Fireworks, heritage, hopes and more discussed at city candidate forum

Sheila McGuire, Herald Reporter
Posted 7/27/18

Chamber holds final forum before primary election

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Fireworks, heritage, hopes and more discussed at city candidate forum

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EVANSTON — The candidate forum for those seeking Evanston city offices was held at the Roundhouse on July 12, providing an opportunity for the public to hear from candidates on several topics. Economic development, the future of the Roundhouse and Railyards Complex, the Wyoming State Hospital, the proposed ICE detention center and a lot of talk about fireworks were all discussions throughout the evening. 

All five candidates for mayor were present, including Joy Bell, Michael Crichton, Brent Hatch, Evan Perkes and current mayor Kent Williams. Four of the five candidates for City Council Ward One attended, including Deborah Demander Reno, Michael Searle, Mikal Welling and Kendra West. Tib Ottley, who is running unopposed for City Council Ward Two, was in attendance, as were both candidates for City Council Ward Three, incumbent David Welling and challenger Maurizio Mariotti. 

The forum opened with all candidates being asked for a simple yes or no response as to whether they supported the proposed ICE detention center. Of the 12 candidates present, nine said they supported the proposal and three — Crichton, Hatch and Mariotti — said they did not. 

The mayoral candidates all weighed in further on the ICE proposal in later statements. Both Bell and Hatch said something as complex as an ICE facility required more than a simple answer, and both said a larger and more involved conversation within the community would be necessary. 

Crichton said he doesn’t believe local officials have been smart with the proposal and said the community should be taking charge instead of letting MTC, the company behind the proposal, take the lead. 

“We’re in charge, so take charge,” he said.

Williams acknowledged the controversy surrounding the proposal and said he had visited facilities in other states. “I’ve visited with detainees and I have seen absolutely no evidence to suggest all the horror stories are accurate,” said Williams. 

Perkes said he was in support of the proposal, basing part of his support on the compassion of people in Evanston. He said Congress needs to address immigration policy but added, “We have the most compassionate people on Earth. If it’s going to be built somewhere, I’d just as soon it be here where our people can take care of them.” 

Multiple candidates weighed in on economic development, with Bell saying she would like to see the Wyoming Business Council expand its work to include public-private partnerships. She also said she would like to see a digital platform of resources for local businesses to use as support. 

Hatch said there are multiple businesses in town that don’t have a business plan and the city should be working with them to help them develop plans so those businesses can grow. He said the city would benefit from having more existing businesses involved in the downtown coalition, and by luring in businesses that are complementary to, and not in competition with, those already here. 

Williams said the best thing the government can do to attract and support business is get out of the way and let people run their own businesses while providing the infrastructure necessary for those businesses to thrive. Crichton referred to the impressions of visitors to Evanston when they enter town, saying the rundown buildings and closed businesses in those areas aren’t going to entice people to spend time and money. 

Reno said the east side of Evanston needs work. 

“It’s an eyesore and a mess,” she said. 

She said Evanston is the gateway community for the Uintas and the Bear River and “we’re missing the boat” in terms of promoting that. 

“I’d like to see the east end look as good as the downtown looks right now,” she said. 

Economic development also came up in a discussion about the future of the Roundhouse and Railyards Complex. West said the buildings are a great asset to the community but she would like to see the city acquire more grant funding to complete the restoration and a new business come in and take over the Roundhouse so the expenses for maintenance and upkeep are no longer the city’s responsibility. 

Ottley agreed the buildings are a unique asset but said he disagreed with West. He said he would like to see businesses in the Roundhouse following complete restoration but that the city should maintain ownership of part of Evanston’s heritage. 

Mariotti said the city has done a great job with the renovations and turning the Roundhouse into a venue. He said he would like to see the city doing outreach to promote the complex and bring in other events that would boost the economy and bring other people into town by word of mouth. 

The fate of the Wyoming State Hospital buildings as another part of Evanston’s heritage was also one of the questions. Crichton said he would like to reach out to tech companies and pursue partnerships with the school district to create tech programs and develop a trained workforce. 

Perkes said determining the direction for the WSH buildings is going to take a team effort. “There are lots of people in the community who are a lot smarter than I am to work on this,” he said. 

He said everything should be on the table in terms of future uses and development. 

Bell also said it would take a team and diverse opinions to move forward with the future of the WSH grounds. 

“We very desperately need resources to train young people and resources for business,” she said. “There are buildings there we can use.” 

She said it will be critical to take the lead, saying, “We cannot let the state come in and tell us what to do.” 

Reno, West and David Welling addressed parks and recreation. Reno said that, as a citizen who uses the rec center, she would love to see upgrades, but as a council person she would need to look into costs and benefits and how any upgrades would be paid for.

West was asked about whether the parks and recreation district should remain a separate district or become a city department. 

“My first question is, why break something that’s not broken?” she said. 

She said unless there were a way to save massive amounts of money by making the change, she didn’t see any reason to do so. 

David Welling, however, said he did think money could be saved by merging the district back in as a department of the city. 

Searle and Mikal Welling were asked to discuss what the city is currently getting right. Searle said the city is doing a lot of good things and moving in the right direction, though “things move slower than slow.” He said he would like to educate the community on why things take so long and do more research to find out what is most going to benefit Evanston.

Mikal Welling said he is pleased the city is budget-minded and “keeping us in the green.” He also said he has spoken with city employees and morale is up. 

“They are proud to work for the City of Evanston, and I would not want to change that,” he said. 

Virtually all of the candidates weighed in on the issue of fireworks and the ban that was enacted following the Twin Ridge fire on July 4. Everyone said it was the right call to cancel the display and put the ban in place, while no one said the city should restrict Independence Day fireworks use in the future. 

Searle and Mikal Welling said the fireworks bring a huge amount of money into the community every year, both in sales and with people visiting Evanston for the displays. 

Mariotti also said fireworks are a huge draw to the community. 

“The skies light up here like nowhere else in the world,” he said, “and we put on a show like no one else.” 

Williams said the decision to cancel the fireworks was an easy one to make under the circumstances. 

“I didn’t take that lightly,” he said, “but we didn’t have the resources and manpower to deal with something else, and it was necessary for public safety.” 

Ottley, who almost lost his home to the fire, took the time to publicly thank law enforcement and the fire department. He said July 4 fireworks are part of Evanston’s traditions and he would never be in favor of changing those.