CS: Place 6

Question 1

In 2008, College Station signed the U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement to become part of the Cool Cities program. In doing so, we pledged that the community and local government will take action to reduce global warming. Do you agree with our commitment to become a Cool City? If no, please elaborate.  If yes, what further actions do you propose to continue our progress towards meeting our Cool Cities Commitment?

Clif Eggers

Dave Ruesink

Chandler Salome

Yes

Yes

Yes

While I believe warming on a global scale may one day be proven to be a miscalculation, I do believe in many of the ideas outlined in the Cool Cities program.  Water and trees heat and cool more slowly than asphalt and brick due to difference in conductivity.  Water and trees will be slower to heat up during the day, making it more cool in the afternoon. The trade off is that the temperature is a little warmer at night as it takes the water and trees longer to cool down. If you ever spent the afternoon in a parking lot on a hot day as it heats up more than the surrounding areas, you can appreciate the fact that we need to include more trees and water in the landscape.

no comment submitted

Our city needs to increase its public transportation. There are so few people in College Station that even know where the bus stops are. Everyone knows where the Texas A&M bus stops are at but so few know where the College Station bus stops are and that needs to be changed.

Question 2

 Do you believe that pedestrians, bicyclists, and wheel chair users should have complete and safe access to all places of residence, commerce and employment within the city? If this is to be achieved, a number of measures would need to be taken to improve connectivity in College Station, such as creating more dedicated bike lanes and crosswalks and enforcing traffic laws that ensure the safety of these users of our roads.

Clif Eggers

Dave Ruesink

Chandler Salome

No

Yes

Yes

The word "all places" is one that I can't get behind.  For example, plans for a sidewalk on Northgate would eliminate more of the already severely limited parking at the Methodist Church. I applaud the city's recent effort in creating bike lanes and crosswalks. The trails around Wolf Pen Creek, and the wide bike lanes along Texas Avenue are good examples of what I would like to see more of.  Encouraging pedestrian travel reduces vehicle emissions, reduces traffic, and promotes exercise.  Let's continue to make progress toward these goals without creating undue hardships on the churches and businesses.

no comment submitted

Our city has already made great progress in putting in bike lanes in residential areas near the campus but we can do more.  I would make a pact that all future streets that can afford to have a designated bike lane will have one. In our economic climate we need to make it safe for citizens who wish to not drive to use sidewalks and bike lanes. 

Question 3

College Station has a successful curbside recycling program in place, but there is still a great deal of recyclable material going into our landfill.  Do you believe the city should be promoting further actions to reduce waste and encourage reuse and recycling?

Clif Eggers

Dave Ruesink

Chandler Salome

Yes

Yes

Yes

Most residents simply don't know, or forget, that there is curbside recycling in the city.  I can recall only one time that I have seen a bag by my street other than my own in the last 4 years. To raise awareness, I would like to propose that we have a small roll of recycle bags with instructions dropped next to every trash can, at least once a year.

no comment submitted

We do have a curbside recycling. Nobody that I know of uses it. Why is it that so many things the city says it does doesn't reach the student population? There are 55,000 students who live here in College Station. That is a lot of generated waste. We need to reach out to those citizens and get them involved in curbside recycling because they live here too. 

Question 4

Farmers' Markets can reduce transportation impacts of food, support local farmers, create community connection, increase the viability of surrounding businesses, and project our community character. Do you support funding for a permanent farmer's market in a visible, central location?

Clif Eggers

Dave Ruesink

Chandler Salome

No

Yes

Yes

I absolutely believe in local agriculture. When the nation relies on agriculture from only a few locations, we are all vulnerable to the same shortages due to crop diseases, drought, and pests.  Local agriculture encourages the growth of native plants which are easier on the soil, require far less fertilizers, require less pesticide, support the local economy, and require less fossil fuel to ship.  

I don't believe that running a business, or supporting a business, is a legitimate function of government. I do believe that a financial incentive, such as a low property tax assessment for the first few years, could be a good tool to encourage the development of a farmers market.

The locations in Bryan are not at all convenient for those of us who live in south CS. Having the market at Central Park was a big step forward, but was not very satisfactory because I never could remember to get off the bypass at the right time.  Somewhere on Texas Ave would be much more likely to succeed.

How many times in the past two years has there been a food recall due to a salmonella outbreak in some far away state? We should have a farmers market in town so that not only are we getting fresh food but we are fostering a healthier environment for our citizens. 

