On October 25 the Mantorville Chamber of Commerce hosted a candidate forum at the Mantorville Senior Center. All City candidates were each asked the same series of questions and given 90 seconds to respond to each. Some of the questions asked and my answers to them can be found below.
First why don't each of you introduce yourself:
Thank you. I wanted to thank the Chamber for organizing this debate. I also would like to thank Larry Dobson for agreeing to be our facilitator. Thank you to the press for covering this debate and also thank you to everyone who has shown up for our debate tonight. I think an important part of any public office is the ability to listen, understand the concerns and remain emotionally neutral and most importantly not to antagonize our neighbors. I feel that public service is just that serving the public and not self service. My name is Chuck Bradford and I have been serving as Mayor for the last six years. It has been an honor to serve as your Mayor and I look forward to continuing in your service for another term. Thank you.
How would you describe your temperament?
Temperament is an important aspect of the job. It is vital to listen to our fellow neighbors with an open mind. You have to make sure you understand their point of view. People are often passionate when they present to the Council and it is important to be able to listen to their concerns and understand their point of view without getting drawn in to an emotional debate. Through active listening I have been able to facilitate open discussions within the City Council meetings.
What is the biggest Challenges facing the City?
I think there are four areas that the City will need to focus on:
A) Infrastructure
1) Street Improvements
2) Strategic side walks
3) Individual sewer connections
B) Resources vs Needs
1) Fourth Street, Fifth Street, Clay Street loop project
2) Golf Court
3) All other streets
4) Balancing tax rates with Cities needs
C) Resistance to change
D) Volunteer base
1) Few people do most of the work
2) need more young people
What, in your opinion, is the Cities best attributes?
Mantorville is rich in genuine historic assets. These assets energize the people within our community to donate their time and resources to improve the quality of life within our community. It is because of our historic assets that we have such great volunteers. I think our communities greatest assets are those historic treasures and our great volunteers.
Do you have any Conflicts of Interest that would interfere with your ability to serve?
I do not have any conflicts of interest. Matter of fact I have gone as far to donate back my salary to help balance our budget in the past. I have always looked for ways to give back to my community.
Have you served on any community boards?
I have been active with the Kasson Mantorville Lions club and I am a founding member of the KM Kiwanis club in the Kasson-Mantorville area. I have served on just about every sub committees within our community during my time on the City Council and Mayor. I have spent my Saturdays installing playground equipment, collecting corn stocks and pumpkins to decorate the community for the holidays and late night problem solving with City staff.
Was it a mistake to remove the stop signs on Ninth Street?
The change on 9th street started with a citizen's concern over speed and the lack of vehicles actually stopping at the signs. The Council reached out to the County as well as MNDOT to brainstorm. Both MNDOT and the County said a FIRST STEP was to remove the stop signs and then look at control methods that actually address speed. Since removing the signs I have been in close communication with the Sheriff's office. The Sheriff has been collecting real speed data to help the Council understand the situation. The officer on duty only made one stop over the last week and the speeds have been averaging about 26 mph. The City understands that more work needs to be done, looking at bump outs, striping, Kids at Play Signs and tree placement. The final solution could possible add back one or two of the removed signs. We have asked a Citizens Safety Council to make recommendations back to the Council for our next steps.
If elected what is your first priority?
Recently the City has been focused on completing the Waste Water Treatment Plant project and connecting with Kasson. The WWTP project has now been successfully completed and we can now double back and look at infrastructure. Ramping up our street projects will be a number one priority of mine. We will continue to utilize our annual street survey to update the top street priorities.
Is there anything else you would like to tell everyone?
Serving as Mayor you need to wear many hats. You have to testify before the State Senate in order to secure $1.8M for Waste Water Treatment Plant upgrades. Sometimes you have to work with State Agencies like MNDOT on highway 57 improvements. Even working with local citizens on infrastructure concerns and zoning issues. It has been one of my great pleasures to serve our community as your Mayor and I would be honored to do so for two more years. Thank You.
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