The four candidates competing for three seats on the West Burlington City Council as well as the sole candidate for the Mayor’s chair met last night in a debate sponsored by the Greater Burlington Partnership.
22-year incumbent Mayor Hans Trousil, who is running unopposed, joined 24 year incumbent Therese Lees, 16 year incumbent Rod Crowner, 12 year incumbent Rick Raleigh, and newcomer and Board of Adjustments member Gary Deen to answer questions from debate moderator Wood Stortzum of US Bank and members of the media.
While the candidates differed sometimes on issues like TIF financing and council meeting protocol, there was one thing that everyone could agree on: the need for West Burlington to expand, and that means more residents and more housing development.
West Burlington contains a large commercial district, including some the areas largest employers and institutions–Great River Medical Center, Southeastern Community College, and Westland Mall among other shopping centers. Yet, the town itself has a little less than 3,000 people. That’s a big problem when it comes to attracting some businesses, says Trousil.
“We’ve got a great commercial base and an industrial base, but the residential base has plateaued out over the years. I’d like to see more young families move in to West Burlington to help maintain our school system,” said Trousil.
Trousil says that the school system is currently supported in large part by open-enrolled students from Burlington and not by West Burlington residents. He says he would like to see more senior living complexes in town to free up some housing for younger families.
Crowner says he’d like to see more housing developments, “I would like to see us more housing developed, I think that’s a big thing. We need to get that done, we need to implement programs to get that done. We need to help these developers and these owners of these plots. There is about five of them within our city limits. And if that can get started, if that can get done, that would make a big, big difference.”
Lees says that the city has done a good job so far at getting unused property turned into new housing developments over the years, citing the recent sale of the old public works building land as an example.
“When something comes open that the city has access to, we’re quick to turn it around for residential use,” Lees said.
Deen says that one of the major gaps in the city’s housing stock is in low and moderate income housing, “I would like to see the city of West Burlington to improve the plans, presidential housing especially low income…we do have some expensive homes we also need to have some more moderate and low income homes…affordable”
Raleigh says that marketing is the key to growing the city, and proposed trying to attract a Veterans Affairs Office to West Burlington to attract military vets. Raleigh says, “Veteran’s administration is one thing I would like to see where the college and the hospital can get involved instead of our military people going over to Galesburg or have to take a bus clear up to Iowa city.”
The candidates did differ, however, on Tax Increment Financing, or TIF districts, which municipalities can use to dedicate future tax revenues of businesses within the district in order to fund projects. West Burlington has used TIF for a number of projects over the past few years, which Trousil, Lees, Crowner, and Raleigh all support. Deen, however, called the districts “Taxed Into the Future” districts, and did not approve of their use.
Municipal elections in Des Moines County will be held November 3rd.
