5th District candidates speak out on issues
Published 7:32 am Friday, January 15, 2010
The seven candidates for the 5th District seat of the Mower County Board of Commissioners came together last night to discuss the pertinent issues facing the county.
All seven candidates attended a forum hosted by the Austin Area League of Women Voters in the Austin City Council Chambers at 7 p.m. Thursday.
About 20 people attended the forum. The candidates discussed why they decided to run, the state budget crisis and the future of health and human services.
Wednesdays special primary will narrow the field of seven candidates to two for the special election Feb. 10.
Business owner Mike Ankeny said he’s running for the commissioner to give back to the community.
“I feel that its a way that I can give back to my community and my county,” Ankeny said.
Business owner Ralph Donkers said he’s running to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and on worthy causes.
“We try to make sure we run our business in a way that reflects the needs of the average consumer to make sure that they’re getting the best value at all times,” Donkers said. “And that’s how I see the approach to the county, also. That were doing the right thing at all times.
“Commissioners need to be good stewards of tax-payers dollars,” Donkers said.
Retired pastor Marvin Repinski said he’s running to enhance and better the community.
“We human beings can either be part of the problem or part of the solution,” he said.
Retired carpenter David Kolb said he’s never volunteered for anything before and decided it was time to get involved. He hopes to use a common sense approach if elected to the board.
“I’m eager to work,” Kolb said. “I like a challenge.”
Kolb said he wants to help solve the problems facing the county.
Kolb also praised the current board members and Mower County Coordinator Craig Oscarson for their service to the county.
Mary Keenan, a former commissioner, compared her hope to replace David Tollefson to the role of a substitute teacher. Since she’s previously served on the board, Keenan said she’d be able to step into the role with no training.
I consider a position similar to a substitute teacher or an interim superintendent, someone who needs to be able walk in and hit the ground running, she said.
“I would need very little orientation to be a valid, working commissioner,” she said.
Former fire marshal Ron Felten said he’s hoping to build on his eight years of experience on the Austin Utilities Board. Felten, who also sold real estate and has a degree in communications, said he’s gained strong communication skills he’d bring to the board.
“It’s going to take a lot of work,” Felten said. “I’m willing to do that.”
Business owner Derek Hyland said he’s running to bring fiscal responsibility to the board. As the youngest candidate at 26, Hyland said he’d offer a younger perspective.
While he said the county board should run the daily operations of the county, Hyland said he would like to see larger decisions, like the decisions concerning the Mower County Jail and Justice Center, voted on by the public.
As the board will face cuts due to the state budget, Ankeny hopes that the county can cooperate with neighboring counties and other state agencies to reduce costs.
One key decision facing the board after a 5th District commissioner is elected is whether to move the offices for the Mower County Public Health and the Mower County Department of Human Services back downtown or keep the offices at the mall. The offices could be located in renovated space in the Mower County Government Center, or a new building could be built on the Robbins block.
Repinski said he’d move the human services downtown to continue the growth in the downtown area, especially since many of the downtown businesses are locally owned.
Like Repinski, Kolb would move the offices downtown to keep all the services in a centralized location. He’d support renovating space in the Mower County Government Center.
Keenan also supported moving the offices back to the downtown area.
“I’m really excited for them to move out of the mall and back downtown,” she said.
However, she wasn’t sure whether a new building or renovations to the government center would be the best option.
Space would be a key issue, and an engineer would need to determine if there’s enough room in the existing building for the health and human services employees. She said they were originally moved out partly because of space concerns.
Felten described the need to leave the mall as a no brainer. Felten favored renovations, as he said the tax payers likely arent up for another building project.
While Hyland supported moving health and human services downtown, he said more research would be needed to find the most cost effective solution concerning a new building or renovations.
Ankeny, too, supported the move downtown, but he said the board should be aware of Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s talk to potentially regionalize health and human services.
Donkers said the board will need to look at short-term and long-term solutions. The long-term plan would be to move downtown. In the immediate future, Donkers said the county needs to be mindful of the state budget shortfall and how that affects the county.
“I think we need to really look strongly before we start putting up lots of dollars in a building project or a remodeling project,” he said.
Most of the candidates discussed the budget difficulties as the state cuts funding.
The forum will air Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Austin Cable Government Channel 16.