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Beggs faces challenger

Clintonville mayor’s office contested

By Bert Lehman


Clintonville Mayor Richard Beggs is facing a challenge from Laurie Vollrath in the Tuesday, April 7 election.

The Clintonville Tribune-Gazette asked the candidates several questions. Their responses follow.

Why are you running to be the mayor of the city of Clintonville?

Beggs: I like being your mayor. I am now completing my eighth year as mayor, and I enjoy doing it. I like knowing what is (or is not) going on, and having an opportunity to make an input in many areas. There are many things left to do, and I would like to continue trying to get them done.

Vollrath: I have always been interested in city politics. I am currently the vice president of the Clintonville School Board. Last fall, citizens started encouraging me to throw my hat in the ring. I am interested in working with the citizens and city council to make our city much stronger and self-supporting.

What are your qualifications to serve as mayor?

Beggs: I am a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island, and a total of 32 years in the Navy. My wife and I owned a small business in Clintonville for 15 years, and I was active with the Chamber of Commerce. I served as an alderman for two years, then as mayor for six years, serving on many of the city committees, and learning a lot. Then I took a few years off.

Vollrath: I have been a resident of Clintonville for 20 years. I am raising my family in the city. I am a good listener. I also like to get things done. I believe the citizens should be able to voice their opinions and know they are being represented.

What are the two biggest issues facing the city of Clintonville?

Beggs: Debt reduction and street repairs, both of which are huge budget factors. But there is another, the lack of a swimming pond.

Vollrath: 1. City Debt; 2. Zero borrowing capacity.

What would you do to work towards fixing these issues?

Beggs: With the assistance of our great city administrator, the city has made significant strides toward improved long-term financial planning, which will steadily reduce the debt payment portion of our annual budget. Naturally, reduced debt payment increases the available money for other things, including street repairs.

Additionally, we must successfully continue requesting grants from state and other sources to accomplish large cost items like major street reconstruction, which is very expensive. Toward that end, the city has hired another person in city hall to spend more time on grant requests.

Vollrath: No capital improvement projects, paying down the city debt, no new hires, in addition to learning to live within their means. Citizens must live within a budget and decide what is essential and what is luxury. The city can too.

Citizens are concerned about the condition of the streets. With a limited budget, how does the city solve that problem?

Beggs: Partially answered above. Every small city in northern Wisconsin has street maintenance issues. The city must continue to increase the amount of money spent on minor street maintenance, and increase the effort given to submittal of grant requests in order to accelerate the rate of repair. It will never be fast, but it should be steady.

Vollrath: The current situation with the streets in Clintonville has been a problem for many years. Repairing the streets every summer should have been a priority. The city should cut non-essential spending and use the money to work on fixing the streets most in need of repair.
I do not agree with the current proposed transportation utility fee. Our citizens are taxed to the limit.

Do you support the city pursuing a swimming pond?

Beggs: I am a strong supporter of building a swimming pond. We can no longer afford to construct a new “pool,” nor even maintain one if we did build it. We need to provide a less expensive summer outdoor recreational facility for our kids. We can do that.

The city is making slow progress toward a “pond.” The old pool has been removed, paid for with insurance money. The next step is to contract for a design, which will in turn give us solid ground on which to base a total project cost. Then we need to raise the money.

The city will request grants from multiple places, but most grants are “matching fund” grants. That is, we still have to pay for perhaps half the cost.

The community will then need to come up with a significant amount of donated funding in order to reduce the impact on taxes.

Vollrath: The city council has already approved the swimming pond. I have heard a lot of feedback from the citizens both positive and negative. There are a lot of concerns and questions that need to be answered. The biggest concerns are both cleanliness and safety. I think the funding should have been in place prior to action being taken.

Why should a resident of Clintonville vote for you?

Beggs: I feel I am the most experienced and best qualified candidate available. For two years we have been making quiet but steady progress toward improved administration, and better long-range financial planning. We have an efficient, team-oriented city council, and I would like to continue working with them and keep making progress.

I like being your mayor. If you think stability is important, and you like a quiet hard-working atmosphere, then please vote for me.

Vollrath: I am ready to listen to the citizens of Clintonville. Working together we can have new ideas for a new direction.

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