good evening and welcome we are here continuing our coverage of town meeting twenty nineteen and we have tonight for you two candidates for the wineskin city council seat it's a two year seat that has been vacated by christine lahti who is running for mayor when askey so there is one year left and michael meyers and cory mack are running for this seat and they are here this evening to answer questions and also to take your calls if you have any questions for them we would love to hear them at eight six two three nine six six so welcome to both of you thank you very much we're going to start with cory cory mack if you could give us your opening statement why are you running for want to ski city council and what qualifies you for the  i started going into different seats that i could try to try to you know participate in the community so you know originally i was working for the g m t board back in two thousand and nine and then going towards the environmental board and i've been on the public works commission now for a couple of years so i've had a lot of experience working towards you know becoming more involved in the government and when i saw that there was a bunch of open seats this year there was like a call from the council of like let's let's get as into the policies to really see what's what's going on in the city and you know just trying to continue continue the momentum that's been built up so far do you mind giving us fifteen seconds on your professional short ground yes i am a transportation consulting engineer i work in downtown burlington and i've been doing that for thirteen years now so a professional license engineer all right thank you so much  and being down to city hall kind of sparked my interest of city government i've been wanting to serve my committee or my committee my community for a while now this community has enrich my life but give me lifelong  productive citizen for the for the city you know i've been educated through the paris of san francisco save your school and i belong to san francisco was a viewer church and a graduate from school and running for the residents of the news in for the young and not so young i believe it can be a bridge between the new residents in the lifelong residents and to do the best buy and buy a mall i believe it can be an asset for the community and for the council right tell us what the top three issues you care about are we want to work on as i mentioned before i've been on the pool rebuild committee for the last several years we've been last two years we started out and i think two thousand and sixteen and then the the pool committee disbanded and we formed the windows can myers memorial foundation to help raise money for the pool so seeing that the council is going to be all different i felt it was my duty to step up and run for city council does to make sure the projects that have been voted on are or seen through to the end on the roads and infrastructure ha been a key point of when i'm out door to door talking to to my neighbors in residence so when a ski this is something i like to work on i know christine we're running for her vacated c and she's part of the public liaison and i'd like to volunteer to fill her seat in that position so i can stay updated on the roads and infrastructure i mean as you know we had two water main breaks on main street a few weeks ago not only did the students of who this guy school miss couple days of school but there's there's been a lot of traffic issues and lastly i'd like to stay on i'd like to get elected for the city council so all the projects that we have started currently we can finish and not add any more endeavors upon the taxpayers right now i think were i think trying to keep taxes down is very important for the city that's a very good thank you so much  three priorities yes so the top three priorities i'd say that i've been working towards are or with that i'd like to work towards is you know continuing the current initiatives i know there's been a lot of work put forward from the current council and all the  members on the existing plans and projects underway and each one of those has undergone a very rigorous public process and you know i want to maintain that consistency in that momentum to make sure that you know those continue going forward i've been on the public works commission also so i do have a pretty good understanding about the city's infrastructure i think that you know continuing our investments in that is really important facility being invested in but also the main street project like that so that's an infrastructure project at the very at the very end of it and that kind of all leads into the third thing is affordability within the community also i think that we're investing all this money and we need to make sure that you know we're not just going to be pain that on the backs of our current residents we need to make sure that that's going to spur investment along the main street corridor or we need to consider impact fees so that when new developments come in and really take advantage of this beautiful main street that we're building that it's the developers are going to be construct and maintain it into the future so i think that it's a good investment for the town and you know we've been working with the designer of that to make sure that it's a parking garage for the future as well so you know if there's ever a time when it's no longer going to be a parking garage it's in the retail industry has been consulted with that and from what i can tell they're on board so if they're ok with it then i would say you know go for it all right very good michael tell us your position on the city budget it's slated between  the property taxes and the water taxes house with about two hundred fifty thousand dollars of value would be paying a taxpayer about one hundred seventy dollars more a year so do you support given your concerns about affordability you in the next couple weeks from what i've been told on the main street project i think when you have one hundred year old infrastructure underneath the streets example i mentioned earlier who was the main water mains