Many of the candidates agreed that attracting more businesses to the town was a priority. ‘‘We need to significantly curtail residential growth and encourage commercial growth,” Swanson said. ‘‘We can’t map out the future until we solve the water problem.”

Nelson said, ‘‘Broadening the tax base hasn’t helped. We need to adopt a new way of thinking ... to attract more commercial growth.”

Gehle said he thought the town had been ‘‘very proactive in measures to control growth.”

He said he would work with the town’s Economic Development Committee – a group of business owners on a committee created by the town – to ‘‘encourage investment in Mount Airy.”

‘‘We say there’s a need for more commercial development but we end up building more houses,” Johnson said. ‘‘There’s a difference in what we say and do. ... Residential development does not pay the long term bills.”

Woodhull agreed. ‘‘Residential is the most expensive type of growth. Commercial [growth] is needed to pay for development.”

Johnson also suggested the town create quarterly business roundtables in which the mayor would meet with business owners to discuss their concerns.

Nelson said the Town Council should work with other counties and new businesses in town in order to boost their successes. ‘‘Most businesses fail in the first five years. The average for our town is three years,” Nelson said. He suggested offering a new business mentor program where successful business owners coach new Mount Airy businesses.

DeColli said the council had been working to increase the town’s ‘‘economic vitality,” and that he hopes to continue that, with opening Prospect Mill – plans to revitalize the old bank building on the corner of Prospect Road and Main Street in favor of more retail space and two-level parking deck.

‘‘We need commercial growth that serves our bedroom community’s needs,” Neuman said. ‘‘We don’t want the tax burden shifting to us as residents.”

Woodhull, Johnson and Nelson, who are running on the same platform, agree that getting more residents involved and keeping meetings open to the public is key to the town’s survival.

‘‘By involving more citizens we can avoid the situation of the town moving in one direction and citizens wanting something else,” Nelson said.