by Tim Troglen
Reporter
Walton Hills -- With the Nov. 6 general election around the corner, the three candidates hoping to win the Walton Hills mayor's race were given the chance to speak to voters at an Oct. 10 candidate's night sponsored by the Walton Hills Citizen's League.
Incumbent Mayor Marlene Anielski, Council President Pro-Tem Kevin Hurst and former Councilor George Main discussed several issues asked by residents. Among the focal points was Walton Hills' attempt to pull out of Bedford Schools.
Anielski rationalizes
school transfer issue
"Currently, I have been told that we only have 36 children in the Bedford City School District," said Anielski, who has been mayor for seven years. "And we give the schools around $8 million a year. Something is not right there, to give that much money for that little number of children."
Anielski said she wants to see a community center built at T.G. Young Park.
"We did have a survey of the residents," Anielski said. "It came back that they would like to have it located at T.G. Young Park."
She said the vote came back to Council and ended up a 3-3 tie.
"I broke the tie," Anielski said.
Anielski said while seniors have said they want a community center at Village Hall, "we did have a professional architect come and tell us we should not add another function to this location."
As for the possibility of hiring a new administration, Anielski said, "When I first became mayor seven years ago, I kept the same staff.
"Obviously, they were doing their jobs. They knew their jobs better than I knew their jobs," she said.
Anielski said the village should not have all of its economical "eggs in one basket" with the Ford Motor Co. Stamping Plant, so the village has moved to bring in new businesses along Northfield Road.
Hurst: We need
a better education
"The residents all feel that we need a better education," said Hurst, who has been on Council for four years and who has been Council president for two years.
"Families are mortgaging and second mortgaging their homes so they can pay for private education," he said. "And as a leader, we must take that burden off the families and find resources."
As for the Ford Motor Co. Stamping Plant, Hurst said better relationships should be fostered to "make Ford feel comfortable here."
"What we want to do is retain Ford," Hurst said. "If we can offer them grants or abatements or anything of that nature to keep them in our community, that's what we should do."
Hurst said if elected, he has no plans to re-staff Village Hall, saying he has "no problem with any of the employees."
"If I was elected, the first thing I would do is have a staff meeting with each individual and see what their views are and what their projections are for the year," Hurst said. "That's just good business. You don't replace people who already know their jobs."
Main: Residents sought
school transfer
"I fully feel we should do this," said Main, who was a Councilor for four years. "We have to see it through to the end. Our residents are due that."
Main said he would like to see Village Hall expanded and used as a community center.
"I feel we should have an expansion of this community hall with an extra couple of rooms for our seniors and an exercise room," Main said. "I call it smart growth. Smart growth is a buzz term used by the zoning and planning community meaning you build your core community in the center of your community. Then you build around it."
As for a new administration if he is elected, Main said "the people who are already in place are working effectively."
"That's one of the greatest things about our community, our service and our police department," Main said. "We have one of the finest police departments in the area."
He described the service department as "second to none."
As for Ford, Main said he would like to see the village band together with Avon Lake, the location of the Ford Econoline van assembly plant, "and go to the state of Ohio and make them aware we need tax concessions for both communities."
He said other states are offering more concessions to Ford than Ohio.
E-mail: TTroglen@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3165