up by the high school i think it's i think it's important for the town to to do to do is due diligence on issues like this not only does when you start replacing infrastructure it's lasted a hundred years so technology is better now it's going to last even longer the the it's the budget supports the two projects as well which is saying something that's in i think the local tax option that the voters are asked to be voted on is a no brainer in my mind it's it's for everyone who visits when you see businesses they're going to be asked of you know they're going to have to pay a little extra in it's estimated that two hundred seventy seven thousand dollars will be brought in the early for that option tax which will be raised to help out the capital investments i think that's a huge thing in i support one hundred percent i think it's very very important pretty high in for average people it's you know that sometimes work in a couple extra hours of the forge of taxes but again he cocked infrastructure over a hundred years old i think it's a very important project and the parking garage is something that's needed downtown lose heat there's very the parking is an issue down there as you know if you go visit downtown it's and sometimes you're walking the couple blocks to get to where you wan so let me just ask you about your view of the mix of economic development and when askew are you satisfied with that makes the city should be pursuing some different ominous well my take on the is i believe in economic growth is the key for survival and strength of a community as long as we keep the taxes down and we can find bonds that will will will not effect the taxpayers i think that's that's a no brainer as well that like i said going after certain bonds that don't affect the taxpayers is is the road i would go down morning home run for city council so i can pursue these policies and also policies have worked in the the pavement in there is this is why i want to be a counselor i want to get more involved in the every day operations of a policies like this and i don't know it doesn't mean i can't find the answer it doesn't mean i'm not going to roll my sleeves up and get in the trenches to find these answers just from talking to people that i've talked to on the road that these are some of the things that they want to see i understand thank you so much great tell us about your view of the economic mix  o i think that we've done a really good job of creating a vibrant downtown and i remember growing up in the area just what they what they used to be there with the higher ground in the parking lot and just seeing the change in the last you know twenty years it's been pretty incredible been a lot of focus on the downtown the last you know twenty years and you know this garage and the proposed hotel it's the last undeveloped lot in our downtown and so i think that really expands our offers  an opportunity to start thinking about other areas we've been so focused on this downtown that so i think that we're will really have the opportunity now to focus our efforts in our attentions not not forgetting about downtown obviously want to make infrastructure that we're going to invest in has the option of you know and some devise in the growth that we might want so you know you know we want to make sure that our wastewater treatment plant is in great shape so that we can you know have breweries in town or something like that or you know maybe we that's how it works so i think you know we have a space coming up in our own capacity to really analyze the economic mix and when he looks forward to you know part of that so this is the question what about the center alinsky the rotary so you know your transportation plan or both lived in the region for years and years and years what do you think has to happen with that you know it was supposed to be like this visual cue to enter from doubt coming down colchester avenue really kind of interesting design but you know the street lights didn't really work with how it was originally designed and i think that i'm overall glad that those are gone and i really resisted that at the time but the traffic circle down there is is a challenge for when you ski i notice just this morning that the rapid flushing beacon crossing is has fallen and it was knocked off and now it's not functioning so like those of the you know our downtown is asking a lot of it i mean you know thousands of cars that go through there every day and it is a vibrant like scene of people walking and eating and having a great time  so what can we do with i think that we can have it be a public space and i would try to find a way to like encourage people to use it but also you know it's in the middle of a traffic circle so you know it's a it's a it's a complex and challenging question but no simple answer no you know what about you well i'm not the traffic engineer that korea is but you know that space is used we have a pub pumpkin festival every year down there that very successful a lot of families are out there we have thousands of pumpkins it's a great facility in kids enjoy it not only do the local business is a joy because we all you the goal there maybe have a a a plate of one or two  also we can windles it's one of the centerpieces awaken windows downtown as he you know i think it's and i have to stay as a park for now especially with the projects that we have ongoing right now it's a great question i think they use i utilize that space very well got it ok good that was my that was my moderator's choice question so let me ask you about this institutional memory and continuity of government operations there's been a big change in the city council in both of you have expressed this importance of accomplishing in finishing the projects that were started is there anything you or you want to say i mean how to bring the lessons learned from the past into this next chapter of governance for the city i'll start on that one well being from a new ski i've i've seen a lot of people come and go i've seen i see some councils that l years and years but i was unaware that the being the leader when he was a concern for