Candidates for Spencerport mayor respond to Westside News questions

Q: bio -- length of residency in village, other elected offices, employment, family info, community participation

MARRITT RAHN

Age 56, of 57 Kirkgate Drive. Married to Marilyn Spacher Rahn. Four children - Chad, Sean, Christopher and Courtney, ages 29-17. I have been a resident of the village since 1980.

Employed full time by the Town of Greece as the Chief of Police since 1992. From 1989-1992 I was the Chief of Police of the Town of Ogden. Retired as a Lieutenant from the Rochester Police Department after serving from 1969-1989.

Currently president of Western New York Chiefs of Police and a member of the New York State Chiefs of Police Board of Governors. A member of the A.T.F. Bombs and Explosive Committee and a member of the American Legion as a S.A.L.

TED WALKER

I am a positive, outgoing, friendly, trustworthy and dedicated person who gets things done. I take an open-minded, enthusiastic, analytical and responsive approach to life and my work.

My wife and I grew up in the Spencerport area. We moved into the village in 1971 after graduating from RIT with an engineering degree. We have three grown married daughters that were continually active in school and community activities. Much of our extended family still lives in the area.

I work full time at Kodak Park as a project engineer. Various assignments in my 37 year career have provided excellent experience and developed my technical, managerial and people skills for me to continually improve myself.

I have balanced my work and family life with village government, the Brockport Yacht Club and various activities.

My positions of leadership began with earning Eagle Scout as a teenager, being elected Commodore of BYC and now mayor of the village. My tenure with village government began in 1989 when I was appointed to the Planning Board. I moved to the Zoning Board and then to the village board in 1993 and became Mayor in 1999.

Q: What is your position on the proposed road repair project? What is your position on the sewer plant transfer proposal?

No one is denying that our roads need to be kept in good repair and free of pot holes or that our sewage treatment plant needs to be looked at regarding its future - whether to be kept under control of the village or transferred. The issue here is, where was the foresight? Where was the long term operational planning? These issues did not surface overnight. Where was future planning? And why do we have to have an outside engineering firm tell us what roads need to be replaced, repaired or fixed if we have a village board and a paid village staff? We need to study and look at other alternatives, other ways of doing things without an increased cost to our taxpayers. We need to establish a preventive maintenance program. I won’t wait for it to break before I fix it.

The Street Improvement Program needs to be a continual part of the village’s future as does the rest of the village’s infrastructure. Being proactive, an engineering study of our streets determined their condition for surface, base and drainage quality. The study identified 32 percent needing major repairs. Instead of waiting for more streets to deteriorate, we decided to address them now. The program has and will manage the maintenance of good streets and improvements to not so good streets while keeping the impact on taxes reasonable. I’m for repairing the streets in a cost-effective way that provides quality streets and increases property value.

The Village Sewer Treatment Plant upgrades last about 20 to 25 years. By 2010 we need to either upgrade our existing plant or have Pure Waters perform the treatment at their facility. We studied both alternatives. Upgrading our plant was more costly short term and long term. I support the recommendation to have Pure Water perform the treatment as the most cost-effective option. It has allowed the Village to partner with Pure Waters, the Town of Ogden and the Town of Greece to consider regional needs, sharing of costs and greater potential for grants.

Q: Taxes and services -- how would you work to keep taxes in check without cutting services to residents? Are there services not currently offered which you think the village could afford to offer residents or which could be funded by other means other than direct taxation?

Today, here and everywhere, taxes and services are foremost in everyone’s mind. New York State leads the nation in the taxing of its people. This village represents a cross section of all ages from various social and economic levels. Many of our residents are senior citizens, retired or single parents. Any increase in taxes, for whatever reason, can cause them major financial problems. We can’t keep raising costs and keep passing them onto the taxpayers of this village. Some have argued that village taxes have not gone up. Let’s not play word games and figures to confuse people. The bottom line is that the total cost to the taxpayer in this village has increased. Call it what you want; a surcharge, a user fee, an application fee or whatever, the total cost per year that the village taxpayer has made has gone up. At the current proposal, which includes the road and sewer bonding, our taxes will increase $300-$500 per year per household for the next 30 years. There are other alternatives such as grants, proper planning, shared services and so on. As Daniel Webster, a great statesman, once said when referring to tax payers’ money, “It’s not ours to spend. It’s ours to use wisely.”

Keeping taxes and fees reasonable is a constant and demanding task. Consolidation of the Fire Department, our water system’s lease to MC Water Authority, village ownership of sidewalks are examples of reducing costs and maintaining quality services. We constantly look for new revenue sources such as grants, member items, and private donations to fund needed or desired projects. We annually examine how the village operates and performs its work and implement changes to be more efficient and save tax dollars.

Performing street maintenance by our DPW is saving about half the cost of using contractors. We now share building inspector services with the Town of Ogden. Volunteers at the Day of Caring and Make a Difference Day have improved the village and saved money.

Economic development for the village can provide improved services to all the residents and businesses. This needn’t be expensive if people work together. We are using the IEEP program through the Electric Franchise to provide rebates for energy efficient appliances, street lighting improvements, and a new Infrared camera for electric system maintenance and determining heat loss in residential and business structures. These items improve life quality and save out of pocket costs to the taxpayers.

Q: Other than the two mentioned above, what other issues impact village leaders and residents? How would you address them?

