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Editors Note: A planned Candidate Forum hosted by the Grain Valley Partnership was postponed due to stay-at-home orders. As restrictions remain regarding such public gatherings, Valley News has partnered with the Grain Valley Partnership to offer a virtual candidate forum in advance of next Tuesday’s election. Candidates for Mayor and the two candidates running for the District 2 Alderman seat were asked to submit a bio and answer a selection of questions from the Partnership’s planned list of candidate questions. Candidates running in uncontested districts were not asked to participate, as is the case in the Partnership’s previous publicly held forums. Candidates for each office are featured in alphabetical order and responses are printed as submitted by the candidate. MAYORAL CANDIDATES Jeff Craney Jeff Craney, candidate for Mayor, did not respond to the questionnaire sent to candidates.  Chuck Johnston I have been married to Diana since 1981. We have two sons, 8 grandchildren, and 1 one great granddaughter. I served 4 years in the United States Marine Corps from 1967 to 1971.We built a home in Grain Valley in 2001 and have lived here ever since. I have worked at OOIDA since 1988; the first 25 years as manager of the insurance claims department. I retired in 2014, and within 7 months found out retirement wasn't something I was good at or really wanted to do. I went back to work at OOIDA in 2015 and still work there. Background: 2006 Grain Valley Citizen of the Year 2008 Pillar of the Community, Grain Valley 24 Years operated the GV Santa Bus (My favorite activity) 10 years Alderman Ward II Grain Valley 1-year Mayor Pro Tem Grain Valley 6 Years Board of Directors State Bank of Missouri 15 Years Grain Valley Economic Development Council 10 years volunteered as cook for Night Out Against Crime Grain Valley 10 Years Board of Directors Grain Valley Assistance Council 7 Years Treasurer of Grain Valley Chamber of Commerce 10 Years held every officer position in the Grain Valley Lions Club 5 Years Board of Directors Grain Valley & Oak Grove Police Dept. Victims’ Rights Committee I have taken an active role, as my history shows, in this city since I started working in Grain Valley. I care deeply about his community and want to see it prosper. I feel the city needs to take a different path on its past spending practices. We need to do more to repair streets, curbs and infrastructure that have been overlooked too long. We need to stop investing tax dollars in properties that don't directly benefit the city. I have a well-rounded background that I feel makes me the best candidate available to guide this city in those endeavors as your next Mayor. I'm asking for your support, the voters of Grain Valley, to help me get this city back on the right path. What do you believe is the role of Alderman/Mayor (as applicable for the position for which you are running) and why do you wish to serve your constituents in that role? First and foremost, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen (BoA) are stewards of the City's funds. The Mayor must be willing and able to take on the responsibility of overseeing that those funds are put to the best interests of the city. This is done by reviewing all the specific needs of the city. Prioritizing those needs, with consideration of all the input one can get from the BoA, city staff, the public, outside sources retained by the city, or any other sources available to reach those decisions. The Mayor and BoA are also responsible for reviewing, revising and establishing the ordinances and resolutions that govern the city. The Mayor and Aldermen have very different roles. The Alderman set policy and directs the implementation with ordinances. The Mayor’s role is administrative. The Mayor must take the role as a leader of the BoA and City staff providing his input, when necessary, into all issues that come before the BoA and/or the City. Once decisions have been determined, the Mayor's obligation is to see they are carried out. The Mayor should develop and maintain relationships with outside sources such as the regional Mayors Conference, the Missouri Municipal League, and other organizations available designed to provide information and assistance to cities. I have always had a strong feeling that service to our community is needed, which I feel I have much to offer. What is your personal vision for the community of Grain Valley in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? Where do you see Grain Valley growing in the future? While I believe we have to plan for the future, we have to be realistic in our planning. The City of Grain Valley has been one of the fastest growing cities in the state over the last 20 to 25 years. I do think we will continue to grow and we need to guide that growth. I don't believe we will maintain the pace of growth we have seen in the past. We currently have a fantastic school system and that will always be a draw to both residential and commercial development. I would like to see more service and retail businesses brought into the city. Those would provide both more amenities to the citizens and help reduce the tax burden. We have to keep in mind businesses choose us we don't choose them. We can only make it more attractive for them to locate in Grain Valley. However, we are starting to run into boundary restrictions that either can't be changed or will require annexation. What are your top 3 priorities in the next two years if you are elected/re-elected? First, is what the residents keep stating in every survey that has been taken, which is concern about our crumbling roads. We need to put more focus on maintaining our roads and finding solutions. It is definitely our biggest problem and needs