Trio of supervisor candidates emphasizes their local roots

By STEPH TAHTINEN

Mt. Pleasant News

They say that all politics is local, and the three candidates for Henry County Supervisor took that to heart as they emphasized their local ties during the political forum held Wednesday night.

There are three candidates vying for two open positions on the board ? incumbent Republican Gary See, Republican Greg Moeller and Democrat Kurt Garretson.

Garretson, who lives in rural Salem, mentioned being the only rural candidate on the ballot. After working in the Peace Corps and living in West Africa, Japan, Missouri and Indiana, Garretson moved back to Henry County and on Wednesday night spoke of living on a gravel road on the farm that has been in the family since 1837.

?My perception of the county is it?s my home,? said Garretson, noting that county residents feel the same way. ?When I go out and I talk to people, this is their home, and they want to make it better. That?s a great way to look at things, and that?s how I look at them.

Moeller began his opening statement by describing himself as a lifelong Henry County resident and graduate of Mt. Pleasant Community High School who lived in rural Salem for 41 years before moving to Mt. Pleasant as a single father so his daughter could be closer to her school. He and his second wife currently live in Linden Heights.

?I will give up my position at the U.S. Bank to take on the supervisor role in a full-time position, even though it is classified as a part-time job,? said Moeller, who said he wanted to work to take care of everybody in the county. ?Those people are taxpayers as well, and they need the good schools, they need the good jobs ? none of them should be left out.?

See has resided in Henry County since 1967. He spent 38 years working in retail environments such as grocery stores, department stores, a bank and a credit union and is currently finishing his fourth term as a county supervisor.

?I?ve been fortunate enough to be elected to this office a couple of times. I feel I bring that back to the table, and I think that?s a good quality and I?m very proud of the fact that I?ve been allowed to represent Henry County and I look forward to it in the future,? said See.

See said the job was both challenging and rewarding, referring to the position as ?a mixed bag of local issues.?

One of those local issues concerned a recent decision made by the board of supervisors regarding the requested tax abatement for Grace Community Friends Church. Normally a church is exempt from paying taxes; however, because of the way property taxes are calculated and the date of purchase, there are still taxes to be paid to Henry County because the property was owned by the bank when the taxes were put on the books. The supervisors voted two to one against the abatement, with See voting for the abatement.

?It?s a delicate issue, it?s a difficult issue. It?s not a decision that anybody on the board really wants to make,? said Garretson, who noted he had been at the supervisors meetings where this was being discussed. ?I disagreed with the decision. I would have voted for tax abatement.?

Moeller commented that also would have voted for abatement.

?If it was up to me and I was making the decision alone ?which you do not on the board of supervisors ? I would have voted for the tax abatement. I do not think you would have been setting a precedent,? said Moeller.

The issue of setting a precedent had been of concern to the board of supervisors, but See noted that the county attorney said that each case could be taken on a case-by-case basis, as

?That was what sold it for me, and I?m the one that voted for abatement,? said See.

Another question raised to the candidates regarded mental health redesign in the state and the county moving forward with forming a region.

See reported that Henry County has been in talks with six to eight counties about forming a region, and Wednesday morning the county CPCs (central point of coordination) and the supervisors met to discuss the issue.

?I feel we?re pretty close to reaching an agreement and sending it into the state,? said See, though he noted there are many things still to be determined such as funding and where the central office of the region will be.

Garretson, who also attended Wednesday?s meeting, said that progress was being made.

?It?s a hand we?ve been dealt, and we?re going to deal with it and we?re going to move forward,? said Garretson. ?I think we?re moving in a good direction. It?s a direction we need to be moving in, and it will work itself out in the next couple of years.?

Moeller commented that he was unable to make the meeting as he was at work, but a couple of weeks ago he talked with County CPC Sarah Kaufman and he said, ?I think the program the way it?s being designed currently sounds like it will flow really smoothly into the new transition.?

In a submitted question from the audience, the candidates were asked about the sale of the county care facility property. The property had been assessed at $290,000 and the county has received a proposal of $160,000. The county is now opening up the property to all bidders.

?We weren?t going to start the process until there was interest,? said See, noting that the proposal has started the process of putting the property out for bid. After the initial bids are received, there will be a public hearing held where bidders have a chance to raise their bid.

Moeller commented that he could not really answer the question. Garretson said he had been at the meeting where the bid details were set and that the county would keep moving forward.

The candidates were also asked about the idea of electing supervisors by district and the possibility of increasing the number of supervisors from three to five. Henry County had a special election in August 2011 concerning the districting issue, which was shot down by 55 percent of the vote.

?The voters spoke,? said Garretson, though he noted that even though the issue didn?t pass, he thought it was important to have supervisors from outlying areas. ?We need a board member that lives on a gravel road who knows what?s going on.?

Garretson said he hadn?t considered the five supervisors option and would need to look into it.

Moeller commented that a candidate?s qualifications should matter more than where they reside.

?If they?re qualified to do the job, I believe that the people recognize that, and they will elect that individual to do the job,? said Moeller. He also had not considered the five supervisors, but commented that it might be beneficial in larger counties.

?It (districting) was brought up and it was defeated, and I would not be surprised if it came up again as soon as it legally can,? said See, which will be in a few years. ?The voters will decide again if that?s something that they want or not.?

The ongoing issues between the City of Mt. Union and RUSS were also brought up, and the candidates were asked whether RUSS was handling the needs in Mt. Union adequately.

See commented that Henry County had joined RUSS at the request of the former Mt. Union mayor and that although RUSS ?hit a snag? in the past, See said, ?The people who are in charge of RUSS now are running it quite well.?

See said he had spoken to Mt. Union Mayor John Marek about looking into bonding options for the money it owes RUSS so the city can buy it out ?and not be critical of RUSS as it has been in the past.

The other two candidates were not as complimentary of RUSS.

?It?s said that it has evolved to the degree it has evolved,? said Moeller. ?I don?t know that RUSS as an organization is the answer for the communities.?

Moeller said he would advise that other communities pursue other options.

?It had a lot of good intentions, but there?s been a lot of issues,? said Garretson. He said if he was elected he would work closely with the people of Mt. Union and RUSS to come to a solution. ?We need to actively pursue these solutions quickly. We need to be on the ball and we need to make these decisions quickly before it spirals even further out of control.?

Another question from the audience concerned transparency and following open meetings laws. All three candidates responded that it was important to follow the open meetings laws and that the public could bring issues to the board.

They were also asked about the sale of conservation land by the county. Neither Garretson nor Moeller were familiar with the issue. See commented that the board was not anxious to sell and if it does happen it will be an agenda item for some time.

The county?s rural waste issue was also brought up, as the county has spent the last year putting a new system in place after the former company abruptly left last October. Garretson called it an ?ongoing issue? and See said that the county is working on a new federal application to allow the site to stay at the Emergency Management property. Moeller said he thinks an adequate job has been done.