By Teresa Auch Post-Tribune staff writer

Of all the issues facing the mayoral candidates, the growth of Portage is the one that touches on almost all the others.

"There's nothing that's left that won't be affected," A.J. Monroe, director of community development, said. "That's what makes the 'what should we do' more complicated, because it's a complex question."

The city has grown at a steady rate since about 1988, Monroe said, and Portage has several projects under way, including the development of U.S. 6 and U.S. 20. And new ones are coming still, said Joel Vuko, president of the Plan Commission. One is by Gore Reality, south of Porter hospital on Willowcreek Road.

"Just by normal conversation, you can probably figure out you're going to have to increase services," Vuko said.

As the city grows, so will the need for the police and fire departments and utilities. But it goes further, to areas like the parks department, Monroe said.

The department recently enacted a usage fee that is paid from all homes being built.

"Many in our community would contend we have an exceptional parks department, so how do we maintain that level," Monroe said.

Each candidate has ideas of dealing with the issue.

Planning is the best way to handle that growth, Democratic candidate Olga Velazquez said. But the city can't rely on just the comprehensive plan, it also has to seek comment from the public, she said.

"Updating it, evaluating and re-evaluating it is going to help us," she said.

Part of the planning needs to include businesses, though, especially high-technology and well-paying ones.

Those kinds of businesses will help to grow the tax base, she said.

"I think it's quality business and a business that's here

for the long term," Velazquez said.

Velazquez said she plans on marketing the city to potential businesses, such as stressing to retailers the prime location of Portage between Chicago and Michigan.

Republican candidate James Snyder said he is not as concerned with business growth as much as he is with the existing parts of the city.

Snyder said several older sections of Portage are being neglected, something he wants to change.

"We need to slow down the urban sprawl, and we need to concentrate on our aging communities," Snyder said.

The infrastructures in these sections needs to be improved, he said.

Along with this goes the redevelopment of downtown, which Snyder said he would like to see move even faster.

Snyder said he was not concerned about a decline in growth.

"It's going to help the city services get caught up," he said.

One thing he does want to see decline are property tax abatements to businesses.

Snyder said he does not think the businesses who have received one have given back enough to the community

and thinks fewer should be given.

At a glance:

Position: Portage mayor

Pay: $50,000, plus an additional payment for serving on the Water Reclamation Board.

Incumbent: Mayor Doug Olson. He has served two terms, but said he wants to seek a job in the private sector.

Candidates: Olga Velazquez (D) and Jim Snyder (R).

What's at stake: Besides business and redevelopment, the city is looking at ways to support its budget. City employees were angered when they were given just a $500 raise. Safety and security is also a concern, as are streets and sidewalks.

Candidates' commitments:

Snyder: He has said he would support the police and fire departments and work to raise morale. He would also improve dangerous intersections, keep an open-door policy and implement a recycling plan that he said will save the city money.

Velazquez: She said she wants to add sidewalks, especially in the downtown area, and improve streets. She is also interested in partnering with the schools and other groups when buying items in bulk to help save money. Additionally, she wants to create several committees to increase public communication and to crack down on speeding through neighborhoods.

How would you reduce the size of government in Portage?:

Snyder: "We just need to exact every dollar out of (spending). What can we do differently to save money?"

Velazquez: "Efficiency is certainly one way to reduce the budget. Another way is budgeting for outcomes." She added that the government needs to ask the public what the priorities are and then focus on those.

Mayoral candidates talk taxes, fees

BY JOYCE RUSSELL
PORTAGE | The two candidates seeking the mayor's seat in Portage might not agree on much, except that the next administration is going to have to make some tough decisions when it comes to city finances.

They also agree the city will need to find creative ways to increase revenue, but differ on how that should be done.

"As a business owner, I have to be proactive, not reactive. As mayor of Portage, I will have to be proactive and not reactive," said Republican candidate James Snyder. "Property taxes are very close to my heart, not only as a homeowner, but I also own a mortgage business."

Snyder, an advocate of the Hometown Matters initiative, which would give more financial control to local communities, said the city has to look at ways to replace property taxes with other sources of revenue.

Democrat Olga Velazquez has ideas of her own on creating additional revenue or saving money for the city.

