Clark, Schmitt weigh in on downtown tax district, dam

Nov 27, 2009 — Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

Tim Jamison

Nov. 27, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- LAST IN A SERIES.

WATERLOO -- Buck Clark and Steve Schmitt both operate businesses in downtown Waterloo.

But the mayoral candidates still support the return of a special tax on the central business district that once fueled downtown promotion and economic development efforts.

The potential return of a Self Supported Municipal Improvement District is one of many areas where the two men running in Tuesday's mayoral runoff election find common ground.

"I do support the SSMID, and I think it would pass," said Clark, who operates Jameson's Public House on East Fourth Street. He believes the additional revenue should be used in part to support a position focused on downtown economic development.

Schmitt, who owns Schmitt Telecom Partners 722 Water St., also endorsed the SSMID, noting he signed a petition favoring a similar district as a property owner on The Hill in Cedar Falls. "That would take that load off of the city's budget," he said.

The SSMID was a $3 per $1,000 tax levy on downtown buildings that expired in 2003 when a majority of downtown property owners declined to support its renewal. Reinstating the tax would require a petition from downtown property owners and approval of the City Council.

Since the SSMID lapsed, the city has been paying $30,000 annually from the general fund budget to support Main Street Waterloo operations.

Absent the SSMID, Schmitt said he favored continued city support to Main Street. Clark said the organization needs a revenue stream, but he declined to say whether the money should continue to come from city government coffers.

The candidates also offered opinions on a variety of other issues, although the differences were often subtle.

--Both Schmitt and Clark expressed some concerns about a bladder dam extension being constructed on the Cedar River downtown to raise upstream river levels for boating.

"I've had a healthy dose of skepticism about that (dam)," said Schmitt, noting the city must rely on engineers' assertions that the dam will work.

"To me the logical answer is dredging; they dredge all over the state," he added. "Assuming the dam's going to work, we should have a marina down there."

Clark said dredging was studied when he was a councilman from 2002-05 and was determined to be too expensive.

"There's going to have to be a lot more done to the river other than putting more water in it in order to make that a viable source of recreation," Clark said of the overall project. "We've had a lot of high water these last two summers and I haven't seen one boat down there recreating on it."

--Clark said he favored continuing to use the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance as the lead agency for economic development activities, and he was not in favor of hiring a new economic development coordinator to work out of City Hall.

"We need to support the Alliance," Clark said. "I think they do a good job."

Schmitt said he was concerned about whether other communities, including Cedar Falls, were paying a fair share of the GCVA costs.

"I'd really like to see Waterloo do a more focused job of economic development in the city of Waterloo and then, depending on how that went, I'd want to take a look at our relationship with the Alliance," Schmitt said.

Waterloo is paying the GCVA $85,000 annually for its efforts. Cedar Falls pays $25,000 a year and up to $25,000 more based on performance.

--Current Mayor Tim Hurley has pushed to outsource Waterloo's building maintenance operations for several years, contending it could save the city up to $150,000 a year.

Schmitt called that idea "something I would consider," but said he hasn't seen information yet to justify such a move.

Clark voted against the plan when he was a councilman, saying it would cost jobs and not save money. "I was opposed to it then and I'm opposed that now," he said.

--Current Police Chief Thomas Jennings will be eligible for retirement during the next mayor's administration, although he has not publicly announced his intentions.

If Jennings does retire, Schmitt said the next police chief should be hired from outside the current police force. "To promote from within the ranks just doesn't work well," he said.

Schmitt also noted he would be willing to talk with Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson about the possibility of having Thompson handle the police chief duties through a sharing agreement.

Clark , who served as a Waterloo police officer for 18 years, said he was not opposed to hiring a new chief from the ranks.

"We're going to have to look at the most qualified person," he said. "If that's within the city staff then so be it. If we have to look outside then so be it."

--The Municipal Telecommunications Utility board has encouraged city leaders to be more aggressive in pursuing better and more affordable high-speed broadband services for local business and industry, saying the current service is inadequate.

"Based on what I'm told, I do not agree with that," said Schmitt, who is opposed to local government spending money to build or operate a telecommunications system. "I think that committee is a bunch of great people that don't quite understand the business they're in."

Clark said he needs more information about the matter before forming an opinion.

"I have no data that would indicate to me that (private providers) are not being competitive," he said. "There is such a divide between their two stories as to what's available here. I think we need to get to the bottom of it."

Newstex ID: KRTB-0150-40046550