Voters will decide on two contested races for Yorkville City Council in Tuesday’s election.
Alderman Ken Koch, who represents Ward 1, is seeking re-election to a second four-year term. He was originally appointed to the City Council in August 2012. He was elected to his first four-year term in 2013. His opponents are Bob Allen and Amy Cesich.
Koch said four years ago the City Council promised to reduce the city portion of property tax bills. He said they did manage to lower property taxes. He said that the city also added 152 new homes which added new property tax revenues coming into the city.
Koch, an operation specialist at Fermilab in Batavia, said he has the experience for the post. He said that he supports an extension of the city’s home building incentive.
“The program works,” Koch said.
He said the city’s developer housing fees were enacted during the housing boom and depending on the area range from $14,000 to $22,000.
The BUILD program, developed during the economic downturn, pays people as much as $10,000 to build a new home on an existing platted lot in the city. The city pays half of the incentive, up to $5,000, by putting in the fees it would take to bring the house into the city. The home builder matches that with another $5,000. The program is up for renewal every year. This year, it is set to expire in November.
Koch said new home starts are crucial if the city intends to recruit a new grocer on the city’s south side.
“Residents in Ward 1 want to see a grocery store. We do have some serious interest but without the rooftops it won’t happen. We have had other prospects in the past but they determined we didn’t have the population. I want to see this happen,” the alderman said.
Cesich said she’s interested in continuing her involvement in serving the community. She was appointed in 2010 to the Yorkville Park Board and is presently the vice president. She was elected in 2012 to a two-year term for Kendall County Board District 1. She ran for a second term but was not elected.
Cesich said she’s not entirely convinced the city’s home building incentive needs to be extended.
“While initially it was a great idea at this point we need to look at the program and maybe hold off for two years so the city can catch up with its infrastructure,” she said.
“I like to weigh the pros and cons rather than just rubber-stamping it,” she said. “There are some benefits from the program. It is building up our community but we need to consider the long-range impacts.”
Cesich said she, too, has heard from residents that want a grocery store and new types of commercial.
“People want a grocery store and a chain restaurant. I really want to work on seeing Yorkville recruit new types of commercial,” she said.
The city is looking at purchasing the former Old Second bank property at 102 E. Van Emmon St. for $1.1 million as a potential new municipal facility.
“I would have to see how this would fit into the budget,” Cesich said.
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Candidate Bob Allen is looking to return to the City Council. Allen said he was appointed to the Yorkville City Council in 2008 and served until 2009. He said that he also served as city treasurer from 1999-2003.
Allen said as a senior citizen, his focus would be “limiting government spending.”
“Water bill increases have hit seniors in Yorkville hard (and) the school taxes are high,” Allen said. “Every time they want to spend more money, it is higher water bills and higher school taxes. We deserve a break.”
Allen said he is opposed to the city extending its BUILD program because it takes resources away from other city services such as the police department.
Allen said he is also opposed to the city buying the former Old Second bank building. He said that he thinks it would be better left to the open market.
“I don’t know why anyone expects taxpayers to keep shelling out money for more property when we need more downtown businesses,” he said.
Three candidates are looking to fill the seat recently vacated by Larry Kot in Ward 2, who held the seat from 2011 to Dec. 13 when he stepped down. He previously served on the Yorkville City Council from 1997 to 2005. Arden Plocher is seeking to return to the City Council as well. He was elected to a four-year term in 2007 but lost his second bid for election in 2011. The other two candidates seeking election in Ward 2 are Deborah Horaz and Robert Gryder.
Plocher said his concerns about taxes and fees are what prompted him to seek a seat on the City Council again.
“Taxes and fees are getting out of hand,” he said.
Plocher, a journeyman pipefitter, said he’s opposed to the city extending the BUILD program but would support a program that doesn’t place a burden on taxpayers.
“It was a valid program to jump start the home building industry,” Plocher said. “I am a union pipefitter and get paid to build buildings so it’s not in my best interest to curb that. The program was not designed for developers to pump out houses and cost the city in the process.”
Gryder said he spends most of his time in the downtown and has a strong sense of what businesses want. Gryder, who manages a downtown bar, said he would support the prospects of the city purchasing the 102 E. Van Emmon St. property.
“One of the biggest issues in the downtown for businesses is the availability of public parking,” Gryder said. “The prospects of the city purchasing the building would address that issue.”
Horaz was appointed to the Yorkville Park Board about 10 years ago and is presently the board president.
“I was encouraged to run for alderman,” Horaz said.
She also serves on the city’s zoning and plan commission. She owns InterLink Telecommunications which does installation for commercial businesses.
Horaz said although she would have to study the city’s proposal to purchase the former bank property, it does have merit.
“It would help with the availability of parking for businesses that have struggled. We lost a lot of parking with the widening of Route 47,” she said.
As for the building incentive program, “There are areas of town that don’t need it. However, there are still subdivisions that were left during the economic downturn that still do need help. Who’s to say people are buying houses because of the incentive,” Horaz said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News