Thomas (Tom) Poynton: 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: Lake ZurichWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: @LZMayorTomFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TomPoyntonForLakeZurich/?ref=bookmarksOffice sought: Lake Zurich Mayor Age: 70Family: Married with Children and grandchildrenWife: JanetChildren: Tracie, Kim, ChrisGrandchildren: Nathan, Morgan, Olivia, OscarOccupation: * Retired Sales and Marketing Executive in Consumer Products Industry * Former small business ownerEducation: * State University of New York at Buffalo, Bachelor of Science Degree Business Management * United States Army, Viet Nam era veteran; Honorable DischargeCivic involvement: * 32 year resident of LZ* Member St. Francis Parish* Countryside Subdivision Rep* Finance Committee* Liaison Finance Committee* Chairman Public Safety Committee* Liaison Police Department* Liaison Building Zoning Department* CPAC * LZPD Citizens Police Academy* LZ Citizen Corps* LZ Chamber Commerce* Community Booster/Volunteer: Sarah Adams, LZ Middle, LZ High School, LZ QB Club, LZ/ELA Soccer, LZ Park/Rec Dept. activities and special events: Kids Kingdom, Haunted House, Arbor Day, Easter Egg Hunt, Independence Day Family Fest, LZ, Relay for Life, Rock the Block, Alpine Fest, Purple PlungeElected offices held: * Elected Village President (Mayor) April 2013* Elected to LZ Board as Trustee April 2011* Elected to LZ Board as a Trustee April 2007* Director Lake County Municipal League* Board of Directors SWALCO (Solid Waste Agency Lake County * LZ rep to Northwest Municipal ConferenceQuestions Answers What is your vision for downtown redevelopment?Since 2002, we have had a number of failed "visions" for downtown. Those failures came as result of village entering into questionable deals with underfunded developers. Most of us in the community have a similar "vision". We would like some vibrancy added to downtown in the form of small, quaint retail shops coupled with quality destination restaurants, additional residential and gathering places. Clearly, the marketplace reality has a different "vision". We have taken new and significant efforts towards overcoming that marketplace reluctance to invest. These "efforts" had never been done before. We have torn down buildings that were never going to be "repurposed" due to their structural inadequacies. These properties have been turned into shovel-ready opportunities for the right developer. We have also increased the marketing of village owned parcels "circ;brvbar; listing them for sale, adding signage, and actively reaching out to potential developers. We have attended trade shows in additional attempts to "sell" Lake Zurich. We are not against offering incentives to attract the right projects. We won't "give away the ship" but we will be competitive. We have put in place a new, experienced credentialed Village Planner, a credentialed Associate Village Planner and a credentialed planner as Village Manager. I think we are well positioned to move forward. In an attempt to draw people downtown in a sort of a display of "if you build it they will come" "circ;brvbar; we have added new special events and moved others to downtown. All of them have been extremely successful.What are your views on adding apartments or other multifamily housing to Lake Zurich?Adding higher end apartments or other multi-family housing in Lake Zurich can be beneficial to the Village. BUT "circ;brvbar; I would caution against overwhelming the market with too many apartments at one time. I think a slow, easily absorbed realistic adding of higher end apartments can add to the variety of housing stock that currently exists in Lake Zurich. Currently, there appears to be a higher demand for rental units. Single-family home options are either limited or out of the price range of many would-be homebuyers and they are turning to renting. These are not any old apartment buildings going in, either, but luxury developments with more amenities, equipped with all the "bells and whistles" that are geared to entice renters, and they cater toward the higher income lifestyle that could even tempt existing homeowners as they look to downsize. These apartment properties may have the added benefit of bringing in new retail as well as it increases the neighborhood's walkability.Think of the potential new retail opportunities in the area of the apartment proposal at the former Kmart property. I can't help but be convinced that development can benefit the entire community "circ;brvbar; current residents and businesses as it will create new retail opportunities in that area.What kind of development would your prefer for the Hackney's property at Old Rand and Rand roads? How would you work to achieve the vision?The Hackney's property redevelopment will occur at some point because the family who owns it wants to sell the land and close the restaurant. It is a beautiful, natural piece of property that has the potential of being developed into something special that could compliment the property across the street on the lake. That "something special" could be a tasteful mixture of residential and retail. We will work with whoever purchases the property in an attempt to gain the acceptance of the majority of the residents. Our goal is to raise the look and feel of our community into something that we can all be proud of.Describe your leadership style and explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board or city council.Actively and democratically collaborative. I am a visible and active member of the community. I seek out business and residents for their input on almost every issue. I return phone calls and inquiries promptly. I don't promise things that I know I can't deliver but I encourage in depth discussion when needed. I encourage my fellow residents talk to me about anything and everything and I provide them with the best information I can. I look for input from the best professional staff that we have ever had in the Village of Lake Zurich. These staff members with specialized knowledge and expertise create a more complete basis for better decision-making. As a result, "circ;brvbar; the Board and residents receives the best, most complete information in the history of this village. My style of leadership has led to more effective and better decisions.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Actually I have two "circ;brvbar; the first is producing instructional videos that explain in the simplest terms the processes of local government and how one goes about doing business with local government For example, how does a vacant property get to be a viable project? What can the village do and what can't it do . The second is the construction of a multifunctional amphitheater in Paulus Park that would enable us to take better advantage of the beautiful park and scenic views of the lake.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Let's see "circ;brvbar; Making sure that we have the correct assets in place to keep the community reasonably safe; Increasing resident and business engagement; Balancing the budget; Keeping up the high level of quality services that we currently supply; Protecting our very limited sources of revenue; Maintaining the current extremely high level of transparency and communication that we currently provide; Keeping our water supply adequate and safe; Monitoring our water sources; Lake Michigan Water; Funding infrastructure improvements; Updating our comprehensive plan to reflect current reality; Making sure that we are funding our current financial responsibilities to our public safety pensions; Keeping our high quality professional staff challenged; Increasing the already high quality of our Park and Rec offerings and Special Events; Managing the myriad of "not in my back yard issues that we are currently blessed with; etc "circ;brvbar; etc "circ;brvbar; etc.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Hmmmm "circ;brvbar; Current leader?What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?If you mess up "circ;brvbar; "Ë#339;fess up. Suffer the consequences, correct the "mess up" learn positively from it and move forward.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would have run for mayor sooner. I could have contributed to the community art a higher level and accomplished even more.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Spanish. I did well in it; It helped me a lot on vacations and it has become the second language of this countryIf you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?The voice in your head that is saying "You can't do it" "circ;brvbar; is lying to you. Take the shot!