to be addressed now. Second, we need to find ways to reduce our tax levy. Our taxes are the biggest deterrent we have to keeping existing or attracting new businesses. It is just as much a deterrent to residents staying in Grain Valley. We need to allocate our current resources to where we get the most return from our investments. Third, we need to open up the lines of communication between the City and the residents. The City currently excels in getting out information on the Fair Days, Trail for Treats, and the Christmas Tree Lighting. Other areas of information sharing could be improved. While these events bring a sense of community, the cost to the City must be monitored closely. Through better communication citizens could be made aware of issues and all sides of the issues, the City is addressing that actually affects their lives. Equal efforts should be made to make it easier for citizens to see what is on the BoA Agenda/ Meetings, to inform and encourage their participation. Do you support the proposed Community Campus project? If so, why? If not, why not, and what do you see as a viable alternative? For a number of reasons, I do not support this issue! I think this entire project is overpriced, unnecessary, and beyond our current means. As promoted, this project goes without answers to questions critical to taking on the largest most expensive project in this City's history. This project has changed so much from what was originally presented to the citizens last November, it is hardly recognizable and those changes have gone with little explanation to the citizens. It was originally stated as preserving the history of the location. That has all been removed with the exception of a replica of a private water tower at the original location, The existing house will be torn down. One feature most seemed to want was a swimming pool that could be use by the high school swim team. That has been removed from the Phase I of the project. One of the problems the new recreation center was supposed to address was overcrowding at the current pool. With this project, we will be getting a similar size indoor pool and no outdoor pool. Financially, even though this $38.5M bond is promoted as a no new tax, yet it will extend our current debt load out another 20 years. This will greatly reduce our ability to lower taxes. That is just for Phase I. This Bond will max out our current debt level allowed by state statutes. Should there be a major emergency we won't have anything to fall back on, other than tax increases. It is projected to cost in excess of $20M to complete the additional phases with no idea of when or where that money will come from. Another issue, the cost the new Recreation Center is projected to be between $950,000 and $1,500,000 a year. To cover that cost it is projected the center will need 1,600 memberships ranging in price between $588 and $949 a year. There are currently 185 members paying a high of $390 a year. We would need roughly 1 out of every 3 families in Grain Valley to join at the projected fee to cover operational costs. If we don't reach that 1,600 the operating costs will have to be paid out of other City Revenue. That money comes from either reduced services or tax increases? This is already being done with the current smaller community center. Funds from the health and welfare tax and general revenue are funneled over to cover shortages in operational cost(s). With the new facility at four times the size, one would conclude considerably more would be needed to keep the doors open. There are problems with space at the current location that do need to be addressed. However, those can be resolved at the existing location at far more reasonable costs. In the current social media climate, it is easy to detect the things that divide us as a community. What, in your opinion, are the things that unite the citizens and leaders of Grain Valley? Among the things that divide the community, how can you as a leader address these divisions? I believe what brings us together as a community is everyone's willingness to help others, everyone giving to others in times of need, pride in our city, pride in our schools and school system, the dedication and devotion of our city workers and our Police Department, and everyone's overall love for the City. As far as the things that divide us, there are as many of those as there are different personalities within the city. An open, honest and complete sharing of information would go a long way. You can only look at those differences and decide which can be addressed. In a perfect world they all could be resolved. But we don't live in a perfect world. Every situation needs to be addressed on its own merit and with its own answers. I believe strongly communication is the key. Very few things resolve by themselves. Faced head-on and discussed with everyone’s opinion being heard completely before a making a decision.  