● Place of Birth - Hollywood, CA
● Education - BS, Kansas State University; MBA, University of Central Missouri ● Experience - High School Teacher; College Accounting & Economics Instructor; Collegiate Basketball Coach; Commercial Banker/Bank Market President; HR Recruiter
● My community service includes: City of Manhattan Audit Committee, Chair of the Airport Advisory Board; KSU College of Arts & Science Dean’s Alumni Council, Past-Chair; Manhattan High School Business Finance Department Advisory Board; Manhattan Konza Rotary Club, past president;.MACC Military Relations Committee, past-chair; Little Apple Brigade; Kansas Military Alliance; Transportation Committee; Region Reimagined steering committee; Mercy Health Foundation Board asTreasurer; former member of the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; former chair of the Workforce Board, former member of the Chamber Audit Committee and ex officio member of the Business Advocacy Committee; past Chairman and board member of the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce and served on its membership committee; Flint Hills Chapter of AUSA as president-elect; and is a Trustee of the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation (GMCF) and a member of the GCMF’s Guardian Angels. I also served on former Congressman and now Senator Roger Marshall’s Military Affairs Advisory Council; Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors and serving on its executive committee. My wife and I served as co-chairs of the United Way Dinner by Design in 2012 and for the Mercy Health Care Foundation Crystal Gala in 2017 and 2018. Founding board member of the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association; Chaired the Hastings, NE Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council; Hasting, NE Community Theater Board; Past President of the Hastings, NE Lions Club.Recognized as the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year for 2009, the Konza Rotary Rotarian of the Year for 2012 and First Infantry Division/Fort Riley Distinguished Trooper in 2013.
Why should I vote for you?
As a city commissioner, I do my homework on each issue that comes before the commission to ensure that I fully understand exactly what we are being asked to approve, which would include developments, changes within public works, etc. I also evaluate how it impacts the city budget, not just on an immediate basis but also over the long term. I am professional and positive in my approach and do my best to understand the citizens’ wishes and desires. I have always looked to not impact the property tax side of the equation, however there are items that are statutorily required to be funded by property taxes, such as RCPD and the Library. As a commissioner I believe that I represent each citizen and therefore each citizen has a voice. I have worked hard to mitigate flooding on Wildcat Creek dealing with multi-governmental agencies to come to sound changes for new developments. My knowledge of the city’s revenue streams and costs being incurred both from my time on the commission between 2011-2015 and as the Chairman of the Airport Advisory Board, City Audit Committee and work with multiple governments during my career in banking brings a strong understanding of making things work. I care deeply for our community and believe our diversity is an amazing asset that needs to be celebrated and reflected in a positive manner. Our underserved are also part of the citizenry and I try to find creative ways to support the organizations to obtain positive solutions.
What is your biggest budget priority and why?
Finding a sustainable source of revenue for the city to lower the property tax burden. However, I also believe that we need to work hard to find private investment in our community to build greater value that will lower the tax burden on homeowners and businesses alike. If we streamline our approach to development approval we can become more efficient in bringing new business investment to add tax revenues, not to be confused with increasing the mil levy, for the community as a whole. I believe there may be some efficiencies at the city relating to personnel standpoint that we could uncover but we also need to review and evaluate the systems that are being utilized to best support the workflow. A prime example is the accounting system that is no longer supported by the developer and creates logjams in workflow, lowering efficiency and increasing the probability of errors. This is also an issue of getting the City Audit completed in a timely manner, which is both a system and personnel issue that has to be addressed. If we don’t get this fixed we stand the risk of a lower bond rating, which will directly affect the budget. My biggest concern at this point is the impact of the Dark Store Theory being exploited by large retailers/developers. This could cut the revenues on some commercial properties in the near future by 50%, which would have a devastating effect on the budget. Preparing for that possibility is critical as we look at 2022, 2023 and beyond.
How would you draw more economic development and investment to Manhattan?
I believe the first area to enhance is the review process to ensure the time from application to approval is economically feasible for new investors/businesses. This would assist the Economic Development team in negotiating with potential investors/businesses looking to come to Manhattan. I also believe we need to have a really strong understanding of the strengths/weaknesses of our available land for business development. This is different from housing as we have a shrinking availability of developable land for businesses to acquire and build. I also believe projecting a positive message from the dais is critical. When companies are evaluating a new location, the political climate is important. It is greater than the taxes that continue to be the sounding board of some. The taxes are a part of the decision making process but more importantly, the education system, workforce, and ability to draw diverse employees to our community are also very important. Along with Quality of Life. It is a balancing act for our EcoDevo folks to find but it all comes down to where a company/investor believes they will find the greatest synergies for success. We have good air service, outstanding talent pool in KSU, MATC and Ft. Riley that we can sell as a strong asset for drawing interest to our community. I also believe working with the surrounding communities is critical for our success. As a commissioner, airport chairman and former Chamber Chairman I have worked with our partners to bring greater success and will continue to work hard in this area.
