Full ballot for Round Lake Heights board

Seven candidates are seeking three open seats on the Round Lake Heights village board in next week's election.

Six members of the group are aligned with two slates - the incumbent Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (YTT) organization, and the challenging Party for Putting People First (PPF).

The seventh candidate is an independent and promises to work with everyone on the board if elected.

All of those running said infrastructure - flooding and road repair - would be top priorities should they win office.

While the YTT slate members claim the board is doing all it can to relieve the flooding issues near village hall and to keep the roads repaired, PPF slate members counter that more progress can be made on both issues.

The hopefuls outlined their positions in responses to questionnaires and interviews with the Daily Herald.

Kevin D. Hedlund, the independent, is an employee of the Round Lake village public works department and a member of the planning and zoning board in Round Lake Heights. Hedlund said he wants to reduce crime in the village by increasing police patrols and putting the police department through the professional accreditation process to improve efficiency.

He also favors a comprehensive capital infrastructure plan that would identify short- and long-term goals and ways to afford them.

Candidates from the YTT include incumbents Jeff Katzel and Andy Walker, and newcomer Jeremy McIntyre. They claim the board should continue its 12-year program of replacing water mains throughout the village, maintain existing speed limits and keep the current policy of allowing parking on village streets only with special permission.

The PPF challengers John Bender, Ginger Berndt and Edward Liberman attack the present board as a closed society benefiting just a few residents, and promise to make government more open and transparent.

They believe it is time for a uniform speed limit along Rollins Road, instead of the 10 mph reduction in Round Lake Heights they refer to as a "speed trap."

They also favor allowing parking at all times on village streets, because they say streets are wide enough to safely allow traffic to safely pass parked cars.