She'd like to centralize purchasing within the city and possibly partner with the school district on anything from purchasing supplies to technology and information systems management.

"We can decrease costs, get a better bang for our buck by purchasing in bulk," she said, adding health care costs and improving energy efficiency of city-owned buildings are other issues to examine.

"We are currently self-insured. We want to continue health benefits for employees and families, but we have to look to see if there is a better way to provide good quality benefits to employees and save money," she said.

Velazquez and Snyder also explained their views on other financial-related issues within the city:

Impact fees

"Impact fees are useful tools. It does not put a strain or add fees to homeowners who have lived here. It is a fair way for a new homeowner to buy into the equity current homeowners have been paying for years," said Velazquez, adding the fees also have to be fair to developers.

"We want to work with them and be consumer friendly," she said, pointing to the park department impact fee implemented earlier this year.

After a study, a $754 fee was recommended. The Plan Commission recommended the fee be raised to $827, but the City Council, including Velazquez, voted to lower the fee to $700 for each new housing start.

Snyder criticized the council for cutting the fee.

"I believe it is a good way to create revenue," he said.

"The city spent money on a study and said $754 a house. The Park Board agreed. They shouldn't have cut it at the last minute on the thought of politics."

Both candidates said they would look at the possibility of additional impact fees.

But Snyder said they should be targeted more toward businesses than residential development.

"Businesses moving here are getting off pretty good," he said.



Tax abatements

"Tax abatements are tools. Right now in this city we have been giving them out carte blanche and we need to reassess where these tax abatements go," said Snyder, criticizing companies that received abatements and then didn't attend a city job fair. He also criticized Menards and Kohl's for holding their job fairs out of the city.

"That will not happen when I am mayor," he said.

Velazquez said tax abatements should be based on new job development, the quality of those jobs and the company's commitment to stay in the city and invest in the community.

"They should not be given carte blanche. Each request should be looked at individually," she said.

"As they grow, the tax base grows and the burden is lowered to taxpayers," said Velazquez, adding that last year the city collected more taxes on abated development than on what it would have on the undeveloped property.

Velazquez said competition is also a factor.

"We are in a fiercely competitive market with our neighboring states, who are luring businesses from us. While we're not going to give away the store. We want to be in the running to attract good-paying jobs," she said.

User fees

"In general, they are a more fair way of sharing the cost of doing business in the city," said Velazquez, using the building department as an example.

People who need its services, such as getting a building permit, should pay for those services.

Both the building and planning departments are self-sufficient because of recent shifts in those departments to use the fees to support their budgets, she said.

Snyder also supports user fees.

"Different departments should be able to create sensible charges for their services," Snyder said.

Snyder said, if elected, he'd like to see fees set for commercial fire inspections. Each year, he said, the city's fire inspector is required to inspect businesses. It is currently done for free.

"It doesn't make any sense. The business should pay instead of the homeowners," he said.

Trash fees

"We need to recycle better as a city to keep our garbage fee low," said Snyder, who is proposing a recycling program, which he believes will save the city $250,000 in landfill fees. That money can be used to improve infrastructure, hire employees and boost salaries, he said.

Snyder said he'll go door to door to educate residents on recycling, seek grants to get larger recycling containers and make recycling easier for residents.

Velazquez said she's opposed to increasing garbage fees.

"We have to improve upon recycling efforts to reduce waste going to the landfill and look at ways recycling can make money for us," Velazquez said.

CANDIDATE PROFILES
NAME: Olga Velazquez
PARTY: Democrat
AGE: 53
FAMILY: Husband, Julio; sons, Daniel and Adam
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in psychology and human development from Indiana University
OCCUPATION: Service director at a local mental health facility
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Chairwoman of Mayor's Advisory Committee for Senior Services; founder and sponsor of the Portage Youth Commission; fund trustee for the Family and Youth Services Bureau; member of the Portage Township Schools Community Workshop Committee, the Porter Hospital Advisory Committee and the NorthShore Health Care Systems Advisory Committee
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: At-large City Council member for five years
WEB SITE: Olga4mayor.com

