BY DEBBIE PAGE
Six at-large candidates and four Ward 5 candidates for the Statesville City Council shared their views on a number of issues facing the city during a forum on Monday night. The event was sponsored by the Iredell County Democratic Party, the African-American Caucus, and the Democratic Women of Iredell County and moderated by Chuck Gallyon.
Democratic Party Chair Beth Kendall explained that each candidate had a three-minute opening statement, six minutes to answer three questions (one for all candidates and two drawn from a hat), and a one-minute closing statement.
All ten possible questions were given to the candidates in advance.
Candidates were sequestered while others answered questions in front of community members. Written responses to all advance questions will also be available electronically for those interested. The full event and contact information can be viewed HERE.
At-Large Candidates
♦ James Pressly, a Statesville native, said his goals including safe streets, smart spending, and “a stronger tomorrow” for his hometown. He said the number one issue among city voters is improving deteriorating roads, which are currently graded at a score of 55 out of 100. Just maintaining the status quo will cost an estimated $2.3 million over the next 10 years, he said.
Pressly wants to make Statesville an attractive community so that future generations want to return here after their educational pursuits. He wants to lift up every neighborhood in Statesville with great job opportunities and higher salaries, affordable housing options, and better roads. He also wants to grow businesses and support first responders and law enforcement. He noted the desired four-minute response time for fire calls is available in only 58 percent of the city because of rapid growth, a situation that will necessitate the construction of a fifth fire station in the next few years.
Though rates are down, Pressly noted crime is still a nagging issue. The city’s violent crime rate is still 252 percent higher and property crime is 90 percent higher than the national average, he said.
Affordable housing would be another focus for Pressly. The median housing price is now $300,000, and wages have not kept up. While wages have doubled in the last 50 years in Statesville, housing prices are ten times higher. He believes that through good policy, budgeting, and strategic planning, the council can encourage more affordable housing options.
To help South Statesville thrive, Pressly believes the continued pursuit of grants and recruiting investment will continue the community’s rejuvenation. With an increasing industrial base, higher paying jobs, and the city’s strategic location near a fast-growing metro area, Pressly sees Statesville’s potential as unlimited.
♦ Trey Robertson, an Iredell County native, returned to Statesville for the great quality of life after attending West Point and serving in the military. The civil engineer said his background will be invaluable on the council as members plan land use, improve utilities, and upgrade infrastructure.
Robertson wants to see Statesville continue to improve as a great place to live, work, play, worship, and raise a family. He wants to use his time on the council to lay a foundation for the changes needed as growth continues, and he wants to make community organizations stronger to support more human interaction at events and downtown.
City leaders can learn a great deal from watching Troutman and Mooresville while embracing the blessings and tackling the curses of rapid growth. Robertson said strong industrial development, a dense walkable city, more starter homes, and maintaining a strong sense of community are important to balance the agricultural and industrial development in the city and to encourage smart residential growth.
He believes that residential developers should be required to provide sidewalks, trees, front porches, and other things to build projects that the community actually wants. Leaders need to partner with developers to encourage infill building in available areas inside Statesville to avoid more sprawl.
Robertson said he was a huge fan of Downtown Statesville and wants to see the city become the vision it has for itself. He wants to raise up entrepreneurs and encourage small businesses to create a stronger, resilient city.
♦ Braden Zittle believes the city is on the cusp of great success or danger. Though the recently approved data center was controversial, Zittle feels that the increased tax base from the project will provide funds to help the city plan for its long-term success.
Zittle, who has lived in Iredell County for seven years, said his experience working in the logistics and operations industry will benefit the community.
Growth is presenting challenges to Statesville as it seeks to expand efficiently while keeping its community feel. Zittle believes that Troutman is growing too fast and has lost its negotiating power with its dependence on others for water and sewer services. However, Zittle said that without growth, Statesville will stagnate.
To create a healthy community in Statesville, Zittle said that industrial growth will encourage greater affordability, more jobs, better salaries, and the commerce that follows residential development.
Zittle warn that property taxes will rise if the city does not recruit a healthy industrial base. He believes his experience in board rooms, with multimillion dollar deals, and in grant work will help the city realize its goals.
The ingredients for a successful neighborhood, according to Zittle, include a community feel, safety, and good infrastructure. He believes the city needs to take a hard look at how it supports the community and use funding appropriately to ensure neighborhoods are strong and pushing forward. Lack of interest will cause a neighborhood to falter.
♦ Frederick Foster, a former Ward 6 council member, noted that while he was on the council, it lowered the city’s tax rate, worked with the police department to install license plate readers and positively impact crime reduction, and created more affordable housing and assisted with rehabilitating older homes as well.
