2009 Elections: Councilman Jerome Willingham’s Answers
I emailed questions to all the candidates and incumbents for Jacksonville City Council yesterday.
Below are the answers from Councilman Jerome Willingham (Ward 1), who is running unopposed for election. The answers are cut and pasted directly from the email and contain no altering of text, except for format (bulletized the questions and indented the answers).
- 1– Water is becoming a less plentiful, but more frequently required asset in Eastern NC. What policies would you push to ensure that Jacksonville has a safe, secure and clean source of water?
- Answer: The State controls much of what the City can do. I would like to see the use of more reclaimed water. I would like to see deep well injection of reclaimed water. I want the city to have the delivery infrastructure to utilize this water for lawn watering, toilet flushing, and car washing. We should not bear the expense of treating that water for those purposes.
- 2– The current City Council took steps to reduced benefits to city employees. What policies would you push to maintain a viable city workforce and recruit/retain employees?
- Answer: We did not reduce employee benefits. We chose not to raise property taxes. Sound fiscal management meant that the employees could not get a raise every year. We also reversed the City Managers increase imposed on the retirees to cover their health care benefits. I introduced measures through our wellness program to show our appreciation for our employees, and to promote their enjoyment of their work environment. The quality of life improvements may also retain and attract good workers. Sure our employees want to make as much money as possible; but they also want a pleasant, and even enjoyable work atmosphere.
- 3– Transportation is a significant issue in Jacksonville. How would you seek to solve traffic issues and mitigate risks? How would you work with the NCDOT and the legislators to push for better support of our transportation systems?
- Answer: NCDOT is trying to implement as system of selecting projects with a more objective standard. In the past, Jacksonville was fortunate to have strong leadership. We benefited from that representative’s influence. Under the new approach, we have not fared well. Crosswalks are a pressing priority for Jacksonville. Our consultant and the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) have not been on the same page. We have to do a better job of collectively pressing our agenda at every TAC meeting.
- 4– What priorities will you have regarding infill development within Jacksonville?
- Answer: Currently the tail wags the dog with respect to development. Cheap land usually guides development. Sprawl is the result. I thought the Special Order of Consent (SOC), rationing the water to projects which were not infill, would encourage infill development. I am confident that downtown Jacksonville will be successful infill development. This development was spurred by my council’s investment in Riverwalk Crossing and the infrastructure. The developers followed our lead and the residential development has been successful. Our commitment to a public safety station in downtown will also spawn commercial and residential infill development.
- 5– What policies would you push to make Jacksonville more attractive to businesses?
- Answer: Our city is already attractive to business. That was accomplished with the annexation of Camp Lejeune because the new demographics were impressive to franchises. However, we need to target downtown business because we are fortunate to have the attraction of the New River. We will accomplish this by consolidating available land, packaging it into a town center design concept, then publishing a request for proposals. The City’s contribution would be a parking structure to support the town center.
- 6– Many residents complain about the lack of recreational opportunities (swimming pools, parks, mountain bikiking trails, etc) in Jacksonville. What priorities will you have regarding recreation?
- Answer: I supported a swimming pool. We had the opportunity to have a pool with Community Development funds. Before Horace Mann moved into my neighborhood, he took the position that if we could not have a pool in every neighborhood, we should not have one. So no one got a pool. The problem with pools is that the same people who return the surveys asking for pools are not the same people who vote. One suggested reason for the loss by incumbents in New Bern was their building a 4 million dollar pool.
- 7– The City is currently fielding resumes for the City Manager position. how would you feel about the current Council hiring a Manager before the potential election of an new council?
- Answer: You are wrong. The current council will not have the applications before the election. If we did have time to make a hire, I would treat it just like any other city business. Elections come and go, we cannot stop running the city because an election is coming. That makes no sense. Where is it written that one council has to stop working or functioning prior to an election?
- 8– Downtown Jacksonville has been overcome with blight and abandoned and unused buildings. Past Councils have approved Downtown Master Plans that would replace the existing buildings with high-priced homes. Even now, there are several recently built homes in the above-$250k price-range available downtown. What policies would you support to revitalize the Downtown area?
- Answer: The Downtown Master Plan is a document. It does require the replacing of anything. Our Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), through zoning, will impact more what can be built and how it will be built. Even the UDO will not require buildings to be replaced. I would place Mafaire Town Center (Wilmington) in downtown Jacksonville to revitalize the area. Community Development can build CREATE homes on property it owns downtown to add a level of affordable homes.
- 9– Actions by the current Council have raised questions about transparency and integrity in Council-actions. What are your thoughts on the recent events and how would you address potential issue of open-governance?
- Answer: Government TV has been a blessing to the residents of metropolitan Jacksonville. It has provided openness to our process. I remember the days when the biased presentation by the Daily News was all the public got. I have never served on a more transparent council. Horace Mann spoke of back-room deals during his tenure. I have never participated in anything like that. My challenge to anybody’s integrity is on the record, and memorialized in the videos of our meetings. I am not allowed to add anything here.
