Churchville residents will have to choose among three candidates for two seats on the Churchville Village Board of Trustees when they head to the polls Tuesday, March 20.

Roberta Ames, Scott Cullen, and incumbent Nancy Steedman are all running for a four-year term on the village board. Trustee Marian Gowan has decided not to seek re-election. Village elections are non-partisan and candidates do not run on national party lines. Residents may vote for two candidates, and the two receiving the most votes will win the seats.

Voting will take place from noon to 9 p.m. at the Fire Hall, 25 E. Buffalo Sreet. All village residents registered to vote with Monroe County are eligible to vote. Anyone not already registered, who wishes to vote, may register with the county up to five days before the election, according to Village Clerk Sue Davis.

Roberta Ames, 4 Parnell Drive

Background
• 56, graduate of Williamson Central High School
• Graduate State University of New York College at Brockport
• Master’s degree in public administration
• Employed by Monroe County in the Public Safety Laboratory, the eight-county region crime lab
• Consultant for Longaberger Baskets
• Hobbies include a camp on the Tug Hill Plateau in upstate New York where the family “chills out,” a small fishing boat on the Salmon River Reservoir and needlework

Community Involvement/Government Experience
• Churchville Planning Board past chairperson, current member. As a planning board member, Ames has attended numerous workshops and seminars through the New York State Planning Federation. “The village has been very good at educating the members of its boards,” she said. “That has allowed us to network with other communities in the state and gain experience with where the state is moving.” She is a past member of the Monroe County Planning Council. Ames has been working on updating village zoning for the past several years.
• Girl Scouts of America. Ames has volunteered for many years and has been a leader of a cadet troop in the village of Churchville
• Church of the Epiphany, on Buffalo Road in Gates. Ames has been involved in many church activities and active in many church programs and as a board member
• Riga Republican Committee
• Literacy Volunteer

Why do you want to be a village trustee? Ames has lived in the village for over 20 years. She and her husband, George, have raised their children in the village, and she said they now enjoy having their grandchildren visit and play in the backyard.

Ames said she strongly believes everyone is responsible for making his or her home strong through volunteerism and participation in the community. She first got involved in the village planning board because, she says, she was “very interested in maintaining the village atmosphere.” She said she wanted to preserve what she loves about the village, and thought the planning board was a good mechanism to accomplish those goals. “If you’re not willing to roll up your sleeves and work at it, then you can’t complain that someone else hasn’t done it for you,” she said.

“Each of us has talents to share with our neighbors to maintain the flavor and desirability of where we chose to live,” she said. With experience on the planning board under her belt, Ames now says, “At this point in my life, I feel I can best serve the Village of Churchville as a trustee.”

As a trustee what would your responsibility to the village be? “To maintain the quality of life, with the conservative expansion that’s going to be coming,” Ames said. She said she feels it is important to protect and maintain the village’s electric franchise as long as possible, as well as the rest of the village infrastructure.

Where do you see the village 10 years from now? “Hopefully a little more commerce downtown, but maintaining its home flavor with more sidewalks, and more user-friendly to the people that live here,” she said.

Ames lived in various local communities, including Morton and Spencerport, before settling in Churchville. She said it was the village atmosphere, including the sidewalks and easy accessibility of stores, that drew her to the village. “We used to joke that if you had a Sears and (J.C.) Penney’s catalog you would never have to leave,” she says.

As a village trustee, Ames said she would support the return of some of those stores to Main Street. She said she is pleased that both the Village and the Town of Riga have plans to move out of their storefronts and into new buildings. “I think it’s wonderful…I am looking forward to having a municipal building that looks…like people can respect their village government,” Ames said.

In addition to retail development, Ames also said she sees a need for affordable senior housing in the village. “We need apartments that are decent places for people to live,” she said.

Ames said Churchville is a safe community, and a wonderful place to raise a family, and she would like to see it stay that way. “People know each other here. When your kids get into school…the principal knows them and looks out for them,” she said.

“I would like to see a better working relationship between the town and the village,” Ames said. She said she feels that relationship is important to both municipalities and as a trustee would work to improve it.

Scott Cullen, 22 Fitch Street

Background
• 33. “Born, raised and schooled in Churchville,” Cullen says.
• Graduate Churchville-Chili High School
• Attended University of Texas & Austin Community College, where he studied computers and business management. Cullen also studied acting at college, which he called “a great way to get to know people.”
•Owner, Air Affair, industrial gas company servicing Western New York, since 1991
• Owner, Videos Plus, with locations in Churchville, Caledonia and Scottsville

Community Involvement/Government Experience
• Churchville Chamber of Commerce
• LeRoy Sand Volleyball Committee. Cullen has been a member for the past eight years, and has helped run the league as a member of the board for the past two years.
• Business owner Cullen said his experience running two successful businesses in the Village of Churchville, and employing about 10 people, has given him valuable hands-on experience in management and delegation. “You can’t get that in school,” he said. He deals with many corporate customers as the owner of Air Affair, such as Wal-Mart and The Original Cookie Company, and said he has learned a lot about people and what it means to have customers depending on him.

Why do you want to be a village trustee? “I feel that it is my civic duty to help the village continue to move forward with its current plan, to bring a younger perspective to the board with an emphasis on developing a stronger business community within the village, and to help bring more activities for youth,” Cullen said.

Cullen is a lifelong resident of Churchville who left for only a few years to attend college and work in Texas. He said family and friends, and a love for his hometown, brought him back.

“Currently, I am bringing up my own two children in the village,” Cullen said. He and his wife have a 3-year-old son and a 4-month-old daughter. “I’ve lived here all my life and it’s about time I give something back,” he said.

Cullen said he sees certain needs in the village he would like to tackle as a trustee including: improved youth activities and services, promoting local business, and improving cooperation between the Town of Riga and the Village Board.