for our fellow citizens i believe that anyone everyone that runs for city government has has a collective purpose of making our community stronger safer in engaging in simpler words we want to make it friendlier as a whole as a counselor i would promote heavily on city commissions to gauge the younger generation to get more involved and to keep city the special city it is it's been a very you know it's been a great town it's a great city it always has been and i think it will be for the future it will thank you so much cory your view on this question that yeah well it was institutional memory it's as much as it's nice to have people in the council and leadership for you know a long time it's also great to have fresh people coming in to really give a new perspective on everything so i think that as much as it's a challenge it's also a great opportunity to to really have a new way to look at things i'd say that you know i'm a perfect example of of how that institutional memory can be like brought forward i've been involved for many years in a number of different avenues so like being on the public works commission for the last couple of years being on the environmental board you know doing various activities within the community for a while i've been you know active i know i've known a lot of the city staff for quite some time and i've been a part of the development of a lot of these plans so like the form base code plan i was involved in a lot of those meetings and i think that the way to do to maintain that kind of continuity is by saying you know using those commissions you know really bringing people on to this to get involved and you know keeping people engaged you know and you know i think that we could potentially have more news involvement  so to bring in bring people in and into and the deciding and keeping them engaged and having them being more part of the process and that goes for you know all the communities with and with do you have a question for michael i didn't have one prepared so it's not an off the top of my head but is there is anything that he said this evening that makes you curious no in fact i'd say that you know i think that mike and i have probably very similar perspectives on what were our goals for the city are and how we would go forward with them you know he seems like you'd be a great candidate also so i think  you know as long as we have people willing to step up and look out for the best interests of the city were in good hands and i think that just being being here tonight i think is a testament to both of us   from when i was ten years old to among the same age on public t v already for ill i just think that people like us do the right thing you know if there's it's you've got it you've got to help out you go to you've got to make you community better place to live for everybody for all neighbors or you know for your children i'm raising a family here in i just i want my family to remember when you see that way i sort of did i people you know corey's been involved saw it's good that corey's been involved so you know some of the ins outs of the city but i also think that political compromise needs to be a thing of the council too i think some common sense needs to be back because i think common sense has a lot to do with governing i believe you can't just have one voice and govern you have to have opposition views just so people can expand their minds a little bit and step out of the box instead of being in the same pattern all the time well it's one of the questions that we have it has to do with what role do you see political compromise has in local government and politics and you know we see nationally that it that's sometimes hard to come by which is why we asked so maybe you could say a little something about the role of compromise is that part of your toolkit as a leader i believe it is i believe that i may have different the old saying too much are better than one you know sometimes you got to have another idea to kind of fine tune this idea you have over here in i believe the political compromise that it's a good tool to use for city government corey what's your view of that is absolutely i think that you know i'm very thankful that this isn't like washington i think you know whenever we are are meeting discuss an issue or a problem or something i'm going to come out first from you know my professional training as an engineer which is always been a pretty objective you know lens i want to take a look at like the facts and the data and see what really happens when you're when you're really analyzing it to that level but you know ultimately comes down to you know i'm also a resident and you know a human and i'm going to have my own my own opinions and we're going to have to just you know express those with with the others and with other people and get their opinion and then you know just make it make a decision based on our you know understanding in our best beliefs and i think that we're all like i was saying earlier we're all you know reasonable good people and  the what's best for news he's what's best for new ski winners he's always been a special place where it it really to govern itself we don't need any outside help so to speak and i kind of want to keep that going i don't i think he can take care want to ski and like i said before being raised here i'm raising a family here i'm excited for the future wouldn't ski and i think it has a lot of it's an exciting town because it's i like to repay it back for what it's done for me very good thank you so much and miniscule is very fortunate to have such enthusiastic people running for the city council not only for this seat that the other the other seat and we have been speaking this evening with michael meyers and cory mack and they are running for the on an unexpired term it's a two year seat with one year left so whoever wins the seat will be running again in a year i believe that would be true so stay tuned here for channel seven teens continuing coverage of town meeting twenty nineteen and don't forget to vote on the fifth of march or whoever doesn't one exact thanks so much for watching