Becky's Reflections on the Current Board.
A question that I have been consistently asked as I have begun to promote my candidacy for Georgetown Township Trustee is, “What are your thoughts on the current Township Board?” This is such a difficult question to answer as I feel, in the moment that the question is asked, like I need to answer as a social studies teacher, as a concerned citizen, and as a candidate with her eyes fixed on an open seat on the board.
Let’s start with people.
The township board includes seven voting members: Supervisor, Clerk, Treasurer, and four Trustees. Each of these seats is an electable position and serves a four year term. On the current board we have a US Army veteran and former dentist, a minister, a dental assistant, a high school and college business teacher, a realtor, an attorney, and an administrator in the healthcare field. I have a great deal of respect for the work that these people do or have done in their professional lives, for the time and energy they have put into doing their civic duty and leading this great community, and for the devoted parents and grandparents that I’m sure they are to their families.
That being said, this group of friends -- most of whom were working in their chosen professions before I was born and are now retired and grandparents -- are the ones representing our entire community. A community whose median age is 35 years old. One of the reasons I am running for a seat on our township board is that I believe the young families moving into this community, those with young children in our schools and those who have battled a difficult real estate market to buy a home in this community, deserve a voice. This is a group that I know well, and that I look forward to representing on the Georgetown Township Board in the near future.
Let’s also discuss spending and informed decision making.
The current board believes in beautification of our community. I respect that, and agree that an attractive and well-maintained landscape plays a role in township growth. Since the last election, though, the current board has made a number of careless real estate purchases.
Prior to the (overwhelmingly defeated) $19 million tax proposal, the township purchased the property at 200 Chicago Drive. This property is typically referred to as “the old Kmart” but is actually divided into four parcels: the old Kmart building and parking lot, the KFC property, the Payless property, and a wooded area behind and beside the old Kmart building which sits on a floodplain. All four pieces of land were purchased without an appraisal for a total of $3 million. Demolition of the existing Kmart structure, realtor commissions, and lost revenue from property taxes increases the township’s investment in this property even higher. KFC has since purchased the parcel that holds their restaurant ($415,000), the township board was presented with an offer on the Payless property in early April of this year ($450,000), and the township has decided not to sell the piece that sits on a floodplain, which will be turned into green space. When the township was ready to sell the Kmart parcel, an appraisal was (finally) done and assessed the property’s value at $840,000. There is a developer who has negotiated an option to purchase that final piece of property, but there is little evidence to date that this will come to fruition. After an investment of over $3 million into this piece of prime commercial real estate at the main entrance into our community, it looks like the township will be selling it for little more than $1.7 million.
The Georgetown Township Board got themselves into a similar predicament with the property at 200 Baldwin. They bought out several commercial properties and homes, again without an appraisal on the property, for $2 million. They have placed the controversial Veterans Memorial on the tip of this property, but currently have no plans or vision for the rest of the land. This property was recently appraised at only $900,000.
Families in Georgetown Township would not purchase a home without an appraisal to determine the value of the land. Why are we letting our township board impulsively spend our tax money without the same research and data collection? A second reason I am running for a seat on our township board is that I believe our local government needs a voice who will encourage them to stop, think, research, connect with the community, and then make informed decisions.
I value listening, learning, researching, collaboration and communication. I think that it is essential that the township board members truly hear the voices of the community that they represent, and that those voices guide their goals, agendas and vision.
Steele for Georgetown Township Trustee
Informed Decision Maker | Servant Leader
A question that I have been consistently asked as I have begun to promote my candidacy for Georgetown Township Trustee is, “What are your thoughts on the current Township Board?” This is such a difficult question to answer as I feel, in the moment that the question is asked, like I need to answer as a social studies teacher, as a concerned citizen, and as a candidate with her eyes fixed on an open seat on the board.
Let’s start with people.
The township board includes seven voting members: Supervisor, Clerk, Treasurer, and four Trustees. Each of these seats is an electable position and serves a four year term. On the current board we have a US Army veteran and former dentist, a minister, a dental assistant, a high school and college business teacher, a realtor, an attorney, and an administrator in the healthcare field. I have a great deal of respect for the work that these people do or have done in their professional lives, for the time and energy they have put into doing their civic duty and leading this great community, and for the devoted parents and grandparents that I’m sure they are to their families.
That being said, this group of friends -- most of whom were working in their chosen professions before I was born and are now retired and grandparents -- are the ones representing our entire community. A community whose median age is 35 years old. One of the reasons I am running for a seat on our township board is that I believe the young families moving into this community, those with young children in our schools and those who have battled a difficult real estate market to buy a home in this community, deserve a voice. This is a group that I know well, and that I look forward to representing on the Georgetown Township Board in the near future.
Let’s also discuss spending and informed decision making.
The current board believes in beautification of our community. I respect that, and agree that an attractive and well-maintained landscape plays a role in township growth. Since the last election, though, the current board has made a number of careless real estate purchases.
Prior to the (overwhelmingly defeated) $19 million tax proposal, the township purchased the property at 200 Chicago Drive. This property is typically referred to as “the old Kmart” but is actually divided into four parcels: the old Kmart building and parking lot, the KFC property, the Payless property, and a wooded area behind and beside the old Kmart building which sits on a floodplain. All four pieces of land were purchased without an appraisal for a total of $3 million. Demolition of the existing Kmart structure, realtor commissions, and lost revenue from property taxes increases the township’s investment in this property even higher. KFC has since purchased the parcel that holds their restaurant ($415,000), the township board was presented with an offer on the Payless property in early April of this year ($450,000), and the township has decided not to sell the piece that sits on a floodplain, which will be turned into green space. When the township was ready to sell the Kmart parcel, an appraisal was (finally) done and assessed the property’s value at $840,000. There is a developer who has negotiated an option to purchase that final piece of property, but there is little evidence to date that this will come to fruition. After an investment of over $3 million into this piece of prime commercial real estate at the main entrance into our community, it looks like the township will be selling it for little more than $1.7 million.
The Georgetown Township Board got themselves into a similar predicament with the property at 200 Baldwin. They bought out several commercial properties and homes, again without an appraisal on the property, for $2 million. They have placed the controversial Veterans Memorial on the tip of this property, but currently have no plans or vision for the rest of the land. This property was recently appraised at only $900,000.
Families in Georgetown Township would not purchase a home without an appraisal to determine the value of the land. Why are we letting our township board impulsively spend our tax money without the same research and data collection? A second reason I am running for a seat on our township board is that I believe our local government needs a voice who will encourage them to stop, think, research, connect with the community, and then make informed decisions.
I value listening, learning, researching, collaboration and communication. I think that it is essential that the township board members truly hear the voices of the community that they represent, and that those voices guide their goals, agendas and vision.
Steele for Georgetown Township Trustee
Informed Decision Maker | Servant Leader