What does Manhattan do well? How should that be maintained/expanded?
There is a lot of energy within our community, evidenced by what is happening downtown, Aggieville, and the other areas of commerce. We have continued to upgrade our overall infrastructure with better pedestrian, bike/cycling, traffic flow and flood controls. The airport obtained good air service and upgraded aircraft and the resilience of our traveling community. This is also reflected in the grants we have received for multiple projects including the airport and runway. Our overall real estate values have held overtime. Many organizations and publications recognize Manhattan, KSU, MATC and Ft. Riley as being outstanding communities for overall value and quality. The continued improvements being done throughout the city by Public Works to ensure safety of water, movement/treatment of wastewater and stormwater. I believe we have a good overall vision through our master plan that allows us to develop smartly. Also maintaining the design standards of new buildings to retain the old/new vibe that our community celebrates. To maintain this we need to be vigilant in our spending, focus on the positives that draw people to our community for greater tourism.
What future improvements/additions/changes should be prioritized?
Quite frankly we need to get the existing projects in order to understand the overall budget impact and then begin addressing further projects. However, improvements to the storm water system are critical moving forward as we look to reimagine neighborhoods from college rentals to single family homes. This should eliminate the flooding in the older neighborhoods of Manhattan and that is being addressed. Coupled with the levee and Wildcat Creek flooding projects to protect existing homes. Many that are coming online in the next couple of years are very large and expensive, like the levee system and the airport runway reconstruction. There are others as well but the principal funding sources for those come from the 2023 City Sales Tax, which has already been appropriated for those projects. There are a few others. Within the sales tax initiative, is a provision for property tax relief, which would be beneficial. However, we have to support local businesses to ensure the revenue is there. The indoor pool is something that is getting a lot of attention and will probably be a major topic but it should probably be a combination of City/USD 383/KSU funding as all three have a need for a facility with the decommissioning of the Natatorium. Downtown improvements are also on the list and finding funding for those projects will be the key to moving forward. The continued evolution of Blue Earth Plaza as it becomes a focal point for many activities that traditionally have been downtown or in city park. The key will be funding and timing.
In what ways, if any, does Manhattan need to adapt for the mass influx of families for NBAF and Afghan resettlement?
I am not sure the two are interconnected. However, I believe we are in pretty good shape for NBAF as it does not appear in the short term that we are going to see the “huge” influx of new people to Manhattan due to NBAF as originally expected.. I believe that the majority of the influx has already happened. Having said that, we need to be a welcoming community, respecting the differences of those that are coming from around the country to be employed at the facility. However, the number of visiting researchers will be a worldwide diverse group of people that we will need to welcome and share our community warmth with as we do with students/faculty and our men and women in uniform. The Afghan equation is something very different. We need to determine where they can be housed, how to assimilate them into our community, obtain gainful employment and in the interim, how their expenses are paid. While this is a truly humanitarian effort to secure safety for the Afghan refugees, there is a cost and how we cover that will be critical. We need to understand the magnitude of the numbers and expectations from the federal and state agencies, how long their financial support, if any, will be maintained and what options are available for our new Afghan friends that find their way to Manhattan. Without their support the cost to our community could be difficult to cover. What ways, if any, should the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion be included in professional development or other training for City employees? I personally believe that doing an all employee training in diversity would be a good foundation for city employees and set an example for the community at-large. I have benefited from that training received in...<response edited for length limit>
What is your top, specific issue in running for this office and why?
I made the decision to run because I want to move away from the partisan politics that continue to bleed into our local government and bring a positive voice to the commission. It takes us all to move the ball forward and it appears that we are moving in the wrong direction. We have tremendous assets to utilize to stimulate economic and population growth back to our community. My experience with KSU’s College of Arts & Sciences Alumni Council, Military Relations Committee, AUSA chapter and our airport provide some excellent avenues to work toward that goal. I also believe we will need to be even more creative with the Net Neutral budget mandate and the probable success of big box stores with the Dark Store Theory. We will have to make significant adjustments to all of our efforts and slow potential growth, change amenities and offerings and how we approach our entire city government. I believe I am a good steward and ambassador for Manhattan. I have successfully worked with our entire Kansas Congressional teams, many state legislators and our regional partners for many years to find ways to gain support and funding for important projects.
Editor’s Note: All candidates were provided identical questions. All candidates were given identical time limits for response submissions. Responses were limited to 300 words per question. Candidate responses are published as written, up to 300 words. Only candidates choosing to respond will be profiled.