Letter: Council candidate has vision that city needs

There are a host of tough decisions facing the city of St. Charles including redevelopment of the eastern gateway (think Pheasant Run and Charlestowne Mall), the old police station property and finishing the First Street Development in the heart of downtown; and 4th ward aldermanic candidate Laurel Moad has the vision and leadership that the city needs.

All three of the previous St. Charles mayors have enthusiastically endorsed Laurel in recognition of the need for her leadership on the city council. While her opponent has declared he wants to save the riverfront with inaccurate emotionally based claims, Laurel has actually led tangible and positive changes to the riverfront in her leadership of the nonprofit River Corridor Foundation.

She puts in the work and produces tangible results, including directing the development of concept plans for actually increasing riverfront access, reducing traffic delays due to non-vehicular crossings on Main Street and enhanced north/south trail connectivity.

In her current term on the St. Charles Planning Commission, Laurel has consistently demonstrated a willingness to critique and improve developers proposals. She also knows that every proposal has potential costs as well as benefits for the city and that the key is to find the optimal result based on accurate and detailed analysis.

Her career as a senior management consultant for a number of national retailers provides her with the insight and knowledge of how and why retailers and other businesses decide to invest in communities. Her knowledge in this area will be critical in helping the city move forward.

Please join me in voting for Laurel Moad as Fourth Ward alderman on Tuesday, April 4, to provide leadership and vision for St. Charles.

John Rabchuk

St. Charles