Candidate Forum: Getting to Know the Godfrey Trustees

SEE VIDEO OF FORUM:

GODFREY – The North Alton-Godfrey Business Community and the East End Improvement Association hosted a candidate forum for people running for Godfrey Village Trustees at Lewis and Clark Community College.

Six candidates are running against each other for six available positions on the village board. Voters during the April 2, 2019 elections will be able to vote for as many as three of the six candidates. All of the candidates were present at the candidate forum except incumbent Karen McAtee. It started with a moment of silence for Capt. Jake Ringering, who perished in the line of duty as a Godfrey firefighter, and his fellow firefighter Luke Warner who was injured in the March 5 blaze. The candidates are incumbent Ben Allen, Virginia Woulfe-Beile, Jerome Jacobs, Richard Jones, incumbent Joseph Springman III and McAtee.

Candidates provided opening statements in alphabetical order to introduce themselves and their platforms.

Opening Statements

Allen, who has lived in Godfrey for most of his life, said he has practiced law for around 50 years, having worked in the Madison County State's Attorney's Office as a prosecutor. He also owns a few local businesses – most notably the Loading Dock in Grafton.

Woulfe-Beile began her opening statement by honoring the Godfrey Fire Protection District. She said she has lived in the area her entire life as well. She has worked with municipalities for 30 years in various capacities – including in competitive bidding and budgets. She is a part of the Piasa Palisades chapter of the Sierra Club and said she would bring her knowledge of clean practices and sustainability to the position of trustee. She said Godfrey is on the cusp of growth and wants to use proper planning to ensure Godfrey grows “smart.” She also said she wanted to fund the Godfrey Fire Protection District, which is not a direct part of the village, without raising taxes.

Jacobs has lived in Godfrey his entire life. He formerly worked with the St. Louis Blues and currently manages his own construction company. He said he wants to keep Godfrey a “wonderful place to live” with good roads and improved parks, which he said were already good. He said the village has a lot to offer business owners and wants to grow those businesses.

Jones moved to the area after his tour of duty in the United States Army and 10 years of higher education. He has worked as an orthodontist in the area for years, saying he bases his life and career on people's trust. He said he makes and spends his money in Godfrey and has lived longer in the village than anywhere ever. He claimed there was a lack of honesty in the village and the world in general. He said he supported Godfrey Mayor Mike McCormick. He does not believe Godfrey is growing and said the tax base in the village is stable.

Springman has lived in the area his entire life and has managed Springman Electric for nearly two decades. He served as part-time building inspector and trustee for the Village of Godfrey. He also served on the East End Improvement Association, which sponsored the event. He said he helped Godfrey improve roads, bridges, demolitions, and the moving of the Public Works District. He's also been instrumental on bike paths and small business facade programs. If elected, he promised to continue to do the same and added his support for police and fire. He also said he would help with zoning and current burn laws.

McAtee sent a statement to the moderator due to the fact she could not make it. She apologized in the statement and said she had undergone emergency eye surgery. She is a current trustee and retired from banking. She works part time as a comptroller in the church. She said she has lived in Godfrey for years and was instrumental in dissolving the Godfrey Township and sold the antiquated sewer system outside the village so it could be improved. She wants to expand bike trails, install more sidewalks and get lighting in the ball diamonds. She wants to attract new young families to Godfrey to help its population growth.

Questions

Godfrey has lowered or kept the tax levy the same for 10 years, what is your stance on that?

Allen said he was proud of that and said he was pleased there was no bond debt. He described himself as “very much conservative” in that position. He said the village would do better to not go into debt, but admitted there could rise emergencies in which that could be needed. He said the village has handled that well.

Woulfe-Beile said, as a taxpayer, she's glad her taxes are not going up. She said new funding ventures could be sought. She said the current administration has done a good job and was “all for it” assuming road construction was done right.

Jacobs said he agreed with Allen, adding more businesses needed to be added to keep taxes low.

Jones said Godfrey has surplus funds in the bank for “a rainy day.” He thanked McCormick for his work, and said the biggest debt cause was the sewer system. That system was sold, and he said that was a good choice.

Springman said he was for keeping taxes low. Despite property taxes increasing since he moved to Godfrey in the mid-1990s, he said Godfrey's portion had decreased. He said the roads need repaired and the amount the contract the village has with the Madison County Sheriff's Office has cost the village around $2 million a year. He agreed with that for the safety of the citizens.

Godfrey is the second-largest municipality in terms of land in Illinois. What are your feelings in Godfrey in terms of growth?

Woulfe-Beile said she wanted to ensure smart growth in the community and limit the amount of “remote developments,” saying infrastructure being sent to remote parts of the village could be a waste of taxpayers' money.

Jacobs said he wanted to make sure the village had a board willing to grow with a good economic developer with a well-executed plan.

Jones said Godfrey is not growing, adding “you might as well face it.” He said the only growth could come from small businesses. He said buying land in Godfrey is “prohibitively expensive.”