Michael Todd I'm a lifelong resident of Grain Valley. I grew up here, went to school K-12 here, and now am raising my family here. My wife Tosha and I have three kids. My two step-sons Noah and Jonah graduated from Grain Valley High School. My daughter Harper just finished 4th grade at Stony Point Elementary. For the last 20 years I have been a special education teacher and am currently a teacher in Blue Springs. I have served as Mayor for the last 10 years and was an Alderman for 6 years before that for Ward 2. What do you believe is the role of Alderman/Mayor (as applicable for the position for which you are running) and why do you wish to serve your constituents in that role? The Mayor is a non voting member of the Board of Aldermen unless there is a tie, which has occurred less than a handful of times the last 10 years. I see the role of Mayor as the point person for the Board. It's my job to relay information to the Board and to the citizens. This has been extremely important during the COIVD 19 pandemic as we have been releasing weekly videos and making sure everyone is up to date on everything going on especially with the rapid changes. The Mayor works closely with City staff to make sure the wishes and direction of the Board of Aldermen are carried out. It's also important for the Mayor to be accessible to the citizens to answer questions and to help with concerns they may have from a code issue to an issue that might need Police attention. What is your personal vision for the community of Grain Valley in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? Where do you see Grain Valley growing in the future? Ultimately I see Grain Valley being a community around the size of 25,000 people. That may be 15 years from now, 20 years from now, or further out. It's hard to say. I want the residents of Grain Valley to not have to venture to other cities to get the things they need. I think we have come a long way in this area, but can go a lot further also. Along with that I want us to stay one of the Safest Cities inf Missouri by investing in our Police Department. I also know with all of the growth it is hard to keep that "Small Town Feel", but we can do that by continuing to grow and improve upon on Community Events like Trail or Treat, Holiday Festival, Night Out Against Crime, Community Development Event, and the Grain Valley Fair. Myself, elected officials, and City staff love to interact with our citizens at these events and its things like these that will continue to make Grain Valley the special and great place it is. What are your top 3 priorities in the next two years if you are elected/re-elected? 1.) We need to add more police officers to the streets. Right now, for example, if there is a disturbance call, depending on the severity it could tie up most if not all of our officers. We need to make sure we have ample officers on the streets to handle the calls, plus still be able to have them on patrol. We were recently recognized as the 3rd safest city in Missouri based on FBI Crime Data and I want to make sure we stay that way. 2.) The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that everyone could be better prepared for emergencies. For that reason, I want to put together an advisory board of citizens and business owners so we can be better prepared for emergencies like this. We have a lot of knowledge in this community and we need to use it. It is important that we are able to keep everyone safe, but at the same time also make sure that we are limiting the impact on small businesses. 3.) I want to work in partnership with local businesses and citizens to turn the remainder of the Nichols Building into a Senior/Youth Center. I want to be able to offer lunches to seniors a couple days a week along with activities they can participate in. Then in the evenings after school I want to transition it to a youth center with activities for our youth. I also envision us having tutoring there for kids as well along with some mentor ships for kids we identify as possibly being At-Risk. Do you support the proposed Community Campus project? If so, why? If not, why not, and what do you see as a viable alternative? I do support the Community Campus. I realize that in today's climate of COVID-19 that it might not be for everyone and really its not a great time for it to be on the ballot. The truth is we have to do something to ease overcrowding we have at City Hall and the Police Station. We also have safety precautions we need to take to make the Police Station a better working environment for our officers. I personally don't believe the current Community Center meets the needs of most of our citizens as well. We are a growing community and with that comes the need for more recreation opportunities. I realize that not everyone would use a new Community Center and that they might not use it now, but our current facility is undersized, does not have adequate work out space, cannot offer child care during fitness classes, and has a pool that is only open fourth of the year. Ultimately it is up for the the citizens to decide and if they choose to not support this plan, that is totally fine. No matter what happens though we will have to do something in the near future. In the current social media climate, it is easy to detect the things that divide us as a community. What, in your opinion, are the things that unite the citizens and leaders of Grain Valley? Among the things that divide the community, how can you as a leader address these divisions? For me I think we have taken steps to try and lessen those things that divide us. You will notice that elected officials and City staff don't respond to things on non city social media pages. The reason for that is not to ignore citizens or to try and not be transparent. The purpose is to avoid the long back and forth conversations that divide us. I try to keep citizens up to date by posts on my page and we try to do the same on the City pages as well. We will respond to questions when asked with truthful answers. I think my record demonstrates that I do my best to avoid the conflicts and try to be as positive as I can at all times. As for the things that unite us, I think they are everywhere and just get overlooked. Our school district is great and I think 99.9% would agree. When we have a City event I see smiles everywhere and no one complaining. That is why it’s these types of things we have to make sure we continue to grow and add onto because those are what keep our "Small Town Feel" and keep us the great community we are. Alderman Candidates (District 2) |
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