Candidates for Scottsbluff City Council outlined some of their positions on housing and retail development, the proposed aquatic center and more during a candidates forum on Wednesday, October 5. Five of the six candidates in the running were present. Candidates for the Scottsbluff School Board and the Airport Authority also participated.
CHRISTOPHER BORRO/Star-Herald
The Scottsbluff/Gering United Chamber of Commerce hosted a series of candidate forums on Wednesday, October 5. The House Government Affairs Committee organized the events.
During the forum, candidates were asked a variety of questions regarding their respective councils or commissions. They each had 90 seconds to answer a question. When all the candidates had answered, they could have another 30 seconds to follow up on their answers. They each had one minute to make closing statements when all questions had been answered.
Wednesday’s forum included candidates for Scottsbluff City Council and the Scottsbluff School Board, as well as the Airport Authority Board.
There are three open seats available in the Scottsbluff City Council elections and six candidates vying for them. These include incumbents Jeanne McKerrigan and Nathan Green and challengers Eugene Batt, Chris Miller, Matthew Salomon and Betsy Vidlak.
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All of the candidates except Miller attended Wednesday’s forum.
Bill Boyer, co-chair of the government affairs committee, began by asking candidates whether LB840 eligibility should be expanded to include retail. All candidates were either in favor or at least not opposed to the suggestion.
Both Batt and Salomon said they were in favor of it if it created new jobs, and Batt added that there are times when small businesses need help from the community. Vidlak agreed and said the wealth could impact the whole community.
“We want to grow and start businesses, but hopefully local businesses,” Vidlak said.
Green said he doesn’t want eligible stores to compete with existing small businesses and McKerrigan added that she doesn’t want big businesses to take all the funds.
“I think if we expand it to retail, we need to set some limits just because we have limited LB840 funds,” she said.
Hiring for vacancies
To fill vacancies in the city’s own workforce, McKerrigan and Vidlak recommended hiring internally and investing interns more to become full-time employees. Green said it would be important to work with interns and listen to new hires.
Solomon recommended going to colleges and holding job fairs to attract workers directly.
“If we could get people out of college like the police department (does), that would be even better because everyone is struggling to fill positions,” he said.
Batt said the Scottsbluff area could be marketed to potential recruits by promoting low housing costs and wide open spaces.
When deciding whether to stay on the current course or search for a new dump location, Solomon and Batt said they encourage any final location to be nearby. Batt suggested looking for private facilities, and Salomon said the city should stay the course and partner with Gering.
“I think we should stay the course, but also keep an eye out for other options. It’s not an overnight project, so you can’t be wishy-washy.”
McKerrigan said testing the feasibility of sites is necessary for a period of time, while Vidlak said the environmental impact must also be considered.
“I really think it’s something that has to move on because it’s definitely not something that’s going to wait for us,” Vidlak said.
In recent years, Gering has approved the construction of tiny homes and shipping container homes within the city limits. McKerrigan said she feared they would be difficult to fund.
“I think it’s a great concept, but it’s my understanding that we don’t currently have the ordinances in place for these to be in Scottsbluff,” she said.
Solomon said he was in favor of tiny homes but less supportive of shipping container homes. Green said he was more supportive of mobile home parks in Scottsbluff.
“Tiny housing is something I’ve seen work for some communities and be a nightmare in others,” Green said.
Vidlak said residents of Scottsbluff already live in unsafe mobile homes, so the city should work to find different but safe options. Batt said he favors small homes as long as zoning laws are enforced and they are not too close together.
Candidates were asked what the city’s next steps should be if the proposed aquatic center measure succeeds or fails on Nov. 8. They all agreed that the current swimming facilities should be repaired or replaced if the public rejects funding for the centre.
Green said council should keep neighborhood pools even if the center is funded; he, Batt, McKerrigan and Vidlak all said the board should ensure that all legal and financial paperwork is completed and that contracts are also signed.
Vidlak and Salomon also argued that it would be important to ensure that the project does not significantly exceed its budget if the center is approved.
The Scottsbluff Public School Board race has three vacancies sought by four candidates. Candidates include incumbent Mark Lang and challengers Ralph Paez, Chico De Los Santos and Tory Schwartz.
Lang and De Los Santos were unable to attend the meeting, although De Los Santos provided a statement.
“I am running for the Board of Education because I have a personal interest in preserving and improving the quality of our school system. I feel like this is an opportunity for me to have an impact on our young people. I believe in quality education for all students,” he wrote.
Paez said the school board has done a good job with policies in place to prevent bullying, as it is much less prevalent than it otherwise would be.
Schwartz said bullying prevention must start at home.
“Our teachers and administrators are being called upon these days to do so many things…they can’t do it all the time, so we need parents to do their homework, so these kids understand how they should treat others. ,” he said.
Learning from the pandemic
Paez said students are learning more about how to use technology to educate themselves during the pandemic.
“Our children have adapted. They were able to move on and continue their studies. … More than anything, I think it opened the door to alternative ways of learning,” he said.
Schwartz said schools should always be looking for ways to challenge their students and help them be more successful, and research potential online learning resources in the future.
Schwartz said the school board needs to be good stewards of funding, no matter where it comes from. Paez said Scottsbluff has to rely somewhat on state aid, but there are many other funding options such as grants.
Schwartz and Paez had similar opinions on some of the questions posed. They both agreed that recruiting and retaining staff would be the biggest issue facing the district in the next few years. They also agreed that students should participate in athletics based on the gender on their birth certificates.
AIRPORT AUTHORITY COMMITTEE
Joe Nichols was the only airport authority board nominee to the forum among the three nominees. The other candidates are Matthew Ziegler and Jeff Robbins.
Nichols said he has been associated with the Western Nebraska Regional Airport for about 40 years. He said he would consider his six-year term a success “if I can be part of the right decision-making that allows the airport to grow and continue with the great air service we have.”
There is a need for the airport to continue to have a reliable airline with competitive prices and for the airport to continue to be run like a business, he said.
Although he was not present, Robbins provided a statement to read. In it he writes that he has spent his entire career working in aviation and said the airport is “an invaluable asset to our community, but has the potential to further develop our region in many ways”.