Springman said Edwardsville was the perfect example of growth. He said the Governor's Parkway helped grow that area. He said infrastructure had to be in place for more business growth. He said Lars Hoffman Parkway, which would connect to Route 3 would help.

Allen said he was also for the continuation of Lars Hoffman, adding he wanted to see more community centers. He wanted to work with the mayor to bring businesses, and said he wanted to attract a movie theater and possible a hotel. Allen said a road across town would “tie the whole community together.”

In your opinion, how will the minimum wage increase in Illinois affect the village?

Jacobs said it “would kill small business and will not help growth,” adding the village will “adjust.”

Jones said he was not sure if it would affect anyone outside of part time workers in Godfrey, saying they will “do the best they can with what they got” otherwise.

Springman said it would hurt small businesses, but help other businesses, which would see people spend more. He said it may also help people afford housing in Godfrey.

Allen said he was against federal and state laws should not dictate how much money people should pay their help, adding those costs will be passed to customers. He said there was not much to be done about it, but did said there were “holes” in the law, allowing 16-18-year-old kids to make less.

Woulfe-Beile said it will give dignity to a lot of people, saying people would often work two jobs to make due. She said ultimately there will be more money in the economy. She said she was happy to pay 50 cents extra for iced tea (an example used by Allen to show costs) if workers were valued for their labor.

How should Godfrey be marketing property around 255 interchange?

Jones said historically, when an interstate is built, businesses come. He also said there is a state highway down the middle of town. He said he was not aware of incentives they could use, but was willing to listen and learn.

Spingman said the village was reaching out to businesses such as hotels for develop.

Allen said there were incentives, which could be offered. He was appointed by the mayor to head economic improvement. While they have not done much yet, he said to expect rapid work toward it. He said Godfrey was in “the perfect location for development.” He said he was for smart development as well.

Woulfe-Beile said the highway does put Godfrey on the cusp of growth, adding the village was working toward future development plans. She said she wanted to ensure Godfrey's growth was wanted and sustainable, saying she would hate to see empty strip malls and big box stores, saying not all growth is good.

Jacobs said the land cost in that area was high. He said he wanted to work with landowners to reach agreements. He said the village had an economic developer on staff working on marketing.

What should the village do with vacant properties, lots and the cross-town road?

Springman said properties currently housing Godfrey Public Works should be moved to Godfrey Road and small businesses move there.

Allen said he was not aware of all the vacant properties mentioned by the moderator, but said vacant and unappealing properties should be replaced and made better.

Woulfe-Beile said cleaning the areas on Godfrey should be cleaned to encourage small business growth. She also said the Public Works should be moved to a central location. She expressed hopes the former Hiway House should be used for mixed purposes, and said a cross-town road should not take people from the hub.

Jacobs said the Public Works move needs to be handled by a team of people who can do good work. He also said people need to work together to bring people to Godfrey.

Jones said Mayor McCormick is working to upgrade the village's comprehensive plan. The current plan is a decade old.

How should the village best use the proceeds for the sale of the sewer plant?

Allen said he liked the idea of a rainy day fund, something many communities do not have. He also was for developing a tech and cultural center and said some of that money could be used as a seed. He described Godfrey as a small community spread across a large area.

Woulfe-Beile said the proceeds for the sewer sale could go to a rainy day fund, lamenting there were towns going bankrupt. She said she wanted the residents to tell her what they would like done with that money. People have complained to her about roads, drainage and erosion.

Jacobs said he agreed with Woulfe-Beile regarding how the residents should dictate that money's usage.

Jones said he liked the idea of the civic center in Godfrey. He said a former civic center “wasn't impressive,” but it “served its purpose.” He also hoped people would be “judicious” in their expenses and hoped it could be used well.

Springman said as much as $5 million was put aside to help people pay their sewer bills. He said he would like to see some of the remaining $8 million be put into infrastructure with a specific focus on storm drainage. He also said he was accepting of a possible civic center, which was put forward by the late Twirp Williams, a former village tustee.

What is the greatest issue facing Godfrey today?

Woulfe-Beile said it was stagnant growth and smart growth. She said more ways to attract growth should be done outside of just 255, which would not encourage sprawl or burden emergency services. She also said she wanted to do it without raising taxes.

Jacobs said the short term biggest issues are roads. He said there were a lot of loose ends with the sewer sale – including rates. He said long-term, planning is the biggest problem.

Jones said he was not sure if Godfrey had any large major problems. He said he wanted Godfrey ran by people working for Godfrey and not just themselves. He applauded the village for not spending money “like drunken sailors.”

Springman said infrastructure was the worst followed by roads, with only 17 percent of Godfrey's roads being in good shape.

Allen said he agreed with Jones, saying there are not a huge amount of problems in Godfrey. He said planning was an issue, as Godfrey was a huge and underdeveloped land mass.

The full context and candidate answers can be seen in a video of the event, posted above. It was shot live by Riverbender.com Wednesday night.

More like this: