First Forum Makes At-Large Candidates Focus on Worcester’s Neighborhoods
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Thursday, September 17, 2015
Patrick Sargent, GoLocalWorcester Contributor
The first of four At-Large City Council forums was held on Wednesday night and the questions posed to the nine out of the 12 candidates in attendance focused on community development and neighborhood revitalization.
The topics that the candidates were asked to address were initiatives to revitalize inner-city neighborhoods, criteria that should be used to determine unique development in the city, whether or not the city should favor non-profit development agencies over private development agencies when allocating federal funds, how the city can improve the public transit system, how the city should define affordable housing, and how should the city use resources to improve new homeownership properties in neighborhoods with high foreclosure rates.
SEE SLIDES BELOW: Highlights from First At-Large City Council Candidate Forum
Much of the discussion focused on home ownership, affordable housing, foreclosure and improving Worcester’s neighborhoods.
Candidates Tina Zlody and Rob Sargent, who had previous engagements, and Linda Parham, who was added to the ballot Wednesday morning following Philip Palmieri’s withdrawal from the race, were not in attendance. All three are expected to be in attendance at the next forum on September 30.
City Councilor Kate Toomey arrived after the first question was raised due to a public works meeting for which she serves as committee Chair.
The forum was hosted by the Initiative for Engaged Citizenship at the Family Health Center on Queens Street in Worcester. The forum was moderated by David LeBoeuf.
Related Slideshow: Highlights from First At-Large City Council Candidate Forum
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On Initiatives to Revitalize Inner-City Neighborhoods:
City Councilor Moe Bergman: “I think inner-city neighborhoods suffer greatly from foreclosed properties, abandoned properties, and properties that basically are neglected...We have an opportunity in this city, given that the foreclosure rates have increased and that there’s a significant amount of homes that are owned by absentee landlords to do a better job of matching up people that want to live in their own homes to homes that are available.”
City Councilor Michael Gaffney: "One of the (initiatives) I've always talked about is the...plan to have business owners invest money into properties to revitalize some of the store fronts that we have. The problem is even if it's a great initiative, no one is going to want to shop in an area with needles laying on the ground and there's crime. The initiatives are great, but until we start controlling the crime and the addiction problem in the city, none of that is going to do any good for us."
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On Criteria To Be Used, With Finite Municipal Resources, to Determine Unique Development in the City:
William Coleman III: "Every time we say there's 'finite' or 'there's no money to do this,' we end up spending three or four times the amount we would normally spend on development projects in this city...Now, we have a city manager...who is finally moving ahead with a lot of projects, that would've been stifled years ago. My litmus test for these projects is how much do we have to spend versus how much does the federal government have to spend."
Matt Wally: "I believe when the city is looking at allocating resources for community development they should look at two things: They should look at areas with high unemployment, high percentage of vacant properties and where there are level four schools...At the same time, we can't forget about those neighborhoods where private capital is being utilized. We need to make sure that resources are being used to complement private capital, private homeowners and private businesses.
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On Changing Distribution of Federal Funds from Private Development Agencies to Non-profit Development Agencies:
City Councilor Kate Toomey: "Very often federal funding comes with caveats. And there are certain times when we can't dictate to whom we can offer the funding to for projects...Basically, what we need to do is comply with the guidelines that come with the project...that being said, if there aren't any guidelines...everyone should have a chance at the pot. I think we need to take it on a case-by-case basis. I don't think it's one size fits all."
City Councilor Konnie Lukes: "We have had several...disputes with certain small property owners in the city...alleging that the CDCs are getting all the money and it's impossible for a small property owner to invest in real estate without being at a disadvantage. But when we look at our money...and what little resources we have, we look at tax incentives, which basically take real estate taxes away from our funding...on the promise that we will see jobs created, but we never really oversee that we see those jobs created."
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On How the City Should Define Affordable Housing:
Juan Gomez: "To me, affordable housing is housing that is accessible to individuals that are low-income working-class, as well as individuals that may need subsidized housing. I do agree that we need additional affordable housing in Worcester. The fact of the matter is that if you want Worcester to grow we need to create jobs. Where are people going to live? If you don't have affordable housing, you don't have a ready labor pool...The reality is that market-rate housing is going to come. Worcester has a lot of amenities and as a result, there has been smart investment in terms of market rate..."
City Councilor Moe Bergman: "My preference would be that we focus more on opportunities to give people that want it the opportunity to buy a home. Worcester County has two-thirds owners to one-third renters. Worcester is almost 50 percent renters, 50 percent owners. That's a stark difference especially when you consider that people that own a home spend 2 and 1/2 times more on goods and services. So small businesses benefit when people own, children benefit when their parents don't have to move, neighborhoods benefit when there's stability. Not everyone can afford a home, but we can do a lot better matching up those that want to pay a mortgage payment...A lot of times the mortgage payment is less than a rent payment."
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On Ways to Enhance Public Transit System:
Khrystian King: "Reliable transportation can be the difference between being homeless and staying in your home. It could be the difference between a stable family environment that allows one to learn in school and contribute to society. I don't know that it's a question of private or public, but what we need to do is exhaust all measures. We need to work with our local aid, our state legislators...we need to look at our community members to see how they can also help to improve transportation. I can tell you there's nothing more important than reliable transportation in the city..."
City Councilor Konnie Lukes: "The bus company cannot work the way it's been traditionally working. It cannot have routes as the exclusive way to get people from one place to another...They have to respond to the needs of the constituency they're dealing with - the ill, the elderly, those who cannot drive a car...This whole area is ripe for major reform. To say that we are doing a good job...is being very charitable, because we are not. We are not responding to our elderly community. I see major changes coming in the next two years...and I'm looking forward to seeing the bus company be much more responsive than it has been."
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On How the City Should Use Resources to Improve New Homeownership Properties in Neighborhoods with High Foreclosure Rates:
Mayor Joe Petty: "This is a serious issue. At Union Hill...we found that only 20 percent of the people owned their home in that neighborhood...I would love to see the fire and police class graduate so that they would have money for down payments to buy homes in neighborhoods such as Union Hill or in other parts of the city...That's something we should be looking at seriously."
Matt Wally: "Increasing homeownership in Worcester is tremendously important. I think it begins with financial literacy. We have access to the Homeownership Center of Worcester...we need to make sure that those individuals that have the ability to buy their own home...find the opportunities to buy their own homes."
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