Carson City Supervisor Ward 3 candidates discuss roads, funding, efficiency, and more during primary forum
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Thu, 05/19/2022 - 12:35pm
On Tuesday, candidates for Carson City Supervisor Ward 3 discussed the state of the roads, government efficiencies, community outreach and more.
The two candidates who attended the forum hosted by the Carson City Chamber were James “Jim” Wells and Curtis Horton.
Wells has 30 years experience in government finance including as a former State Budget Director.
Horton spoke on his 35 years of experience working in city government, including as the Director of Carson City Public Works.
Questions for the candidates ranged from roads, to how best to represent their wards, and more.
When asked how to best represent their wards, Horton stated the only way to do so is to meet the community where they are.
“You have to spread yourself around, you put in the extra hours, you do the long work,” said Horton. “It doesn’t matter what the question is, I will come out and I will talk to you, and I will find out what we can do to help solve that problem. You can't sit back and listen to the opinion of a handful of people and base your decision on that, you really need to go reach out and get that information.”
Wells agreed that outreach was the most important.
“It’s important to recognize that while we live and recognize a specific ward, we're making decisions on behalf of everyone who lives in this city,” said Wells. “It is incumbent upon us to all listen to all the various issues in different parts of the community. Putting in the work and listening to the opinions of people is important, because that’s how you get into consensus at the local level.”
When it came to the “hot button issue” of road maintenance, Wells and Horton took slightly different routes on how to mitigate the issues.
“Roads are just one factor,” said Wells. “The city needs to make sure it has all the resources it needs to take care of all the assets, including roads, water, sewer systems, trails, parks, recreational areas, buildings, equipment ... All of those things are important.”
Wells stated that over the last decade, water and sewer rates have gone up significantly which was due to original rates not including replacement and repairs ro maintenance built into the rates.
“And now we’re paying the price for that,” said Wells. “It’s incumbent upon us to figure out a way to create a funding source, repave the roads that need to be repaved, and to maintain all of the assets before they deteriorate almost to a point where it's uneconomical to fix them.”
Wells stated that the way to fix the problems in the future is to set aside money now for assets that will need to be replaced in the future.
Horton said the issue was more about efficiency and competency.
“It’s hard to do, but until somebody finds the money tree, we’re going to have this issue before us,” said Horton. “We need to take the money that is available right now and make sure that we’re using it properly, to the best of our ability to make sure that those decisions are being made on what type of repairs we’re going to do. And where we’re going to do (the repairs) are made with competence, by competent people.”
Horton went on to say that there is no simple solution to the issue, and many of the issues were caused by deferred maintenance.
In their closing remarks, Wells outlined what he would like to tackle if he is chosen to become the next Ward 3 Supervisor.
Wells stated that due to the unexpected growth in Carson City, he would like to see the Master Plan revised to take into account that growth.
“The Master Plan is almost 20 years old,” said Wells. “The city has changed a lot in that time, and I think it’s one of the things we need to look at.”
He also stated it would be important to make sure that the city has the resources it needs to maintain the assets it owns, and to make sure that the city’s IP systems are protected from cybersecurity threats, and should be treated as a matter of public safety alongside police and fire departments.
Horton stated in closing that he is here for the people.
“In the 35 years I spent working for the city and working for the community, I spent working for the people and with the people,” said Horton. “I would help them solve problems. I tried to do my very best, and I think if you spoke to anyone who knows me, they’d agree. They’ll say, ‘He’s a great guy, and he can help you. He will get the job done.’ I will put my nose to the grindstone and stay there until we’ve finished with whatever the problem is.”
The Primary Election takes place on Tuesday, June 14.
For more information on Horton and Wells, read their Carson Now Five Question answers.
