The Granville Press believes it is important voters have the opportunity to hear directly from the candidates with minimal filtration and interpretation.

With this in mind, we asked each of the candidates for Village Council to answer some questions. The ground rules were simple: they could write whatever they wanted and we would publish their answers without modification (other than minor format changes and typographical correction).  

Following are the questions and answers presented in the order in which the answers arrived at The Granville Press. In upcoming days candidates for the Board of Education will have their chance.

Melissa Hartfield

What is your occupation?

Contract Administrator – Mid-Ohio Mechanical, Inc. located in Granville. I perform financial work, which involves forecasting, analysis, billing, collections and risk management. Also, Manager of Lake Hudson Inc. – swimming facility. Owner of Tennis Courts, which are used by the Granville Tennis Club.

What community involvement have you had in the past?

Open Space Committee Member – 2006-2007.

Board Member Chamber of Commerce – 8 years, also President of organization for 2 years.

Member of Village Council 2001-present.

Mayor from 2005 – present.

What do you want to accomplish as a member of the Village Council?

Public hearings and finalization of the revised Comprehensive Plan.

Finalize the S. Main Street development plans and agreements relating to the request from Metropolitan Partners.

Keep a close watch over finances as the economy fluctuates in order to be prepared to make budgetary changes if revenue reduction occurs.

Maintain communication and openness with the residents.

Partner with other organizations to ensure the retention of the existing business in the community.

What could the Village do to help the Township?

The Village could help the Township in situations similar to what was proposed for the Owens Corning property – water and sewer services, based on appropriate zoning to prevent other providers from entering the area and spurning growth inconsistent with the wishes of the community. Also provide support in areas that are vulnerable to hostile annexation, similar to what occurred in the James Road area. Work together on the Pathway plan based on the final recommendations of the Pathway Committee.

What could the Village do to help the School District?

The Village proper has very little undeveloped land. The Village can help the School District by continuing to provide support to the Township with services where appropriate – at risk areas from outside providers. Finalizing the S. Main Street development to provide additional tax base for the School system.

Should the Village pay for infrastructure related to development? For example, should a developer be required to provide land for roads and utilities or should the Village be required to pay for such land?

Hartfield: Individually I am not supportive of the Village paying for infrastructure costs related to a for-profit development. Developers should pay for their own roads and utilities associated with their specific development requirements. Taxpayers should not be burdened with the costs that a for-profit corporation should be paying without assistance. Many times proposals can come forward under the guise of creating economic development, for example a TIF district. But those proposals can freeze taxes on those properties for decades, the School Districts lose out and taxpayers gain nothing in the end.

Should a community tell a landowner how his or her land can be used?

Actually, the community already does tell a landowner how their land can be used through input from the Comprehensive Plan, which then helps guide the zoning laws. The zoning laws give a landowner certain parameters and criteria for what is permitted in the Village. A landowner should be permitted to work within the law and the parameters given by Village, otherwise the process becomes unpredictable and unreliable. The appropriate place to determine what can or cannot be built is through the zoning text and being certain that uses are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan as well as the wishes of the community.

Michelle Lerner

What is your occupation?

Teacher, The Welsh Hills School

Freelance design artist

What community involvement have you had in the past?

Not only do I enjoy working in our community, but I feel strongly that volunteering and giving something back to the community is important.  Some of the things I have done in recent years include:

—Granville Parent Co-operative Pre-school  Board Member
—Granville PTO, committee chair positions
—Arts Mania instructor at GMS
—Girl Scout Troop Leader
—Co-founder, Licking County Support Group for Parents of Children w/ Type I Diabetes

Most recently, I worked with another Granville resident, Beth Smith, to coordinate the first large scale community team for the Central Ohio Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).  Our team, The Granville Gang, had over 300 participants and raised over $15,000.00 towards a cure for type I diabetes.

What do you want to accomplish as a member of Village Council?

