Mark S. Ernst: Candidate Profile

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:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: Lake ZurichWebsite: http://www.lzvision.orgOffice sought: Lake Zurich Village boardAge: 61Family: Married, wife Nijole. Between us 5 children and 5 grandchildren.Occupation: Business consultantEducation: JD,DePaul University College of Law Lewis University:MS in Social Justice with a management emphasisBA in Social Justice.Civic involvement: Chamber member for 5 years, now serve as a board member of the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce. Member of LZINC networking group in the LZ Chamber of Commerce.Serve on the Lake Zurich Police Pension Board.Elected offices held: NoneHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Addressing the current fiscal condition of the Village. The upcoming budget deficit is projected to be approximately $1.5 million dollars. This is going to take a committed board who can work together creatively and collaboratively to solve these issues while keeping the public fully informed of the tough choices ahead.Key Issue 2 Uptown redevelopment. We are open to suggestions from residents and welcome experienced and accomplished developers and architects in this area. Realistic development needs to happen. We are committed to making this happen.Key Issue 3 The village must become business friendly by welcoming new businesses and making it easy for existing businesses to grow. The building permit and inspection process must be easy to follow, predictable and consistent. Surprises must be eliminated.Questions Answers The village has made several program and job cuts, and even considered selling Paulus Park to help shore up finances. What ideas do you have to balance the budget?First we must involve the public in the choices we face. We saw the board at a recent meeting vote #147;no#148; to selling the surplus part of Paulus Park but they didn#146;t say what the options were so the public could make informed decisions. For example at the next village board meeting one trustee said the village may need to authorize a bond issue. We feel it#146;s disingenuous to not tell people the option of not selling the park would be a tax increase. We support exploring cooperative agreements with neighboring villages to share services such as police, public works, etc. We see there are economies of scale that can produce savings for all participating villages. Lake Zurich has a substantial amount invested in infrastructure that can be leveraged for the benefit of all. We are opposed to any tax increases unless and until all other options have been explored and the public supports that action.What do you think the village must do to stabilize the downtown redevelopment plan and move it to completion?Identify reliable and proven developer(s) and invite bidding. So much time has been lost because of the last contract locked all other developers out of the process and the developer who was selected did not have the resources to proceed. Future agreements must have clear timetables and protect the village#146;s interests.Should the size, scope and focus of the downtown plan be adjusted? What should that vision be?Much has changed since the initial proposals for Lake Zurich downtown were developed. The plans for that were prepared several years ago are no longer feasible because of the state of the economy and the projected #147;new normal.#148; Downtown Lake Zurich should reflect the Village#146;s demographics and culture. We have to look at what has worked and not worked in other communities. The small town retail mix that failed in other towns might also not be the best solution for Lake Zurich. Realistic development needs to occur and we are committed to making this happen.What role can the village board play in helping fill vacant storefronts in the community?This is really a challenge that must be faced by the Village departments working with the property owners. We are certain that the landlords are using every effort to lease their property. We are committed to the village simplifying the permit and inspection process during construction and build-out. We plan to make it more user friendly. The Village Board should develop and establish a policy for attracting new businesses to Lake Zurich over the course of the next few years. This policy should affect not only storefronts but also vacancies in the industrial park. It should include incentives in the form of some tax breaks and waivers of fees. We are committed to making this happen.Are you in favor of spending the money needed to bring Lake Michigan water to Lake Zurich? Why or why not?We support bringing Lake Michigan water to Lake Zurich. We have to rely on experts who tell us that the aquifer that supplies our water and the water of many communities throughout Illinois is getting slowly depleted. Also, the disposal costs of the well water treatment residuals is bound to increase dramatically as the treatment options become limited. If we pass on this option now, the alternatives later may be very expensive. We have to learn from the mistakes of past village boards and not avoid tough decisions now and leave them for the future boards to deal with. As trustees, we have an obligation not only to provide for this generation but for future generations as well.