Candidates for Duvall City Council

The City of Duvall has two council seats up for election, in

Positions 2 and 4. In the General Election on Nov. 2, incumbent

Jeane Baldwin will face Diane Salz for Position 2; and incumbent

Mark Cole will go against Beckie Ish for Position 4.

In preparation for the General Election, the Snoqualmie

Valley Record contacted the candidates and asked them to respond to

the following four questions:

• Why are you running for the Duvall City Council?

• What background and experience will you bring to the

council and how will they benefit the residents of Duvall?

• What are the top three issues facing Duvall?

• How do you plan to address and solve these issues?

The following are the responses from the candidates:

Position 2

Jeane Baldwin

I am running for the Duvall City Council because I enjoy the

challenges. I have served 2 1/2 terms on the council, six years on the

Civil Service Commission and as the president of the Cherry Garden

Horticulture Club.

The three top issues facing Duvall are sewers, traffic on

State Route 203 and activities for youth. Sewers are a budget problem,

traffic will be partially solved by two new traffic lights and I will

continue with the Lower Snoqualmie Valley Youth advocacy group and push

for a skate park.

Diane Salz

Why am I running for City Council? I am on the planning

commission and

want to make a difference in Duvall. I am also a board

member for the Chamber and can see their frustrations.

The top issues facing Duvall are Cascade Water

District, the sewer system and economic growth. The issues at hand are

not easy ones to fix. Sooner or later we will have to go to a new water

district and come up with some money and maybe work off our

existing wells. It would be nice to have a developer or someone to pay to

update our sewer system, but until we get it analyzed, we don't know

the cost. Economic growth is on a good start as long as we don't lose the

old-town look. Which brings the people to live and shop in the city of Duvall.

Position 4

Beckie Ish

To help ensure a sound future for my family and to utilize my skills

and talents for the enrichment of the city of Duvall is why I seek a seat on

the City Council.

I manage a business in Duvall and I am active in community

concerns and events. This allows me to listen to the "voice" of Duvall and its

people. Through my enthusiasm and energy, the interests of the citizens of

Duvall will be heard.

Growth, infrastructure and community are the top three issues

facing Duvall. Realized growth can only be balanced with sensible

infrastructure and both cannot be weighed equally without community awareness for

the future of Duvall.

Mark Cole

My wife and I enjoy the hometown rural lifestyle Duvall has to offer.

In the 3 1/2 years we have lived here, we have seen a tremendous amount

of residential growth. As a current councilman, I feel the city must

guide growth in a direction that preserves Duvall's character and will

continue working toward setting policies, which accomplishes this objective.

I am a professional engineer with a degree in civil engineering.

Having over 20 years' experience as a design consultant working in municipal

public works has given me an in-depth understanding of municipal

capital improvements programs and finance. This knowledge provides a unique

and beneficial perspective that compliments the background and talents

of the other councilmembers. As current councilman, I serve on the

streets, water service, storm drainage and wastewater treatment plant

committees as well as the Snoqualmie Watershed Forum, a voice within the

regional effort to protect our salmon and fish habitat.

The top three issues facing Duvall are managing future growth,

providing for economic development and maintaining efficient, economical

service to our citizens.

How do I plan to address and solve these issues? Managing

Future Growth: Duvall will continue to see high growth rates. To

effectively manage this, we must plan for future growth by adequately

identifying all impacts which future development will impose on city

services. This planning will allow mitigation fees and other policies to be

established to ensure adequate services for current and future citizens.

Providing for economic development: A healthy community

is one in which there is a clear vision of economical development

goals. For Duvall, I feel our priorities must be twofold. In attracting new

business, we must ensure efficient use of the undeveloped commercial

areas as well as enhance the city's "old-town" business district.

Economic development polices must be not be single focused, but

rather, develop a structured plan that can accomplish both.

Maintaining efficient, economical service to our citizens:

Duvall faces many challenges in providing reliable, economical service such

as water, sewer, etc. This was most recently witnessed by the

emergency moratorium imposed because of inadequate sewer treatment plant

capacity. Identifying an economical method for the future purchase

and distribution of water service will also present difficulties. Duvall

has some tough decisions ahead and greater emphasis must be

placed upon planning, budgeting and implementing improvements

to avoid similar situations in the future.

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