The main issues impacting village residents is the lack of future planning and concern for our residents along with communication. We need to serve our residents with the least amount of dollars and with concern for their needs. Our job is to help people. We need to make this a business friendly community, to work closer with our businesses in our village. Let’s not make it any more difficult than it already is to do business in New York State. Let’s stop telling them “no” and why they can’t do something and start telling them “Yes” and how they can do it. Let’s do more with less. Let’s together come up with ideas to save money such as shared services, intermunicipal cooperation, grants, outside revenues and so on. Let’s not refuse to join consortiums that will save money, such as forming a group of villages and towns in a Workman’s Comp fund that would have saved this village over $20,000 a year. Let’s eliminate duplication and waste. If the people are not coming to the board meetings because they are “afraid,” let’s go to the people. Let’s make our residents aware of what’s going on. Let’s not operate in a vacuum.

Keeping the identity of the village with a balance of residences and businesses unique to a village setting is critical. Growth in Ogden surrounding the village has the potential to change us. The village board and staff continue to work with the Town of Ogden on immediate issues and in planning for the future.

Emergency preparedness has become a community initiative where the village, town, school district, emergency services, clergy and citizens plan and work together. The constant unfunded mandates from Albany and the ever-increasing costs of health care plague us all. I will continue to work with the Council of Government initiatives (health care), our local NYS delegates and other lobby groups to push for ways to alleviate this burden on our taxes.

High utility rates cut deep into our pockets. Our continued strong point is the low Village electric rate that has recently been extended until 2025.

Ever increasing traffic volume, congestion and vehicle speeding within the Village and everywhere creates frustration, safety concerns and increased street maintenance. We continue to work with Ogden Police using various law enforcement techniques. Portable speed monitoring in neighborhoods has provided some relief.

Q: What qualifications do you bring to the job of mayor of Spencerport?

As mayor I would bring numerous qualifications to the job. I have strong organizational skills and proven leadership. Being a government employee for 35 years, I know and understand how government works. I am good at saving taxpayers money and I am constantly looking at ways to cut costs. I oversee a budget of approximately 13 million dollars. In every area that I have control over, I have consistently had money left over which I have returned to the town. I have extensive experience and training in grants, budgets and on N.Y.S. laws regarding villages and towns. I deal with the public daily and I have good verbal and written communication skills. I have a policy of returning all phone calls and e-mails daily. This will be a welcome change to our residents. We all have full time jobs and up until now this hasn’t been an issue for the board members. My work schedule is extremely flexible and I am and will be available 24 hours a day, everyday. If something came up needing my attention I could and would be immediately available. I will not wait until election time to knock on doors. I have the interest, desire and ability to do the job and do it right.

I have been associated with many aspects of the village government for 16 years; planning and zoning boards, trustee and mayor. I have served on committees for village code review, comprehensive plan updates, Emergency Preparedness, United Way, Association of Villages, etc. to give me exposure to many facets of government and their activities. This well-rounded background continues to serve me well as mayor. I am also a project engineer at Kodak. The skills I have developed there apply readily to the mayor position. As a mechanical engineer and project leader, I lead teams of people, investigate causes of problems, recommend solutions, implement solutions, manage budgets and interface with a wide range of people on many topics. I am very approachable, a good listener, patient, and attentive to peoples’ needs. My technical and analytical background plays a vital part in dealing with infrastructure issues, budget and fiscal analysis, consultants and other government groups.

Being a devoted father of three daughters and participating in their active lives taught me about people and myself.

Networking with local governments, Spencerport schools, emergency services, businesses and the public continues to provide me with a community perspective for dealing with village and regional issues.

Q: What does Spencerport have going for it as a village? How would you describe the quality of life in Spencerport village? Are there areas you would like improved?

I have been asked what does the Village of Spencerport have going for it and the quality of life that is in the village. Obviously, if a person has to ask this question they don’t really know the village. I am here as a resident as we all are because of everything the village is and has to offer. The canal, the beauty, our history, our service organizations, our businesses, the friendliness of everyone. Our yearly traditions such as Canal Days, the Fireman’s Carnival and parade, our Christmas Tree lighting. We have great businesses - drug stores, attorneys, food stores, corner stores, banks, restaurants, doctors, dentists, coffee shops, appliance stores to name just a few. We have numerous churches and a strong commitment to our places of worship. We have an active senior citizen program. We have great schools and dedicated, hard working village employees. We have everything yet we still have our small village which we can call our own and be proud to do so. There are many ways to improve but the first thing I would do is to make the village residents more aware of what’s going on in government and get their input first before I acted.

The quality of life in Spencerport is excellent because of the people that live here and their positive attitude toward their village and community. They care a lot. We are not a divided fenced off community, we are one village. Have you walked the village to notice the pride everyone takes in their home, business and property? Please do. It really shows.

I would like to improve the “walk-ability” of the village. This means better walking access to the plaza, more new sidewalks, especially along busy streets, and more pedestrian friendly street crossings. From a grant-sponsored study performed last year, several recommendations are planned to be implemented.

I also want to continue the development along the canal. The Trolley Depot rejuvenation by the volunteer group will continue to have mayor and village board encouragement and support to complete this wonderful project. Providing quality festivals and events like Canal Days, Christmas on the Canal and Sunday concerts needs to continue and expand. More community participation is vital for success.

Quality of life is about things and people. I will continue to improve the big and little things. Our residents don’t need improving. They enjoy their Village.