As a village trustee what would your responsibility to the village be? Cullen said as a trustee one of his most important responsibilities would be keeping residents informed, especially of potential development in the village. He said community support is an important part of community development.

At 33, Cullen said he would be the youngest member of the village board. He said he would provide a younger perspective, and representation to a new generation. “A lot of younger couples are moving here, and younger people are moving back to the village. They want someone to represent them,” he said.

He feels he could represent not only the people electing him, but the village’s youth as well. “The youth coming up, the youth that are here now,” he said.

Where do you see the village of Churchville in 10 years? “I’d like to see the village continue to grow, with new businesses coming in, but to keep that small-town feel and have it remain a walking-friendly community,” Cullen said.

He said he would like to see some new businesses, such as a car wash or an expanded bakery, but as a trustee would rather concentrate on helping develop the businesses Churchville already has. One project he is currently planning with other local business leaders, is a “Churchville Walk-About,” to let residents know what is available in the village.

Cullen said he plans to organize the event to take place sometime this spring or summer. Businesses would stay open later one night and offer enticements to get residents to walk around the downtown area and stop into businesses. He said the owner of Gatherings at the Senator’s Mansion has agreed to offer parking for residents coming from Riga, as well as free tours. Other enticements could include a free cup of coffee at Arrow-Mart, a free flower from A Touch of Country Class and doggie biscuits for canine companions from Dr. Richard Parson’s veterinary practice.

Programming for youth is another area where Cullen sees the potential for change. “I want our kids to have something to do, not just hang out on the street.”

Overall, he said Churchville should work to preserve what it has. “Where else do you have a flour mill in the middle of the village? That’s real American farm town,” he said.

“Where else can you walk to an outdoor ice-skating rink, walk to a golf course, walk to Churchville Park, and have a creek in the middle of the village with a waterfall to look at? I think we should maintain the status quo and improve it.”

Nancy Steedman, 37 W. Buffalo Street

Background
• 53, Born and raised in the Churchville/Riga area, Steedman says she has “a lot of heritage here in Churchville.”
• Graduate of Churchville-Chili High School, Alfred Tech and State University of New York College at Brockport.
• Master’s degree in education administration; certification in education administration, computers and math; certificate of advanced study in educational administration and school administrative support.
• Teacher at WE-MO-CO Career and Technical Education Center in Spencerport, currently an academic support teacher.
• Hobbies include gardening. Steedman’s yard is full of container gardens, flower beds and her backyard holds a gazebo. “Anybody’s invited to take a garden tour,” she says. “I love to give garden tours.”

Community Involvement/Government Experience
• Churchville Village Trustee, four years. “It’s been great,” Steedman says of her experience serving on the village board. “I’ve had a lot of training and I am learning a lot about local government.” Steedman has participated in numerous workshops and training classes through the New York Commission of Mayors. She serves as liaison to the planning board, and serves on fire department, cemetery and emergency preparedness committees. She is working on a joint master plan for the Village of Churchville and the Town of Riga. Steedman was the driving force behind developing the village’s new web site.
• Village of Churchville Beautification Committee. Steedman was instrumental in helping establish the village flower, the iris.
• Churchville Lions Club. Steedman has served on the board of directors for the past two years. She sits on the Country Fair Committee helping organize crafters. She is on the Lions Club’s Sunshine committee, and a committee to establish a Lions Memorial in Riga Town Park on Sanford Road. She has coordinated several joint projects with students at WE-MO-CO and the Lions Club, including having new steel booths built by students for the fair.
• Rochester Corvette Club
• Volunteer Usher at GeVa
• County of Monroe Parks Master Plan Committee. Steedman is currently representing the Village of Churchville, helping develop a master plan for Churchville Park.
• Riga Republican Committee. (The village board is non-partisan, trustees do not run on party lines.)

Why do you want to be a village trustee? Steedman said she got her start in village government on the beautification committee. She said she found that to be a rewarding experience, and started looking for other ways to serve the community. “I asked (Mayor Donald R. Ehrmentraut) how could I be more involved?” A seat on the board of trustees was up for election, and Steedman jumped in.

“Churchville is my home,” she says. “I was born and raised here, all of my friends and family live here. It is a community I am proud of and I want to keep it the best community around. I feel that by being a village trustee I can give something back to the community…and I’ve enjoyed it immensely.”

“I would like to continue working on some of these projects I have been working on, like the master plan, and building the new Village Hall. I would like to keep them going and get them finished,” Steedman said.

As a village trustee, what would your responsibility to the village be? “I feel that my responsibility is to the people of the community. I’m representing them.” She said she feels important responsibilities include: ensuring a safe community, monitoring village business and continuing to offer excellent services while ensuring tax dollars are used efficiently. She said she also feels it is the trustees’ responsibility to ensure village residents are kept informed—through the village newsletter and the website. Steedman spearheaded the project to have the village office and WE-MO-CO student Dan Caves start the village website, at www.churchville.net.

Where do you see the village 10 years from now? “I still see the village as being the hub of the Town of Riga. Any growth that happens I see as expanding outward from the village,” Steedman said.

One of the biggest changes she foresees in the next few years is the building of the new village hall on East Buffalo Street next to Black Creek, and the development of the area along the creek. “We are fortunate to have the creek going through the village,” she said.

Steedman said she sees the village taking advantage of the creek through walking educational trails, building a gazebo on the site of the new village hall, and programming cultural events at the gazebo.

She said she would also like to see the village, possibly working with local Boy Scouts or students, develop a walking trail from the dam on East Buffalo Street to the Millennium Lions Club bridge on North Main Street, adjacent to Churchville Park. “How great that we do live that close to a park like Churchville Park,” she said.