My webpage, lernerforcouncil.com, and my facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Lerner-for-Granville-Village-Council/176624710254, offer more extensive accounts of what I hope to accomplish. Above all else, I want to ensure that Granville remains the same wonderful place for my children and grandchildren that it has been for me and my family. That means preserving the historic small-town charm of the Village; it means welcoming business development in order to ensure that local taxes are low and that residents can get the types of goods and services that they want; it means keeping taxes low and investigating all possible methods of increasing local government efficiency in the hopes of saving future taxpayer dollars; and it means working towards making Granville a ‘greener’ and more efficient community by shifting to a single-payer trash system, developing expanded recycling options, and  exploring a community wireless internet network.

What could the Village do to help the Township?

The Village of Granville can best serve the Township by working WITH it to foster an atmosphere of community and cooperation.  We are the same wonderful place - we need to work together to achieve the things all of our residents want - safe roads, sidewalks, bike paths, green space, parks, etc.  And maybe, someday, even a pool!

What could the Village do to help the school district?

Education is one of the most vital aspects of this community. Having excellent schools helps ensure high property values, attracts high-quality businesses, and fosters an atmosphere of pride and a sense of community that helps make Granville special.  And of course, most importantly, it educates our children!  One thing that the Village can do to help the school districts is to encourage future business development. Granville currently has a dramatic imbalance in the source of its school revenue, relying much more heavily on individual rather than business taxes. And while it is important to welcome new families to Granville and provide their children with the same quality education our children currently enjoy, the Village, the Township, and the School Board, must coordinate efforts to ensure that local growth does not overwhelm our schools. It is important that the Council continue to work very closely with the School Board in order to make sure that we grow together, and that we support improvements in school-related infrastructure and technology.

Should the Village pay for infrastructure related to development? For example, should a developer be required to provide land for roads and utilities or should the Village be required to pay for such land?

Issues related to development need to be judged on an individual basis. It is reasonable for the Village to assist developers in cases where the development in question would benefit the community. If, for example, Granville can attract a high-quality business that would generate significant tax revenue without severely straining our current infrastructure or traffic density, and which conforms to the building codes of the community, then I would support making a limited investment in their future, for the long-term good of our community. This, however, would not be the case for businesses that do not offer Granville a high return, both economic and social, on its investment.

A specific example would be the potential development on South Main and the River Rd area.  The Village is currently exploring the possibility of annexing this area and extending water and sewer services in order to facilitate business growth.  I would be in favor of this type of expenditure.  But typically, I  feel that developers should accommodate for the land needed for utilities and new roads within their own plans.

Should a community tell a landowner how his or her land can be used?  Why or why not?

Granville has been a planned community since its inception over 200 years ago.  Many of the things residents value about Granville exist because we have a Comprehensive Plan that guides development and building codes.  Our charming downtown and our historic neighborhoods might not be what they are today if we did not have established guidelines that protect them. I do respect the rights of private landowners, however, and I feel that there are times when exceptions to the guidelines must be made.  Each case should be judged individually.  For example, in cases where property owners have chosen to use their property in ways that do damage to their neighbors or the community as a whole, or are clearly violating village guidelines, then the community is justified in intervening.  In another example, cases where property owners have chosen to employ new technology for safer, cleaner, and more efficient  power,  the community should explore ways to allow for a variance.

Matt McGowan

What is your occupation?

Business Department chair and teacher at Watterson High School and boys and girls cross country coach and boys track coach. Editor/publisher of RUNOHIO. 

What community involvement have you had in the past?

Served 12 years on Granville Village Council, served as Mayor of Granville for 2 years and served as Vice Mayor of Granville for 2 years.  Member of Granville Chamber of Commerce, member of Granville Kiwanis club, member of Granville Recreation Commission, Member of St Edward Church, president of RunGranville Running Club and race director of the Bryn Du Summer Cross Country Series.

What do you want to accomplish as a member of Village Council?  

McGowan: I want to help our Village government provide services in a fiscally prudent manner, taking into account the wants and needs of our residents.  I want to help improve communication between our residents and Village staff.   And I want to help maintain the community we love.

