Batavia 1st Ward hopefuls talk safety, finances

Two men are seeking the seat being vacated by Batavia 1st Ward Alderman Jodie Wollnik in the April 7 election.

Former alderman Stephen Frank, who was appointed to fill the late Alderman Norm Hagemann's term in 2004, faces Michael O'Brien.

Finances

The city budget calls for laying off seven workers in June. O'Brien said if personnel costs have to be held down, he would prefer an across-the-board pay freeze first, or redeploying workers from departments where work has slowed down to fill open posts in other departments.

But layoffs might still be needed. "It's the real world," he said, noting people are losing jobs in construction, his line of work.

O'Brien also thinks the economic slowdown is a time when the city should use some of its four-month cash reserves to maintain some services, such as police and fire coverage and some public works. "For maintenance, we must go in to the reserve," he said.

"In my experience before cutting resources, hold off on salary increases," Frank said. He also suggested the city reduce the number of summer temporary workers. "But when you get right down to it, you may have to do it (layoffs)," he said.

Another bridge?

O'Brien believes the town needs a second bridge downtown over the Fox River, but wants it built "so that it is not a straight shot to Randall Road." That ties in with his passion for getting Batavians to shop and eat downtown.

Frank thinks the traffic congestion is different compared with 2000, when Batavia voters rejected building a second bridge. Back then, east side residents had to go out to Randall to do major shopping.

"That's not the case today," he said, noting he and others go to new shopping centers off Kirk Road, in Aurora. Now, Wilson Street backs up, typically, when people are going to and from Rotolo Middle School and Batavia High School, he said. However, he would want to see if there is data to support his observances.

Randall Road

Several candidates for Batavia offices have suggested the city loosen its rules that allow only businesses that generate sales tax to open along Randall. While O'Brien thinks there are too many large chain stores out there ("the big boxes are killing Randall Road,") he's not ready to let in medical parks or office buildings. "I kind of agree (with Mayor Jeff Schielke). Once you let the first one (non-sales tax) in, it is a crack in the dike," he said.

Frank suggested approaching city issues, including Randall development, much like doing a business case review: think ahead a few years, figure out what's needed and what it will cost, and come up with several scenarios to test. "If we do X, what happens to Y and Z? Pick the best scenarios that benefit Batavia as a whole. If we change Randall Road, how will that affect downtown Batavia?" for example, he asked.

The 1st Ward contains the Batavia Apartments, one of three major complexes in the city. Some Batavians think they take up too much of the police department's time.

But O'Brien disputes that. "Everyone needs a place to live ... it is a small percentage who require police attention," he said. He also noted that there recently was gunfire at a duplex in another ward: "That's much worse than anything going on in the apartments."

Frank believes landlords of apartments and houses need to be held more accountable about keeping up their buildings, and that something like Neighborhood Watch should be tried to increase residents' participation in keeping criminals away. He worries about the amount of petty crimes he sees reported and expects those to increase due to the bad economy. Camera surveillance downtown, for example, might deter criminals, he said.