Foster wants to see the city become prosperous through recruiting good paying jobs so that people return to the city after college. More businesses mean lower taxes and more retail. Statesville must also stay competitive against other cities in the county, he said.
Statesville is in a unique position to grow in a smart way if the council does not overspend and provides excellent fire and police protection for the residents, he added. Foster wants to take care of the city employees in all critical positions, including first responders, law enforcement, and utilities.
Foster also noted the importance of clear communication and listening to citizens.
He wants to see South Statesville have more housing and acquire a grocery store. He noted that crime has dropped and credited the police department for reaching out to the area’s youth as well as holding community meetings to improve relationships and work on solutions for the Southside.
♦ Dustin Jett moved to Statesville to pursue a new job opportunity. If elected, he promises to be transparent, accountable, and accessible. He admires the charm of the downtown, the strength of the larger employers in the community, and the resilient local economy. He believes in approachable government and wants to build a city that leaves no one behind.
Jett wants to build a continually thriving downtown and a safe community that supports families. Through thoughtful planning, a commitment to transparency and a connected community, he believes the city can progress to its great potential.
The growth in Mooresville and Troutman shows that attracting businesses and providing job opportunities are important, he said. Jett hopes Statesville will become even more business friendly. However, he noted that rapid growth puts a strain on schools, roads, and essential services if development is unbalanced.
Jett said the ingredients for a successful neighborhood include connection, safety, and opportunity. He believes it is important to get to know neighbors and to make sure that parks and businesses are accessible to neighborhoods through well-maintained roads. If the infrastructure is not maintained, neighborhoods start to fall behind as safety declines and increasing neglect causes real damage, he said.
Jett noted that the future is coming at Statesville at a fast pace and doing the same things will no longer work. He said Statesville must be “the crossroads of the future, not the intersection of the past.”
♦ Todd Lange, who worked at IBM or 30 years, said his second career as a Realtor has offered him great insight into Statesville. He was chairman of the Statesville Planning Board and has served on the land use committee and historic commission in his 20 years in the city.
Lange wants Statesville to be a safe community where business can thrive and the quality of life meets the vision of its residents. He noted that the city needs to expand its tax base to go forward with all of its ideas.
He believes the city would benefit from regulated growth that allows for infrastructure investments through an increased tax base. He noted that a better quality of life leads to better jobs and more business and commercial investment.
Lange wants to focus on continuing redevelopment of downtown and on developing commercial, retail, and industrial opportunities in the Signal Hill, Front Street, Salisbury Road and other corridors. He also believes the city needs to look at its land, transportation, and greenway plans and create ordinances and seek funding to realize its goals in these areas.
Lange said that affordable housing that meets the median wage is also needed, but with the price of homes and the increasing rental rates on apartments, families have difficulty spending only 30 percent of household income on housing.
He wants to create opportunities and incentives for developers to increase the percentage of affordable homes in developments so that police officers, first responders, and others can afford to buy a home.
In South Statesville, Lange wants to encourage business development to create jobs and engage with the underserved in the community to protect and serve the needs of all citizens. He wants to see localized investments in the Southside through use of incentives.
Editor’s Note: Candidate Emily Bosshart did not participate in the forum. According to her campaign Facebook page, she did not attend because “it’s hosted by a partisan political organization.”
Ward 5
♦ Tip Nicholson cited his family’s generations of history in the community. He was a teacher and coach at Statesville High School and later a school system administrator, was CEO of the Statesville YMCA, and has served as general manager of the Statesville ABC Board, and served on the Iredell-Statesville School Board. He also served on many other community organizations’ boards as well.
Nicholson said that the city must pursue balanced growth and improve infrastructure to accommodate it while also increasing the workforce and attracting retail and entertainment opportunities. He also wants to see improvements in city streets and the construction of more sidewalks, green spaces, and parks to create a connected, prosperous, and thriving city.
Nicholson wants to ensure that residential developments add value to the city by contributing to infrastructure such as roads, water, sewer, schools, and emergency services. He believes building should only occur where capacity exists to accommodate traffic and infrastructure impacts.
He also advocates for a variety of housing options and the construction of affordable homes with green space and community amenities. Developers should protect the environment, follow design standards, and engage with the community in a transparent way to enhance Statesville’s quality of life, he said.
Nicholson said that successful neighborhoods are safe, have low crime, and enjoy good streets and lighting. The communities are connected and accessible to schools, jobs, parks, and shopping. The homes are also well-maintained to be attractive and inviting, he said.
Neglected homes lead to high crime, deteriorating infrastructure, and a lack of community involvement. These neighborhoods also lack accessibility to needed services and amenities. Nicholson also stressed that communication with community members, person to person, is important. He encouraged residents to let city leaders know of their concerns.
