by Ashley Heeney
Reporter
Twinsburg -- In addition to an at-large seat, three Council seats are up for election Nov. 6, and topics such as flooding, fiscal management and land development are on the minds of candidates.
In Ward 1, located in the northwestern portion of the city, incumbent Sam Scaffide of Belleau Drive will face a challenge from Mike Cianciolo Jr. of Forest Lake Drive.
In Ward 2, located in the northwestern to central portion of the city, incumbent Bob McDermott of Hickory Hill Drive will face off against Daisy Walker of Waldo Way.
In Ward 3, which covers a swath of the southern and central portion of the city, challenger Kolette Woloszynek of Chamberlin Road will vie for the Council seat currently held by incumbent Gary Sorace of Liberty Road.
At-Large Councilor Bill Furey of Clarius Circle will not see an opposing name on the ballot, although Killingworth Lane resident David Post has filed as a write-in candidate.
Each seat's term commences Dec. 5 and runs for four years. The winner's first Council meeting will be Dec. 11.
Councilors' salaries in 2007 range from $10,000 to $11,139 per year, depending on when their terms began.
Scaffide, Cianciolo share views
Scaffide, 52, was appointed to the Ward 1 post in August 2003. Cianciolo, 43, is a 13-year resident and has been on the planning commission for more than five years, serving as chairman for the last two.
Both candidates shared similar thoughts on city happenings.
"Ideally a joint [fire protection] agreement between the township and the city would benefit both parties," said Cianciolo.
Scaffide said he "believes a fire hub at the Township Hall could be a real possibility."
"I think the calls from that station would in all probability be split 85 to 90 percent township and 10 to 15 percent city," Scaffide said. "Therefore, expenses would have to be divided accordingly. For example, the city would provide the needed equipment to the station and the township would provide the salary and benefits to the staff. The costs to replace equipment should also be split accordingly."
As for the future development of Corbett's Farm, Cianciolo said, "it should be consistent with our current comprehensive plan -- single family homes."
Scaffide also said he "would like to see the current R-4 zoning remain and the allowable 96 homes be built."
They also agreed flooding is an issue.
"To this day [the flooding issue] remains unresolved and until such proposed repairs are completed, the consideration for additional infrastructure repairs is difficult," Cianciolo said.
"The massive rains that effected Twinsburg in 2006 were mostly concentrated in Ward I," Scaffide said. "Since then we have corrected many of the areas, but there are a number of projects still in the planning phase while others are still waiting for resident or Army Corp. approval."
McDermott faces Walker
McDermott, 66, who has served as a Councilor for four years, said "dollars and sense and not increasing taxes and not cutting services" are at the forefront of his campaign.
"We have to be very careful where we spend our money," he said. "There are a number of things we can do to prevent a tax increase."
Walker, 60, has served for the past three years on the Twinsburg Environmental and Historical Preservation Commission.
"I propose to be conservative in fiscal management and ensuring we follow the [comprehensive] plan," she said. "We will seek more grants for road repairs, promote new business growth and expansion and work closely with the economic developer and fiscal officer to encourage fiscal management."
While McDermott said he would like to see a pedestrian-friendly downtown, Walker envisions a traffic roundabout around Twinsburg Township Square.
"All buildings would be facing the Square and that would be the focus," Walker said. "Plenty of eateries, small shops, herbal businesses, relaxation shops, etc."
"I'd like to see a combination of businesses and downtown housing ... and apartments," McDermott said. "I think our comprehensive plans calls for mixed-use, not just above stores, but upscale downtown living -- where people don't have to drive downtown, they can walk to the store. I envision perimeters of the Square to be shops. It will take more than four years for that to come around."
McDermott also cites generating revenue and improving income among his goals.
"We've taken this adventure in RITA," McDermott said, referring to the hiring of a government agency that administrates income tax collections for the city. "We expect RITA to generate $5 million at least ... RITA is tenacious and they scare people who don't file.
"This is one thing we're doing to improve income. [But] that's not enough offset the increases. I said I wanted to hold the budget to a 6 percent increase and we're pretty close to it now."
Sorace faces Woloszynek
Sorace, 54, who was appointed to the seat two years ago, said he thinks the largest concerns the city has are financial.
"We're getting to a point where we're spending more than we're taking in. We've had reserves for years that we are starting to dip into and that's not good," Sorace said. "This Council has scrutinized the spending of the city and saved thousands. ... There was a time when the city had an open checkbook -- those days are gone."
Woloszynek, 52, who served on Council from 1989-97, said she "wants to improve communication between Council and the residents, and give them more opportunities to be involved in decision making and project planning."
The biggest issue for her ward is the improvement of roads, she said.
"Chamberlin and Post need paving, curbs and gutters -- and Chamberlin needs sight distance improvement," she said. "Liberty needs safety upgrades and Cannon needs repaving."
Like other city officials, Sorace and Woloszynek would like to see Corbett's Farm turned into single-family homes. Sorace, who proposed to developers that the land be used for a school, said he did not intend the donation to be tied into a rezoning of the property to allow cluster homes, which the developer has suggested. The developer's proposal has been met with concerns from Council and residents.
"We have plenty of green space for parkland and [other] areas for clusters," said Sorace.
When asked about the liens imposed on residents for sewer and water line installations, such as most recently on Liberty Road, Woloszynek said the assessments go before a city board which figures out payments.
"Hopefully that would be handled fairly," she said. "I wouldn't expect anybody to get liened who doesn't receive a benefit."
"What has happened is our administration in past has let developers tie in [to water and sewer] and not pay their share," Sorace said. "Residents have been asked to pay, but developers haven't paid their share. That's not fair."
E-mail: aheeney@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3172