Hillman vs. Hilton
CHENEY – The race for City Council Position 7 pits incumbent Dan Hilton, serving his second term, against Planning Commissioner Dan Hillman.
1. Cheney is facing issues with its water supply system. What measures would you take to address the problem if the decision was solely up to you?
Dan Hilton – We’re pretty good right now, but I don’t want to be in the situation again where we’re not planning ahead where we have to cut people’s lawn watering in the middle of summer, so we really need to start thinking about another well or looking into the water reuse deal. The nice part is we’ve already got funding from the state, over $3 million to start looking into it. For the near future, unless Well 3 goes down, that can pretty much run the whole town. We need to balance the water fund and get that back. Nothing is for free.
Dan Hillman – I hope to increase water storage and production as well as refit our infrastructure for quality of life and public safety. It’s easy to imagine a scenario where our ability to fight it is limited not by equipment but by water. Conservation and re-use are not going to be sufficient, and parts of the system are old enough to affect water quality.
2. Cheney is growing, at least as far as the population is concerned.
A. Do you believe the current mixture of single-family residential to multi-family residential is good or bad and why?
Dan Hillman – The current mix of zones creates tensions between permanent and transient residents. This is an ongoing quality of life issue for both groups. Areas south of the main rail lines should not be developed as they cannot be adequately serviced by Emergency services while trains pass or are assembled in what amounts to the only at-grade rail yard of which I am aware.
Dan Hilton – The answer is, it is bad. I grew up in this town and it was always 60-40 residential to multifamily and it has switched. You need the single-family households to support the third question, the economics of the town, the businesses. You need to have those single-family households who are invested in the community. The multi-family households, they’re in and out, they’re not living here anymore. Nothing against multi-family housing, there are zones for that and there is a need for housing. I would like to see it switched back.
B. As with question 1, if the decision was up to you, how would you change it, if indeed you would?
Dan Hilton – We need to look at getting some more single-family zoning. We have some investment ideas we’re looking at. We don’t need to say, ‘stop building’ because I’m a free-market guy, and there is a market out there for people who want to live in an apartment. We need to have way more single family. It can be families living out of town.
Dan Hillman – We need to preserve our single-family neighborhoods and increase code enforcement to ensure that rules, particularly those involving occupancy numbers and parking are followed. This will require a full-time code enforcement officer who proactively seeks out infractions and conducts investigations.
3. How do you view Cheney’s current economic/business climate?
Dan Hillman – We have had some success in attracting business, but to accomplish the city’s goals of funding improvements to things like our water system, we need more retail and the sales taxes it generates.
Dan Hilton – If we had more single-family residences in this town they would spend the money in this town. I look at a business like Rocco’s (restaurant) which was a very successful business, but they couldn’t make it because nobody was here in the summer. If you have those families here, shopping in town, businesses can make it. Our economic climate is better compared to 1992, we have more businesses in this town than we did back then. We are growing and the business climate is better, but it would be even better if we had more single-family houses in this town. It helps everything.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
Gainer vs. Weiszmann
CHENEY – The race for City Council Position 6 pits incumbent Jill Weiszmann against former Cheney mayor Allan Gainer.
1. Cheney is facing issues with its water supply system. What measures would you take to address the problem if the decision was solely up to you?
Jill Weiszmann – I support the Mayor and City Administrator in seeking funding for the Water Re-use Project, and support them when reaching out to State Legislators. With Well 3 online and if we had the ability to supply irrigation water from the Waste Water Treatment Plant we may see an end to restricting summer irrigation. I’d also encourage and support city staff to seek water re-use and conservation program grants.
The city’s 20 percent water reduction goal in peak summer demands requires educating our citizens. I support incentives for property owners who reach this goal using xeriscaping or drought resistant plants.
Allan Gainer – Infrastructure is the number one issue we need to look at in the coming years which includes water, especially with the high demand for housing in our community. After adding Well 8 when I was mayor, we still needed to keep working on the infrastructure, but that hasn’t been the case in spite of what other candidates are saying. We need to replace more piping, especially along North 6th Street and add another water tower. We need to be proactive and not reactive. I will be that proactive person on City Council.
2. Cheney is growing, at least as far as the population is concerned.
A. Do you believe the current mixture of single-family residential to multi-family residential is good or bad and why?
Allan Gainer – Cheney is a college town and it’s the life-blood that has helped us grow. Therefore multi-family housing is needed. We also have a large retired group along with military in which single family is needed. I like the separation of the different types such as Eagle Point and single family in areas like where I live in Salnave area. We have to be smart on our mix and plan with people’s input.
Jill Weiszmann – The mixture of single-family and multi-family housing is neither good nor bad. There are many factors that go into building, whether it’s land availability, developer preference, zoning requirements or demand.
B. If the decision was up to you, how would you change it, if indeed you would?
Jill Weiszmann – Cheney would benefit from more single-family homes to attract families, professionals, teachers, etc. The current demand is for multi-family building. We are limited in growth areas and city boundaries so looking at expanding our urban growth boundaries may be a future option for more single-family homes.
Being an active board member on the Spokane County Growth Management Steering Committee of Elected Officials keeps me educated with urban growth areas, boundaries and projected population growth. My goal is to continue on this board, remain active in Cheney, the West Plains and Spokane County. I want what is best for Cheney and will work toward smart growth.
Allan Gainer – Eastern’s growth has slowed down and will continue. We are about to have a high demand for single family housing if not already due to growth on businesses on the West Plains and at Fairchild. (I’d like to go into details but space is limited). Therefore, we need to switch our focus single family housing. Again, being proactive and past experience will be an asset on council.
3. How do you view Cheney’s current economic/business climate?
Allan Gainer – This is struggling. Businesses are trying really hard to attract new customers, but there are many unnecessary governmental obstacles in the way. As a past retail business owner in the downtown area for eight years, we all struggled as a group. So I co-founded the Cheney Merchants Association in 2009, which today is doing well and is a big asset for business owners. We need to business friendly if we want to grow our businesses in Cheney. I have a lot more experience in this area than my opponent.
Jill Weiszmann – For 15 years (eight on City Council), I’ve watched Cheney’s economic development. We are growing and attracting new business. City staff and business partners are attracting a healthy mixture of business and I support their efforts.
The city actively works with the West Plains Chamber of Commerce, Greater Spokane Incorporated and our County Commissioners. I have witnessed great progress at the Industrial & Commerce Park. The decision to make the park shovel ready was a smart decision. We were the only city in Spokane County to prepare our park for future growth. Cheney will continue to grow utilizing smart growth measures.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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