Fredericksburg At-Large Candidates Address Numerous Topics At Forum

For the first and only time before the May 1 election, Fredericksburg City Council at-large candidates answered numerous questions in front of about 100 people at a forum Wednesday night at James Monroe High School.

Kerry Devine has been on City Council for eight years. She is an eighth grade teacher at Walker Grant Middle School.

Matt Kelly is a former City Council member and an insurance adjuster for Loudoun Mutual Insurance Company.

Roy McAfee is a woodworker and serves on the Planning Commission.

Paul Quinn is a defense contractor and served in the Marine Corps for six years until 2009.

Here's a breakdown of some of their answers:

Historic Fredericksburg Foundation Inc., Demolishing 1407 Caroline St. and More Citizens' Involvement

Kerry Devine: She said that the city agreed on a memorandum of understanding with HFFI after the destruction of the pre-Civil War home at 1407 Caroline St. but she thought there was enough input before the home was demolished. She said at some point those appointed to make the tough decisions have to make them. She thought staff, HFFI, and council did provide enough viewpoints.  

Matt Kelly: The city spent two years putting a preservation plan together and brought in all stakeholders to help create the plan. So, he was surprised with how the city took no action to preserve 1407 Caroline St.

Roy McAfee: He said too often city officials do the minimum amount of communication with the public. He said elected leaders need to do a better job creating longterm partnerships with the community.

"But the minimum is not really good enough," he said.

Paul Quinn: The city isn't using social media platforms to communicate with residents. 

"Any 17-year-old can show you how to do it," he said.

How Can Central Park Stay Competitive?

Kelly: The city is not going to be able to compete on a  retail front with Stafford and Spotsylvania counties, he said. "We don’t have the space," he said. Kelly said tourism is critical for the city and the historic character must be retained. He said there needs to be a more proactive effort to bring higher-paying jobs to the city. Although Central Park has been a great asset for the city, the dynamics have changed, Kelly said. "Tourism is one area we know we get the dollars in and out," he said.

McAfeee: Central Park could be transformed into a mixed-use development, he said, with homes, shopping and offices.

"Commercial retail is one of the wheels on the bus. Heritage tourism is another. There are several wheels on the bus that are underinflated right now," he said.

Quinn: Fredericksburg cannot compete in retail with Spotsylvania and Stafford, he said. The city should focus more on tourism, the arts and the riverfront. "We've got a couple key assets that give us a competitive advantange over our neighbors," he said.

Devine—Central Park could be redeveloped with an office park.

Challenges For City

McAfee: The city needs a financial plan to make progressive steps forward. The city should focus on one centerpiece downtown to spur momentum for the riverside park.

Quinn: Fredericksburg needs better jobs. Transportation plagues the city, he said. Economic development must become more of a focus. "It is about spending dollars right here in Fredericksburg."

Devine:  Economic Development is the No. 1 challenge, she said. Neighborhood integrity must be preserved. She wants the city to hire a property/rental inspector to enforce the city's ordinances. There needs to be more long-range planning and work on a regional level. 

Kelly: Fredericksburg is approaching buildout and the city needs to have a solid plan of how it will develop its remaining space. Annexation isn't going to be an option. "Work together with the community as much as possible."

Which City Departments Need Improvement?

Quinn: City officials need to have a more can-do attitude and figure out ways to help local residents.

Devine: She has had complaints about Public Works with leaf pickup. "Are there things we can improve upon? Absolutely. Do we do a pretty good job with the level of staff we have? I think so."

Kelly: City staff generally does a good job and the workforce has been reduced through attrition in this bad economy. Kelly said the city had a rental inspection program and it was dissolved because of the economy. City Council needs to prioritize how it spends money and more residents have to provide input. We don't have 24/7 advanced life support right now. "We should have 24/7 advanced life support."

McAfee: He suggested people read the comprehensive plan to see what the goals are for growth. The job of city government is to manage the lands and the infrastructure in the city in a way that gives people the greatest quality of life. "What we need here is more partnerships, we need more transparency."

Incentives Working?

Devine: She said what isn't always made clear is what businesses don't get incentives. She agreed that the incentives program was created to bring in businesses that were not planning to come to the city, but there are success stories, such as in Eagle Village. "I think overall the process has worked." It can be improved and more aggressive to get different businesses.

Kelly- "No, they are not working." He said there is a revolving door downtown with one restaurant getting incentives as another one closes its doors. The incentives should be based on only brining in the types of business that the community wants to have in the city.

McAfee: The city needs a financial plan to pinpoint which businesses should be targeted for incentives. "Fredericksburg is a beautiful place there is already an incentive to come here. Do they need economic help? Maybe."

Quinn: The city needs better leaders to use the mechanisms that are in place. He wants the city to focus on attracting defense contractors. "We need to decide what it is we want to reward and what our city deserves. I propose to you it is professional jobs."

What Grade Do You Give Downtown Parking?

Kelly: "C." "We really don’t have any infrastructure in place for parking." The New court facility has no parking for it. He said when the parking deck was built downtown, there were supposed to be two more built, one on Sophia Street and one near the Free Lance-Star headquarters. He said there is enough now, but if the city wants to have an arts center and the new courthouse downtown, more infrastructure for parking will be necessary.

McAfee: Parking has been a top problem in urban areas since the automobile was invented. In some spots there's enough parking and in others there isn't enough, depending on the time of the day. "The parking garage is an expensive option," he said.

Quinn: Consider diagonal parking downtown. Explore parking decks that Kelly mentioned. "Those are logical solutions but parking will always be an issue."

Devine—More parking decks having been built yet because there hasn't been enough development downtown to support the need, she said.
She said the city will have to take parking concerns more seriously as development downtown increases, but for now a better job can be done directing people to open parking spaces. "If you are not familiar with the area I think it is more of a challenge to find available parking."

Can Elected Leaders Make It Easier For People To Understand Government Lingo and Public Notices?

McAfee: There is a learning curve, but one big advancement is the city is creating a Unified Development Ordinance that will make development, zoning and city codes easier to understand. He thought when the city created its website, alot of these problems would be solved. More information needs to be made available on the city website.

Quinn: He applaud any effort to improve the process and to make government lingo easier to understand.

Devine: She doesn't think there really is a problem because people do show up to express their concerns and they seem to be educated about the subject matter. "People seem to know what they are talking about when they come to council."

Kelly: One of City Council's jobs is to help the public better understand what's going on in the city. He said he is constantly writing opinion pieces to the media, his own blog and on other websites to educate the public. City Council needs to be more engaged with the public and the media.