Question 5

Our community is sprawling to the south while more than 40% of the developable land within the city limits remains undeveloped. Urban sprawl drives up tax rates by increasing the cost of infrastructure and community services such as police, fire and ambulances. It also diminishes aesthetic appeal and increases traffic. Many cities have recognized the advantages of "Smart Growth" and taken measures to curb sprawl.  Do you believe the city should take a proactive role in addressing this issue?

Clif Eggers

Dave Ruesink

Chandler Salome

Yes

Yes

Yes

I would like to see more money spent on the older areas of College Station that are in bad need of repair. In Austin, Hyde Park is about the same distance from the university as South Gate is to Texas A&M. The lots are about the same size, and Hyde Park is prime real estate. Instead of letting South Gate get run down, we might buy a couple of lots for use as a park or attraction. With some new roads and development, investors might have incentive to build new houses on old lots and clean up the area instead of building on the outskirts of town and facilitating urban sprawl. 

I wish I had the answer. Infill is needed, but so many property owners are too "proud" of their holdings. If a reasonable purchase price could be determined, it would no longer be an incentive to go outside the city limits for development. I have actually thought about making the taxes higher for the undeveloped property within the city limits to make it more attractive to sell than to hold onto the land.

We need to start redevoloping some of our neighborhoods with taller and denser housing. I am not saying bulldoze the town and kill our history. I am saying that we need to start in one of our neighborhoods that has many small run-down housing and develop a plan to enable a company to buy the housing in order to redevelop it. There would have to be extensive research done in our community before we procede with any plan.

Question 6

While we recognize that City Hall needs to be expanded, the citizens of College Station voted last May against rebuilding at a site on Kranek Tap Road. Expansion at the current location could meet the city's needs while also taking a positive step toward increasing building density in College Station, thereby decreasing the pressure for sprawl. Do you support the expansion of City Hall at its present location?

Clif Eggers

Dave Ruesink

Chandler Salome

Yes

Yes & No

Yes

I voted with 66% of residents against building a new City Hall on Krenek Tap Road.

Yes, I am in agreement that expansion could take place, however the way the current building is constructed, the only place that could go up is the part where there is already a second floor. I am told that the rest of the building is not constructed in such a way that going up is a possibility. That being the case, perhaps rather than expanding the current building, perhaps the parking lot could be used for another building then use the open space east of the current building and parking lot for the surface parking.

No, it would be more effective to begin a totally new building that could incorporate the "green" and "LEED" methods for new construction. At the present time we have the same size office facility that we had when we were 1/2 the current population so it is important that we do something soon in order to improve worker productivity.

I understand that we need to expand city hall but I do not believe that now is a great time for the city to spend money on itself. The city should be limiting its spending to only necessary infrastructure needs. Why does the city council desreve a bigger city hall when we have roads with potholes so big you can almost drop a car into it?

Question 7

The first Paragraph of the fourteenth amendment reads:

"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Do you agree?

Clif Eggers

Dave Ruesink

Chandler Salome

Yes

Yes

Yes

Question 8

Locally owned, independent businesses can provide economic stimulus, develop human resources, reflect community character and encourage tourism. Yet College Station has encouraged large retail development by national chains by giving out financial incentives, thus creating unfair competition for locally owned businesses.  Other communities have taken measures to level the playing field, including stopping the provision of incentives to outside competition and putting restrictions on the size of retail outlets that can be developed.  Would you support these or other types of initiatives to promote local, independent businesses?

Clif Eggers

Dave Ruesink

Chandler Salome

Yes

Yes

Yes

Preserving and encouraging the growth of local small businesses in College Station is more important than encouraging large retail development. Small businesses never become "too big to fail".  Business owners see immediate results of their decisions and are able to tailor their businesses to meet local customer demand.  Diversity among businesses also helps to ensure that if a business fails we can easily adapt. I would discourage financial incentives that would give national chains an unfair advantage against local business.

I don't think we can stop big box stores from coming in, but we can make it necessary to have adequate space and proper traffic impact studies before they begin construction.  We have excellent examples of good independent businesses that are making outstanding contributions to the quality of CS. If there are specific ordinances that need to be examined in order to make these types of firms more capable of starting to do business, we need to have the ordinances identified and bring stakeholders involved together to reach consensus about changes to be offered.

I have a dream of owning my own business one day but that would be near impossible if I am competing with Big Corporation. I would not give incentives at all for any large retail place but instead pass ordinances that make it easier for small businesses to develop and grow.