♦ Alex Walker, a Statesville native, works in his family’s insurance company in Downtown Statesville. He loves the city but says it still has work to do as it enters a new era of growth and change while still maintaining it small-town feel. So that citizens and leaders stay on the same page, Walker believes that clear communication is key.
Walker sees significant growth occurring in Statesville in the next five years, with downtown becoming a vibrant mixed-use area with businesses on the bottom floor and residential spaces above. This revitalization will increase the city’s tax base and revenue. He wants to see building renovations completed and smart economic development to create a better life for residents.
With increased citizen engagement and more revenue to invest in the community, Walker envisions an improved quality of life through the development of amenities for citizens to enjoy.
After seeing the growing pains in Troutman and Mooresville, Walker said that smart growth and sustainability are essential to make Statesville special and to strengthen the city. He said new apartments and the Vance Hotel redevelopment will grow the downtown area.
He warned that the city must get ahead on infrastructure as growth continues so that leaders can build a strong foundation for the future with roads, parks, and essential services for future generations.
Walker believes that developers must provide mitigations for traffic and help the city deal with added stress on infrastructure to stay on top of road and utility needs. The town needs to be smart in choosing developments and plan and spend wisely, he said.
He believes workforce development is also important to invest in people and create new job opportunities. He also advocated for supporting local companies and contractors during this growth to keep the money in Statesville.
Walker said he wants to fight for his hometown and bring many voices together to create transparency and get everyone on the same page. As a business owner, he touts his practical knowledge and hopes to help keep the momentum going to create a better Statesville with superb emergency services and infrastructure.
♦ Shelton Moore, who has lived in Statesville since 2002, said he and his wife have a deep connection to the Chestnut Grove and Belmont communities. He promises to serve with integrity and accountability if elected to the council.
He works as the Family Support Services director at I-CARE, where he has worked with individuals of all backgrounds and ages, as well as the homeless, justice-involved, and seniors. Through his work, Moore said he has built relationships with many business leaders and agencies to prepare himself to served on the city council.
Statesville is in a beautiful location that Moore wants people to enjoy visiting and that instills pride in residents. He wants to build a stronger economy and develop modern, safe infrastructure as the city grows, which will also foster economic development and attract more commercial investment to increase the tax base.
Moore also hopes to develop special projects to benefit youth, early education, and affordable housing initiatives.
He believes that Mooresville’s and Troutman’s openness to growth has helped both towns build a stronger economy and housing market while increasing the living wage and retail opportunities.
Because Mooresville residents do not need to leave town to shop, Moore said the sales tax money is staying in the city. However, he noted the two towns did not control growth well, so Statesville will need to be more proactive and strategically plan to meet the infrastructure challenges of building new roads and expanding utilities.
Moore said that successful neighborhoods have easy access to retail, schools, jobs, and other needs while unsuccessful neighborhoods are without those things because planning was not sufficient. He believes that all should have access to public safety, shopping, healthcare, and other basic needs.
♦ John Staford, a 27-year Statesville resident, served on the city council previously during a period in which $1 billion in commercial development and city infill development occurred.
He wants to see the city growing wisely over the next five years, with thriving wages, exemplary city services, a fair tax rate, a local government that is sensible and responsible in handling tax dollars, fair utility rates, increased home ownership and quality rental availability, and a healthy commercial and industrial base.
Staford also wants to help the underprivileged in the community, protect the tree canopy, plan for growth impacts, move more utilities underground, and develop a good working relationship with the county and other nearby cities and the school system.
Staford noted that Troutman was smart to reject a housing development with $300,000 homes because a home must be valued at at least $450,000 to pay for the services that are required. For every home built below that value, the council must find a way to cover the increased demand for services.
That means that commercial and industrial development must help to compensate for those deficits and balance the local economy so that the city can afford lower cost housing. Because Mooresville did not seek that balance between commercial and residential development, Mooresville residents are paying a higher tax rate, he said. Troutman is also having challenges because it is limited in available land and has to depend on other municipalities for water and sewer service, he added.
Staford believes that Statesville leaders must work to bring in jobs with higher wages, protect the highway corridors for commercial development, and learn to say no to proposed developments that do not benefit the city.
Staford said that successful neighborhoods have residents that take care of their properties and are involved in their community. He said community policing is also important to promote safety and stability.
FORUM CONTINUES TUESDAY NIGHT
The forum will continue with mayoral and Ward 2 and 3 candidates set to share their views with the community on Tuesday night from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Iredell County Commissioners chambers at 202 South Center Street.