District 1's Gulick faces challengers Pugh, Russell; says city can't afford new City Hall on its own

District 1 council incumbent Kris Gulick told a candidate forum last night in as clear of terms as he ever  has that Cedar Rapids can't afford a new City Hall – what the City Council calls a Community Services Center --  unless Linn County and/or the Cedar Rapids school district shares in the project and helps pay the cost.

The school district appears to have no interest in “co-location” in a new administration building or campus of buildings, and Linn County's interest to date has been, at best, tepid.

Without co-location, Gulick told The Gazette-sponsored forum at Pierce Elementary School in northeast Cedar Rapids that he would support returning some functions of city government to their old home, the flood-damaged Veterans Memorial Building on May's Island. Other parts of the government would stay or land in existing buildings, he said.

Both of his District 1 challengers, Tim Pugh and Ryan Russell, said they want city government to go back into the May's Island building. Both talked about how important the building is to the city. Pugh noted it was the first thing most people see as they drive into town.

Gulick's comments came on the heels of those from council colleague Monica Vernon, who asked the City Council on Wednesday evening to set aside plans for a new, $50-million City Hall.

About two dozen residents turned out last night on a cold, rainy night to hear Gulick, 50, a certified public accountant and business consultant, Pugh, 32, who owns a small landscaping business, and Russell, 28, a logistics specialist for LimoLink International in Marion.

Gulick, 2103 Linmar Dr. NE, told the audience that the city government is fiscally sound, has a vision in place and is following a long-range strategic plan. Gulick called himself an “objective decision-maker,” and he said he has delivered on a promise to listen, analyze and make informed decisions.

 Pugh, 518 17th St. NE, said he was running to bring “responsibility back into City Hall” and to find ways to cut spending and taxes so residents can afford to live in the city. He called himself a “penny-pincher” and said the City Council spent “like a drunken sailor.” The city has moved too slowly on flood recovery, he said.

 Russell, 1322 O Ave. NE, said he intended to bring a “progressive” agenda to the City Council, an agenda he said the current council had not delivered on. Neighborhoods should be enhanced if there's an Enhance Our Neighborhood program, but they aren't; streets should be improving if tax dollars are going for that, but they aren't, he said.

 Russell said he is bothered by violent crime in the city, and he noted that the 70-year-old woman in the city who was the recent victim of a break-in and sexual assault lives close by him. Older neighbors in his neighborhood don't feel as safe as they did five or 10 years ago, he said.

All three candidates acknowledged that the condition of many of the city's streets is poor. Gulick said 20 percent or 130 miles of street are in “failed” condition, while Pugh said he suspected the figure is higher.

Russell expressed support for trying to find new ways to raise revenue other than property taxes, and he noted that council member Chuck Wieneke recently floated the idea of a wheel tax on those who work here and live elsewhere. Ideas like that might have merit, Russell said.

Gulick said he and his council colleagues, in fact, had been lobbying the state legislature for permission to raise money with different kinds of taxes and fees. He said much discussion yet needs to take place about a wheel tax should the state allow it.

Pugh called revenue diversification “a slippery slope,” and he said property taxes have continued to increase even with a new franchise fee on heating bills and a new local-option sales tax. Gulick said the property-tax increase for the most part was needed to fix the streets.

Russell and Pugh said they support and would vote for Ron Corbett for mayor. Gulick said Corbett and his council colleague Brian Fagan are “very good” mayoral candidates, but he said he doesn't make public who he votes for.