Richard Marks: Candidate Profile

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Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioQA Bio City: GenevaWebsite: Re-ElectRichMarks.comTwitter: @AldermanMarksFacebook: ReElectRichMarksOffice sought: Geneva City Council Ward 2 Age: 56Family: Rich has been a resident of Geneva for 26 years. He is married to Cheryl for 30 years and have two children. His son is married and a Military Police Office in the US Army stationed at Ft. Drum, NY. His daughter is a Civil Engineer now in St. Louis. The Marks Family has been active members of St. Peter Church here in Geneva since 1990.Occupation: Senior Management/Owner of a Financial Planning Firm; CPAEducation: B.S. Degrees in Business Economics and AccountingCertified Public AccountantCertified Global Management AccountantCivic involvement: Alderman; 2nd Ward Geneva City Council since 2009Vice "â#128;œ Chairman Tri City AmbulanceWater Rate Study CommitteeFinance Council: St. Peter Church and School: 12 year history Past President/Council memberTreasurer St. Peter's School DÃcirc;©jÃcirc;#160; vu Thrift and Consignment ShopPast Finance Chair St. Peter Barn Sale (5 years)Naperville Exchange Club; Past MemberPast Board Member Northern Illinois Home Builders AssociationIllinois Notary PublicPast Basketball Coach St. Peter School and various school volunteer groupsElected offices held: Alderman 2nd Ward City of Geneva: 2009 - currentQuestions Answers Do you support what the Downtown/Station Area Master Plan's suggests for redevelopment of several opportunity sites, including the Cetron factory site and the Mill Race Inn site, including calls for higher-density housing than currently allowed? Discuss in light of recent decisions against an apartment building at the Cetron site and townhouses/duplexes at the former Geneva Greenhouse site.Yes. I do support the plan. However, the development needs to blend into existing housing and neighborhood. A five story building butting up to single family residential area that covers almost all green space from sidewalk to sidewalk, in my opinion is not a good fit. A three story building with proper parking and open space would be a better fit for the Cetron space. The city needs to have the proper zoning in place for such developments first. This zoning needs to vetted by the citizens through the Plan Commission and City Council prior to development proposals. It makes it very difficult to approve such projects when you are also trying to get the proper zoning in place while debating a specific project. For example, the City Council cannot approve zoning for duplexes that would also allow a developer to build triplexes once the zoning change has been approved. As for the Mill Race Inn site, a proposal for this site has not been brought forward yet; so I really cannot comment on that yet. I have been listening to residents ideas on what they would like to see there however.Should a city employee (the administrator or her designee) negotiate city union contracts, given that they, like other employees, will receive the same benefits as union members?I do not believe that a city employee should negotiate union contracts that affects their benefits or pay. I believe the City should hire a law firm to negotiate union contracts. The law firm should then report to a committee of the City Council that provides guidelines to them regarding what is acceptable to the Council. I believe this would allow for a more objective negotiation and allow for more opportunities to explore new or alternative options.Mayoral candidate Tom Simonian has said he won't take the salary of mayor/liquor commissioner, or would donate it to charity. Is that a good idea? Why or why not?The City should pay the Mayor/Liquor Commissioner a reasonable salary for the positions. These positions do require time and being away from family and can impact their full time job. That said, I believe the Mayor Salary as well as the Liquor Commissioners salary are reasonable salaries and do not draw any city benefits. After that, any decision on donating part or all of these amounts to charities is a personal one that should be left up to the individual. Also, what charities the money is donated to is also a personal one.Should the city do something to increase the amount of affordable housing in Geneva, as the Chicago Metropolitan Agency on Planning study calls for? If so, what?Yes. It is important that the city have affordable housing. I believe retired individuals, young families and students returning home after college should be able to afford to live in Geneva. First, we need to decide what is affordable housing and how it will fit into the city. It is the responsibility of the City to have the proper zoning and infrastructure in place to have such housing. After this is all in place and the city is presented with a development that is right for the city, then the City should review its inventory of properties that it owns but does not feel that it will use and either sell it at a reduced price or donate it to the developer the property. The city should also reduce or eliminate fees to such developments. The city should not undertake such project by itself. This would be too costly for the taxpayers. However, if the city does donate/sell land to the developer, then the city needs to be a partner in that development.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I have a lot of ideas, but being in the business, I know the timing is not right for some of them right now. One idea, that may not be very "splashy", is to have a Liquor Commission, rather than a Commissioner. Now that we have voted to allow liquor license holders to be elected to the City Council, I think it would be beneficial to have a Committee/Commission to make rulings in this arena. Though state law requires the Mayor be the Liquor Commissioner, that position could appoint a Commission of independent citizens to make recommendations. I believe this would be a more objective way of making these decisions going forward and would like to see this implemented sooner than later.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?An important issue for me is to pursue better communications to residents about developments under consideration by the City. In my conversations with residents, I often find residents under-informed about a project or the progress of a project. Citizen involvement is crucial to the success of growth in the community! In addition, the City should not only be promoting for new businesses in the area but also continuing to make existing business feel welcome. Again, communication is key!Also, I believe we should capitalize on the train station to promote tourism to Geneva. That is something that other tri-cities don't have and I don't think we have to capitalized on this opportunity.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Pope Francis. I try to practice tolerance in my daily decision making. He can provide guidance in a difficult climate.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?I have 5 brothers and sisters. Patience and compromise were the key components for peace in my house.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I probably would have tried to spend more time with my parents before they passed away.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Believe it or not, I loved Accounting! It has become my Career and my hobby.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?If you have something nice, take good care of it. That carries to all aspects of life.