Objectives
Long Term Planning
In December of 2022 City Council passed legislation for the City of Stow to create a capital improvement plan. The purpose was to create a 5 year capital improvement plan that would work to accomplish the goals set in other documents such as the Comprehensive Plan and the Parks Master Plan and would prioritize the projects important to the residents of the city. I would like to see us utilize and publish a 5 year plan that is easy to read so our residents can clearly review on our plans and vision for the City of Stow. I would also like to see a variance published when a project goes over budget that then impacts other project completion.
Fiscal Responsibility
The City of Stow was previously incurred significant debt after the economic downturn in the early 2000’s. Prior to my service on council the city had reduced the debt from ]a high 33.5 million in 2008, to $14.36 million. This reduction was accomplished with making responsible decisions on spending and balancing the budget. During my service on Council we continued this trend, and at the end of 2023 the city debt was just under $10 million. Stow needs to continue the trend of debt reduction My goal while on city council is to continue this trend of making wise fiscal decisions so we can continue to reduce the overall city debt without increasing any tax burden to our residents.
Ongoing Maintenance Plans
In recent years the city has focused on improving infrastructure within the city, including the increase of storm water fees to increase storm water projects within the city. While all of these things are important, in 2020 we need to extend our focus beyond just the necessary maintenance and look at creating an ongoing maintenance plan and program for our other city assets and properties, including our parks, walking trails, and dog park. I believe we need to continue this work and focus on understanding any financial impact of on-going maintenance that will be needed for new projects as well, such as the addition of the Senior Center, and discussion of a potential new amphitheater. The maintenance needs of new assets need to be considered and how our budget can handle increased maintenance burden of facilities that often operate in the red.
Accomplishments
Fox Den Re-Zoning, Purchase and Re-Zoning of Driving Range
In 2019 I co-sponsored legislation to re-zone Fox Den Golf Course from a residential district to a conservation district to protect it from future development. Fox Den is a large amount of green space in the heart of Ward 2 and I know this issue was very important to many residents in my ward along with being personally important to me as an individual. Towards the end of 2021, the City of Stow was also able to purchase approximately 36 acres across from Fox Den where the city previously leased the land to run a driving range. This purchase allowed the city to both re-zone the property as conservation, protecting it from future development, but also allowed the city to know make much needed investment into the driving range to make it more useable and profitable. The improvements to the driving range began in 2023 and finished early in early 2024, adding covered driving range positions along with additional teach space as well.
Historical Roads Repair Program and Addition of the Sidewalk Repair Program
In 2019 I worked with the administration to commit to the largest roads repair program in Stow’s history. This including major roads in Ward 2 including Young Road and Call Road. This grown in our roads program continued through my service on Council and we saw many repair projects throughout Ward 2, including Pebblehurst, Calls Farm, Lacolline Estates, Terrace Glen, and Springbrook Reserve
. In addition, during my time on Council we had a new Sidewalk Repair Program introduced by Councilman Jeremy McIntire. This new repair program that I wholeheartedly support, alleviates the burden of the sidewalk repair from the home owners and instead uses funds from the City’s hotel tax to make these improvements. This has been a very successful program in working to remove uneven and unsafe sidewalks throughout the city with no cost to our tax payers, making the neighborhoods we live in a much more walkable place.
New Park Equipment
During my time on Council I pushed for several park improvement projects to be moved to replacement projects vs. spending year of year repairs on aging equipment. This resulted in new playground equipment for several neighborhood parks throughout our City, including Sherwood Acres and Northport Park. In addition, SKiP Playground was also rebuilt during my time on council, which included the City paying for the equipment with several multi-year pledge donations to pay the city back for the park over time.
Resident Engagement
I worked throughout 2019 to reach out to residents throughout Ward 2 both online through my blog, Facebook page, and by knocking on doors. I continued to engage residents throughout my term on Council for their feedback on current trends and issues throughout the city, and will continue to do so through my 2025 election and term, if selected.
Coordinated Defense of Council in Lawsuit by Charter Review
The 2020 Charter Review Commission and City of Stow Law Department decided to challenge Council’s actions as it related to the recommendations put forth by the Charter Review Commission by filing a lawsuit with the Ohio Supreme Court. As President of Council I found a law firm, Roetzel & Andress, who would defend Council in such lawsuit and worked with them to coordinate the defense of Council against this unnecessary lawsuit. The Supreme Court of Ohio unanimously agreed with Stow City Council that all actions taken by Council were clearly within our rights.