Carter Sounds Off On Local Issues
Jimmy Carter
Oskaloosa, Iowa- The City of Oskaloosa will be holding their municipal elections on November 8th of this year. The Mayor, 2nd ward City Council Member, 4th ward City Council Member, and one At-Large City Council Member positions will be listed on the ballot this year. Only one race is contested, that one being the race for the At-Large seat. The seat is open as incumbent Lori Smith is not seeking re-election.
Jimmy Carter is running for this seat as a write-in candidate. Carter is a former longtime City Councilman who lost a re-election bid in 2009. Carter missed the filing deadline in September and decided to run as a write-in candidate a short time later. He cited personal issues as reasons why he missed the deadline. Carter is running against Joe Caligiuri for the seat. Osky News sat down with Carter Tuesday morning for an interview.
Our first question to him was why he decided to run for City Council again this year. “Well going to the city council meetings on numerous occasions and seeing and asking questions on several issues going on, one being the skateboard park and its’ location, I just felt that I couldn’t sit back and not try to be involved. I know I’m only going to be one member of a seven member board. I’m not going to promise voters or the constituents of our community, the voters of our community, any false promises that I’m going to go up there and lower your taxes, and I’m going to do this, that, or the other.”
Carter continued. “I just felt that if you got opinions and it feels like you can maybe make an input to those decisions that are being made, get involved. I have always enjoyed, and I mean that sincerely, being a city council member.”
We next asked Carter about the recent vote to raise the city’s Franchise fees and if he thought raising the fee was an appropriate move. “A fee is a tax. No matter how you collect money from the citizens of the community, or the state or however you want to look at it, a fee, whether it’s called a user fee etcetera, is still a tax. We need money for our streets. My concern is that the money gets put into I’m going to say the general fund. If it doesn’t get used for the purpose you’re telling the citizens, it’s misleading them,” Carter said.
Carter also expressed his thoughts on the two letters chosen for the revenue purpose statement. “I didn’t agree with letter ‘G’. I felt that ‘F’ was enough and I don’t have again the language in front of me to tell you everything, but I think letter ‘G’ contains some things in there that a part of them I could agree with. Sewers, when you’re doing the streets you gotta do the sewers. That’s a no brainer. But there’s other things in there that I think left open a broader window. Again, I hope that doesn’t get utilized for that additional money that is going to be coming in for unattended purposes than what was told to the public. It was told to the public streets and roads and infrastructure. Let’s hold to our word. When you tell somebody, stand by your word.”
We next asked Carter what the City of Oskaloosa needs to do to entice businesses to come to Oskaloosa and if the city should focus more on expanding businesses in Oskaloosa or attracting new businesses. Carter said we need to both expand and attract businesses to Oskaloosa. “Both. Expanding existing businesses is always a vital key to keeping a healthy community. Attracting new businesses right now is going to be a real challenge. One is the Banks’ lending money for new business start-ups is very difficult, very, very challenging. The City Council is unlike the Chamber of Commerce as far as attracting. All we can do is make it appealing to them and not make a bunch of roadblocks saying ‘we don’t’ want you here,’ or ‘we don’t want you there.’ [What] we gotta realize is that the amount of people that are looking to expand or open up new businesses, that pool of businesses have gotten very small,” Carter said.
Carter also responded to the recent closures of Oskaloosa businesses. ” I was talking to some folks from Grinnell and also some folks from the Des Moines area and they was here yesterday talking about the businesses that are closing are local communities is just overwhelming. Restaurants especially. A lot of Restaurants are closing up because of the competitiveness on the food market and people don’t have the disposable money to eat out as often as they used to. So if you don’t have business coming in, you don’t have that money to pay your bills and so they’re not making it. Hot Stone is a good example right across town here. They remodeled all out there and boy they’re closed today.”
The next question we imposed to Carter was whether or not he supported the passage of a new non-profit funding policy at Monday evening’s City Council meeting. “I do not support the policy that was passed. I feel that seven members, if they can’t review each and every non-profit that would ask for donations, if they can’t say No, this is not just, you know, and I know that they’re going to say that the reason for the policy is clear cut. ‘It doesn’t create tourism. It doesn’t create economic development therefore we’re not giving to you.’ That’s why they’re putting the policy in place,” Carter said.
Carter continued. “I know there hasn’t been an overwhelming response from the public saying ‘Well, we need money from you. We need money here.’ That’s not been the case.”
Carter next sounded off on the Skate Board Park location. ” I still oppose the location, but it’s being built now. The thing that concerns me and I’ve asked the City Manager, and I haven’t got any response yet, is they gave the property to MCRF. It was a gift. I asked the City Manager, with the gift did you put any language in the gift that if indeed in years down the road, in 10 years, 12 years, whatever years, that if MCRF disbands, would that land then revert back to the city?”
Carter continued. “The skate Park location has already been chosen now. I’ll have to, as an elected City Council member, just hope that it’s maintained well by MCRF. That this isn’t something that is passed on again to the taxpayer to have to clean up the area, and maintain the area. This is a site that is now owned by MCRF.”
Finally, we gave Carter an opportunity to say anything else he wanted or express his opinion on any other issue we did not question him about. Carter took this opportunity to express is views on a regional airport. “I do not support a regional airport complex. I support our local, Oskaloosa owned airport 100%. I feel that it’s more than adequate to service our community, has more than enough room to expand. It’s within six miles of our community. Same way if you built one west of town, which would be 8-12 miles. I just don’t feel that the taxpayers needs more tax burden to be added on.”
Carter also wanted to remind residents to write-in his name on Election Day. ” I just want people to recognize that I want to be their City Council member. I want them to get out and write my name down. I in all the years of voting, I’m up in age now, I’ve never wrote in a candidate,” Carter said.
“I’m hoping that people will see that I have a sincere desire to once again be their city council member.”
City Elections will be held on November 8th, 2011.
