What Candidates Say About City Hall

Central Mayor Jr. Shelton and the five members of the Central City Council have continued the work begun in 2009 to design, approve, and build a City Hall for Central. Because of public interest in the issue, the Central City News asked each of the 16 candidates running for the City Council to give us their opinion. The issue is expected to be resolved over the next few months. So it is unlikely that any of these candidates, except the incumbents, will get to vote on this issue.
Council at Large
Vote for Two

Wade Evans
“I am for a city hall. It is necessary for a city to have an anchor for its future. I am not for the plan as drawn and think that we should continue our frugal approach as in the past. I think the council should consider cost saving measures to bring the overall price down such as interior trim features and not finishing out the second floor at this time.”
Aaron McKinney
“As a financially conservative candidate I can not support the proposed city hall in its current form. With the initial cost estimates at close to $5 million dollars, even supporters agree it must be value engineered. This says we are not ready. I am for consolidating all city functions under one roof to better serve the citizens of Central, but more cost-effective options must be evaluated. Same benefit, less capital outlay.”
Ryan Meador
As I do see a need for a City Hall, I see no need for one with a $5 million+ price tag. A price tag of around $1 million and having availability to add on in the future suits the needs of our city much better at this point in time. The reasons I support having a town hall are that our City is currently paying close to $80,000 a year in rent due to not having our own facility. It will also be beneficial for holding meetings without having to work with the schedules of other locations to ensure meetings can be held. It will also be able to open up the ability to host conferences in our City for events.
Wayne Messina
The proposed City Hall has been well planned out over a period of 11 years, by many citizens of Central. A lot of time and effort have gone into this process. This beautiful building will bring a source of Pride to Central, not just for today, but for many, many years to come. It will not have the name of one, but it will have the name of Central on it, which we will all take Civic Pride in.
Kim Powers
City Hall will be a beautiful symbol of this community. It will serve and inspire our children and grandchildren for 50 years or more. When you do something right, you don’t have to look back. Is $5 million a lot of money? Yes, but not for what we are getting, and we have the money to pay cash. Central had a $4 million surplus this year alone and has $40 million in the bank.
City Hall will be seen on TV in almost every story about Central. It will brand our city and remind the world that Central is a very special place! Much research and planning have gone into creating this facility.
It is a good plan, and I support it.
Council District 1

Charlie Habig
Mr. Habig did not issue a formal statement but said he does not have enough information to take a position. “If I were serving on the Council, I feel I would be able to make a solid decision, but based on the information I have at this time, I cannot yet take a position on the issue.”
Aaron Moak
At this time we should look for cost savings and seek secure funding from other sources. With the current proposed plan I feel we can do better knowing what our options are and exactly which services will be used at a city hall. We do need to build a city hall as has always been said and it does need to be built with our future generations in mind and the long term goal of the City of Central. We also need to finish the City center overlay district which will control the surrounding area on design of structures and aesthetics of the area. .
Council District 2

Joshua Roy
I don’t support the City Hall as currently proposed. I have concerns with the lack of a zoning overlay district establishing architectural standards, inconsistencies in the site development data particularly concerning green/landscape area, and the size and grandeur of the proposed City Hall.
Notwithstanding, I do believe the construction of a small, modest City Hall in the future is essential to establishing a City Center and cornerstone of economic development consistent with the Master Plan.
John Vance
City Hall will be a great asset for our city. The school system will benefit greatly from the overlay district and the increase in surrounding land value. This administration spent $8.2 million on drainage and infrastructure last year. The Police department budget has steadily increased. We were able to add over $4 million to our savings account. This city has the financial ability to multi task. A City Center has always been in the vision for our city.
Council District 3

Dr. Kim Fralick
Creating a City of Central downtown may be the single most effective economic development decision this city could make. Establishment of a city hall is the beginning of and will be the bedrock of a dream of our founders and the many involved citizens who attended all those early meetings and planning sessions. As a present council member and candidate for reelection, I fully support the project.
Dave Freneaux
I do not support building a $5 million City Hall at this time. Central should complete the Drainage Master Plan and have a funded solution to upgrade drainage before considering building a city hall. The best solution would be to put a bond referendum on this November’s ballot, letting the voters decide whether to build city hall, and conserving cash reserves for more pressing needs of this community such as drainage and road repair.
Council District 4

Shane Evans
Our city needs a city hall that our city center can be built around. My friends that do not live in Central don’t know where our downtown or city center is. We don’t have much of an identity. Yet. This is the opportunity to fulfill a vision for our future that will stand long after many of us are gone, and that future generations can be proud of.
Despo “D’Ann” Wells
While I agree with the location and building of a city hall, I oppose building the city hall as currently planned ($5 million). The citizens of Central deserve to see a(n) MFP (Master Flood Plan) and infrastructure plan with estimated expenses before a city hall plan. Most importantly, I oppose moving forward with a controversial project so close to an election and believe in letting the citizens’ votes determine the decision based on each candidate’s position.
Council District 5

Charles Lee Hinton
Did not respond
Jeffrey Meyers
Prior to the July 24 City Council meeting, I did not support the new City Hall. However, Councilman Jason Ellis presented information describing a proposed vision of a Central City governmental complex projecting forward 50 years. Utilizing comparative cost analysis along with establishing architectural standards for that future complex and the surrounding commercial zone, I can now support the construction of the proposed City Hall.
Briton Myer
While I support a City Hall and City Center, I strongly believe our City Council should focus on drainage first. After August of 2016 Central’s citizens deserve to see the long awaited Comprehensive Drainage Study; a plan to repair and improve drainage issues highlighted by the study; and a plan approved by the Council to fund those improvements using as much state and federal funding as possible, all before the construction of a City Hall.