Voters listen to council candidates

The support of food trucks and mixed views on a rental inspection policy highlighted the Creston City Council candidate forum held Wednesday at Southwestern Community College.

Creston voters on Nov. 7 will have a choice for mayor and two of the council member seats. Incumbent Mayor Gabriel Carroll is up against Waylon Clayton. Council seat Ward 4 will have incumbent Brendalee Lyell-Keate, Sarah Scull and Martin Graham. Candidates for the council at-large seat are incumbent Kiki Scarberry and contestant Jordan Nelson.

Sponsored by the Creston News Advertiser, KSIB Radio and Creston Chamber of Commerce, candidates explained their background and strategy and answered prepared questions ranging from a food truck policy, rental-home inspection and the town’s taxes.

Food trucks have been debated by Creston officials as some see them as a threat to the town’s established brick-and-mortar restaurants that pay taxes on their property. Food truck owners from other towns will take their income back home to spend. Proposals have been to have truck owners pay a fee for operating in Creston. Others don’t see food trucks as a threat.

Clayton said he is “pro food trucks” as he owns Little Green Trailer, a food truck plus a drive-through restaurant on Taylor Street.

“We need to sort it out, come up with something fair,” he said. “No one is going to come and offer a different variety of things if they have to pay a ridiculous fee. It shouldn’t be a big fight.”

Mayor incumbent Carroll agreed as he said the fee structure and restrictions on when and where trucks can set up shop have not been made clear.

“The fee shouldn’t be an arbitrary number you pick,” he said.

Scarberry personalized the issue with her work in real estate sales.

“There are realtors in Des Moines who can sell in Creston,” she said. “They don’t have a fee.”

She said she is in favor of food trucks as they can be a reason why more people visit Creston, like for one of the town’s annual festivals.

“How do we bring more people to town if those things are not in our town,” she asked. “If we are never challenged as business owners, we will never change. If we never change we get stagnant.”

A home-rental inspection policy, where rental housing would have to fit certain requirements to be rented, has also been a highly debated issue between council and rental owners.

Scull, who teaches at Southwestern, is in favor of a plan. She explained how fortunate she has been living in rentals in Creston “with amazing landlords” having “beautiful” properties. But she knows the other side of the spectrum, too.

“I spoke in December on behalf of the people,” she said about a council meeting. She knows of a person who was in a rental that did not have a working furnace in below-zero degree winter weather.

“The landlord’s solution was to use a space heater,” Scull said. She said Creston’s aging house inventory, which some are used as rentals, may have outdated or worn out electrical wiring that causes fires.

“And it always happens in the winter,” she said.

Scull emphasized the inspection plan is not for beautification of a property as it’s for “basic safety.”

Nelson said he owns multiple rental properties that are on the “high end” scale. He said those properties are typically offered to doctors considering Creston or managers from one of the town’s factories. He claimed there are landlords who favor the concept of a rental inspection policy, but question how it will be applied.

“The inspection is not the issue, it’s the strictness,” he said.

Nelson also questioned using an inspection firm outside of Creston to do the work. Nelson said he has a plan that would utilize existing Creston employees.

Graham said he favors an inspection policy and doesn’t question the fees.

“It’s a win,” he said about the plan. “We have so many people living in less-than conditions.”

Clayton said he is not in favor of the inspection policy.

“I’m in favor of safe housing, but a believer in freedom. I don’t like people telling me what to do with my own property. I don’t like inspectors. I don’t like government intruding on people’s property.”

Wind turbines

For most of the year, Union County Board of Supervisors have been reviewing its wind turbine ordinance which has been in place since 2020. During the review, it was noted how the city of Creston can have influence on turbine locations and setbacks as there is a 2-mile protection of the town’s airport south of town.

Landowners in southern parts of the county have been contacted to expand the number of turbines in the county but the county approved a suspension of new wind turbine applications. The suspension ends in early December. Those speaking to the county have expressed concerns how additional turbines could impact airport operations and Creston’s annual hot air balloon event in September.

The consensus among the candidates was in favor of a determined setback distance to protect the airport and allow room for future growth, if needed.

“I wouldn’t want things like that in the way,” Martin said about wind turbines and the airport. “I can find reasons why I like them and reasons why I don’t.”

Carroll deferred to the county’s work on the ordinance before the city takes any action.

Finances

Candidates answered a question about making the city budget more efficient knowing the town is at the maximum levy amount and its other financial obligations.

Scull said she does not have a solution as she is still researching the issue.

“Part of it is we haven’t had assessments since the 1980s,” she said. Properties throughout the county have gone through an assessment update for the past year. She said it may have been easier to take the new, higher tax asking amounts if the work would have been done incrementally since.

“People in leadership in the past put us in a bad situation,” she said.

Carroll said one significant reason for Creston’s tax asking is the limited number of taxable properties when compared to other Iowa towns.

“Clear Lake has a high value,” he said in a comparison. “We need to build more in city limits.”

Clayton was more fundamental explaining a review of revenue and spending.

“My answer isn’t going always to be to get more money from more people,” he said, referring to cuts and “hard decisions.”

“What is your spending? What are you bringing in and how is that going to balance out,” he said.

Nelson suggested implementing speed cameras in town.

“Other towns say they are a good revenue creator,” he said. “Some of these (Creston) neighborhoods are complaining about speeding.”

Scarberry said Creston is 6th out of 17 Iowa towns on taxes in towns with population from 6,000 to 8,000 according to her research.

“We have high taxes, but not the highest,” she said. “We can’t go with less people working for the city now. We ask city employees to do more. How do you cut costs with the cost of everything increasing?” Scarberry suggested efficiency audits and using automated procedures .

Lyell-Keate was not in attendance but did provide a statement read during the forum.

“My priorities are to help Creston grow and succeed and to be full of life, a place people want to live and to come visit. Food trucks and businesses need to coexist and work together, parks need to be upgraded for enjoyment of all ages, more events nee to be brought in, more roads need fixed,” she said.

Her statement did not include specifics to the subjects of the questions. She did include how security cameras should be considered on the corners of business streets.

Incumbent Josh Thompson is the only candidate for Ward 2 council. Katie Turner is the only candidate for Creston’s park and recreation board. Jane Brown is not running for another term.