Bartlett board candidates outline priorities for village's economic growth
The four candidates vying for three 4-year seats on the Bartlett village board in the April election agree recent business growth has been a positive thing for the town, but they have different priorities as to what should come next.
Despite those differences, incumbents Ray Deyne, Adam J. Hopkins and Renee Suwanski emphasize how well the current trustees have worked together, even as challenger Khurram Syed seeks to add his voice and representation to the mix.
Deyne touted the success of the village's Economic Development Assistance grant program, which he credits for not only attracting new businesses like the forthcoming More Brewing Co., but also for preventing restaurants from closing during the pandemic.
"We're working with the developer right now on what we're calling Parcel E, which would be an apartment complex and would just add to the downtown growth because we'd have the residents walking to these stores and continuing to frequent these businesses," Deyne said.
He said his top long-term goal is landing a hotel.
Syed expressed satisfaction with the development of the past dozen years, but he believes there are some missing features on the business landscape.
"We don't have a bigger hospital in this community," he said. "We only have emergency clinics. I don't see anything on the mental (health) board side."
Having lost his brother last year to a medical emergency, he wonders if a closer hospital might have made a difference.
Syed also hopes to attract larger department store like a Kohl's that could employ and serve more people. Deyne said the possibility of getting a department store is "ridiculous," considering the number of years it took the village to land its newly announced Aldi store. He also praised the skill of the Bartlett Fire Protection District's paramedics, questioning whether a nearer hospital could improve on their quick response.
Suwanski also expressed skepticism about Syed's suggestions. She pointed out that many existing brick-and-mortar department stores are closing.
"We don't really have a place to put a store like a Kohl's at this time," she said.
She expressed more support for smaller, boutique clothing stores and praised the new business growth downtown, the village's 1% industrial vacancy rate and its 6% commercial vacancy rate. The improvement of the Bartlett Road-Route 59 intersection should match the success found in making the Stearns Road-Route 59 intersection more user-friendly, she added.
The village board's economic development efforts have not made it forget the small-town character still desired by the residents, Suwanski said. That was the reason a proposed 500,000-square-foot spec industrial building on the west side of town was rejected.
"That just doesn't fit what we're trying to accomplish," she said.
Hopkins said his priority is to improve the "eyesore" that is the current Lake Street and Route 20 corridor with new businesses, probably through the use of a tax increment financing district.
"The Brewster Creek TIF district was extremely and hugely successful, and I think that another TIF district on the Lake Street corridor should be next for development," Hopkins said. "I think our downtown with Aldi going in and More Brewing will complement our ever-expanding restaurant network in our downtown area. I think these two things ... it's going to be a game-changer for our downtown."
Also on the April 4 ballot in Bartlett is recently appointed Trustee Joseph W. LaPorte, who is running unopposed for a 2-year term to complete the vacated term he's currently serving.