What could the Village do to help the Township?  

Continue to support the Township Fire Department to maintain their current facility, as well as helping them site new facilities when needed.  Work with the Township to develop pathways to connect our entire community.  We should work to maintain a strong, vibrant Village that draws townships residents in to work, shop, recreate and worship here. 

What could the Village do to help the school district?  

We should continue our services to the school, including safety days and providing police coverage for the intermediate school.  Our police officers should continue to support the efforts of the schools as they work on their crisis and safety plans.  We should engage them in discussions about the location of new schools so they understand the impact of additional traffic flows of our residents.

Should the Village pay for infrastructure related to development?

For example, should a developer be required to provide land for roads and utilities or should the Village be required to pay for such land?  “New developments should pay their own way in terms of infrastructure.  If we ask property owners to build improvements beyond what is needed for their own uses and that benefit others, then all persons who benefit should share in the cost of those public improvements.

Should a community tell a landowner how his or her land can be used?  Why or why not?  

Our zoning laws set the limits of how property owners use their properties - - and they reflect the choices expressed by our community.  If a use complies with our zoning laws, our Village government should generally support the owner’s choice of use.  When owners want variances beyond what is allowed by our zoning, our BZBA should provide those variances only where they promote our community’s values.

Ben Barton

What is your occupation?

Employee Benefits, Insurance, Estate & Family Wealth Planning

What community involvement have you had in the past?

Granville Area Chamber of Commerce (current board member, past president)

Open Space Committee Member

Spring Valley Pool Planning Committee Member

Granville Rec Commission (player, coach, referee, volunteer since 1974)

School Levy Steering Committee 

Sugar Loaf Park Foundation 

Midland Theatre Advisory Board

What do you want to accomplish as a member of Village Council?

I’d like to see progress made to improve the traffic and parking issues that continue to dampen actual foot traffic in and around downtown.  If we can help the downtown business district thrive, then every effort should be made to improve the current situation.

I’d like to see much more fiscal transparency with regard to the flow of money, both budgetary and unencumbered funds.  If there exists a prudent and responsible way to lower the tax burden in the community we should make a concerted effort to help ease this burden.

The continued battle against "who can build" continues to be an expensive and losing proposition.  I believe the zoning laws can be improved to control "what gets built", giving the village a more clear vision of future development.  Establishing higher standards of development will eliminate much of the "cookie cutter" look scattered about middle America.

What could the Village do to help the Township?

There is a lot of common ground already, and both entities deserve credit for strengthening that relationship.  Moving forward, I think the biggest issue is development - appropriate commercial development to be more specific - and the village wields tremendous power with its public utilities.  IF (emphasis added) it is determined (think: comprehensive plan) that a tax revenue positive commercial / corporate long term commitment is possible, I think the village needs to think and act quickly with regard to the extension of utilities into areas of the township that the Comprehensive Plan has already identified as appropiate for service based (medical, financial, legal) and technology-based (OCF, Dow, Paramount)

What could the Village do to help the school district?

The needs of all Ohio schools will continue to grow, and the village needs to be keenly aware of the burden that is being placed on our homeowners.  For all of Granville’s successes in the community and in the classroom, it’s unfortunate that we end up being penalized by the state.  At some point in the not too distant future those same lines will cross in Granville and we’ll be faced with financial questions never before asked.  I truly believe that our seniors hold the key to a town’s future success, and it’s imperative that the village get out in front of this issue, so we continue to nurture the true value of these folks.

Should the Village pay for infrastructure related to development? For example, should a developer be required to provide land for roads and utilities or should the Village be required to pay for such land?

My understanding is that the responsibility falls on the developer.  Various opportunities exist to find appropriate public / private financing, and the village may indeed choose to participate in an effort to help improve the development, and move the process along.  

Should a community tell a landowner how his or her land can be used?

The community has opportunities every few years "speak" through it’s approved zoning laws, and those zoning laws should be constantly updated and improved to accommodate the types of development that the community deems appropriate.