DECATUR — In an effort to assist voters in determining who would best serve the city of Decatur in the office of alderman, we have asked candidates for council posts in the one contested race to answer each of the following questions as briefly and concisely as possible. We are reprinting their answers unedited for our readers.
Candidates questioned were Bob Tharp and James Jessen.
Questions asked were the following:
Why are you a candidate for office and what are your qualifications?
What do you hope to accomplish for the city if elected?
What is the most important issue facing the city and how would you address it?
Would you vote in favor of increasing taxes? Under what circumstances?
What steps would you recommend taking to attract new residents, businesses and/or industry to Decatur?
To what extent should the city plan and regulate business and residential development?
In what actions, in your opinion, is the current council headed in the right direction? In what areas would you hope to redirect the council?
Bob Tharp
I am a candidate for Decatur City Council because I have a strong interest in seeing our town grow and meet the needs of our citizens. I have lived in the Decatur area for 26 years and 2 years ago I moved into the city limits of Decatur. I am qualified to serve Decatur as City Councilman because of my experience. I served the citizens of Strafford, Mo as city councilman from 1977 to 1979 and then served as Major of Strafford from 1979 to 1982. I served on the Greene County Planning Commission in the late 1970”s as we developed the first ever Federally funded sewer district which resulted in city sewers being brought to Strafford, Mo. My family and I moved to Decaturin 1986. In early 1990’s I was elected to the Decatur School Board. I served 4 years as Justice of the Peace on Benton County Quorum Court ending my term in 2006.
I would like to see Decatur entice new industry, bring jobs to Decatur, explore recycling opportunities, support our local volunteer Fire Department, and manage our finances with no new taxes.
Planning for the future. We have to be planning for future generational needs so we can sustain and keep our town as it is today. We currently don’t have a Planning Commission. I have been told that we once had a strong Planning Commission and I would like to see this put back together.
No more taxes. The American public pays enough taxes as it is. We need to manage with the tax base as we have today. Under what circumstances? If the quality of life were in jeopardy, such as police and fire support and / or Utility support such as water and sewer
Source businesses that are looking for great people to employ because we have them! Present to these businesses the fact that we have capacity for utilities, Police Protection, Fire Protection. We have an infrastructure for Receiving and Shipping Goods with Highway 59 and the Kansas City Railroad. We can ship across the country with easy access to east to west with 412 and shipping north to South with 540. We have major trucking companies in the area to support this. XNA airport is less than 10 miles from us with destinations to New York and LA along with other major cities available.
City government owes its citizens a safe place to live and do business. Having a plan will allow for development where these three can habitat together without conflict.
The current Council / Major government appears to be doing a great job. They are keeping up with streets nicely. In recent years a wonderful sewer plant has beenbuilt and I understand that there is extra capacity built into the plant. Our Police and Fire Departments are strong. Water and Sewer support is good. I don’t know that the City Council needs redirected so much as to continue to develop a culture where the department heads receive support from the Council and Major. What I do believe is that in order for our town to grow into the next generation adequate Planning is a must. We should have documented 5, 10, 20 year plans in place.
James Jessen
I am the current Decatur City Alderman for Ward 2 Position 1. I have 4 years experience on the Decatur City Council and I am the Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission. I also serve the community as a Firefighter/EMT on the Decatur Volunteer Fire Department.
In the past four years I have supported the development of the sewer and wastewater system, voted to support the fire and police departments, voted tokeep the swimming pool open and encouraged the development of the city parks. I want to continue to be a part of decisions that help the City of Decatur continue to grow and be a great city to raise a family in.
I believe the City of Decatur needs more businesses/industry to move to Decatur. I believe we as a city need to reach out to businesses and industry leaders around the area and show why Decatur would be a great place to put a business.
Yes, It would have to be something that would benefit not only the government, but most of all the community and citizens of Decatur.
I believe the City of Decatur is already positively moving forward in this aspect.
The city needs to regulate development in a way that it will help the city grow and not hinder its growth.
I believe the current city council is headed in the direction that is best for the City of Decatur and I hope that direction stays the same.
News, Pages 8 on 10/17/2012