Infrastructure, priorities dominate forum

Glencoe City Council candidates were asked about their priorities, health insurance,  infrastructure and blight at the Oct. 14 forum sponsored by the Glencoe Area Chamber of Commerce.
At the heart of the discussion was the city of Glencoe’s proposed $11 million projects to address infrastructure, street surface and water issues.
All of the candidates agreed that aging infrastructure needs to be addressed, but there were differences in opinion on how to pay for those improvements.
Infrastructure “needs repair badly,” said Allen Robeck, a candidate for the councilor-at-large seat. “I think we can all agree on that. But I don’t think we need to reinvent the wheel and tear everything up. We know we have to spend some monies, but we have to do it wisely.”
Robeck said financing options also need to be reconsidered, especially in light of some high-cost assessments.
“We’re going to put people out of their homes,” he said.
Marie Thurn, a candidate in Precinct 3, suggested that the City Council and engineers “go back and talk to the retired employees” for advice.
John Schrupp, incumbent for Precinct 2, who is running unopposed, said that the “easy answer” is to replace aging infrastructure.
“The hard answer is where the money comes from,” said Schrupp.
Schrupp said the city needs to get to the source of the problems, and likened the process to painting a house.
“It doesn’t pay to paint your house if you don’t get down to the bare wood, because you’ll have to do it all over again,” sid Schrupp.
Lori Adamietz, the at-large incumbent, said the city has “responsibilities” to fix the infrastructure for safety reasons, including fire protection.
“We have to figure out a plan,” she said.
Gary Ziemer, incumbent in Precinct 3, said that the city needs to address the issue, but recognizes that the cost may be “painful” for residents.

For more from the forum, see the Oct. 22 print edition of The Chronicle.