NAME: James Snyder
PARTY: Republican
AGE: 29
FAMILY: Wife, Deborah; daughter Reagan; and a second child who is due in November
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in theology from Fairhaven College
OCCUPATION: Owner of First Federal Trust Mortgage Co.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Member of the Plan Commission; member of the Mayor's Commission on a new municipal building; Portage Township trustee designate; member of the Portage Chamber of Commerce, Porter County Builder's Association, Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors, Indiana Association of Mortgage Brokers, National Association of Mortgage Brokers, National Rifle Association, and Porter and Lake County Right to Life
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Former Portage Township Republican Party chairman
WEB SITE: www.snyder4portage.com

Snyder: Boost recycling in city

BY JOYCE RUSSELL

PORTAGE | Republican mayoral candidate James Snyder says he wants city residents to be more green by saving the city's cash and helping the environment.

Snyder held a press conference Tuesday afternoon in front of the city's recycling garage to announce his Portage Recycling Project.

The project, he said, would save the city $250,000 each year in landfill fees. That money could be used for myriad other purposes, from hiring new employees and increasing salaries to paving roads.

Snyder said he would appoint a citizens commission to discuss benefits of recycling and how to maximize its effectiveness. The committee would report to city officials on incentives and education methods to increase recycling efforts. Currently, he said, only 3 percent of the city's waste is recycled and the national average is 30 percent.

Snyder said he also would seek grants to buy larger recycling bins along with lifts to put on garbage trucks to collect more recyclable material.

He also wants to start an education program, possibly involving a partnership with Portage High School students, to go on a door-to-door campaign.

His opponent, Democratic City Councilwoman Olga Velazquez, agreed with Snyder about the need to increase recycling, save the city money and protect the environment, but said that initiatives are already under way to improve recycling awareness.

Velazquez said the Youth Commission, of which she is an adult sponsor, is already tackling the need to increase recycling by working with the schools and the city. She said the commission also is looking at turning recycled materials into items for the city such as benches.

Velazquez also said she's concerned about using larger bins because senior citizens have voiced concerns to her that the current bins, when full, are already too heavy for them to carry from their homes.

She said she plans on boosting awareness of the need to recycle through her Mayor's Night Out initiative. She would meet with residents to inform and educate them on a variety of issues.

Mayoral candidates fight over Olson

September 25, 2007

Portage mayoral candidate Democrat Olga Velazquez is dismayed that Republican James Snyder speaks of continuing Mayor Olson's legacy, then criticizes many of his decisions.

"Mr. Snyder can't have it both ways," Velazquez said in news release.

Last week, Snyder mentioned his support for downtown development, but he worried about the city being in the development business.

"I think it's important that we partner and don't do this stuff on our own," Snyder said.

He doesn't agree with everything Olson has done, but he thinks he's done a good job for the city.

"I've been married for eight years and I don't agree with everything's my wife's done, but she's my best friend," Snyder said.

Last year, Olson threw his support behind Velazquez when he announced he would not be seeking a third term.

"Mayor Olson has made it clear that he supports me and that he will vote for me; however, my opponent implies otherwise," Velazquez said.

Snyder said he hasn't misrepresented himself as having Olson's endorsement.

"I call and seek his advice often," Snyder said. "I respect that party-line endorsement."

Mayoral hopefuls talk taxes, growth

September 21, 2007

The event was more a forum than a debate. Candidates read 10-minute opening statements and took turns answering written questions from the audience.

Velazquez is an at-large member of the City Council. Snyder sits on the city's Plan Commission.

Taxes were a popular topic, especially property taxes and tax abatements.

Velazquez said tax abatements should not be given carte blanche.

"We have to look at if they're here for the long term. We also have to look at the types of jobs they are bringing," Velazquez said.

Snyder is concerned that the City Council has approved far too many tax abatements in the city.

"It's affecting our schools; it's affecting our tax base," Snyder said.

Velazquez said the General Assembly needs to make changes to the property tax system. In the meantime, generating more revenue through user fees is an option.

"We cannot continue to support government on the backs of its citizens," Velazquez said.

Snyder also is considering a user-fee hike, but he said government must aim to be a zero-waste operation.

The two candidates also differed on their vision for economic growth in the city.

Snyder wasn't pleased with the news that Porter hospital plans to build its new campus outside of Portage.

"I believe this is absolutely ridiculous. Our city has the largest concentration of residents in Porter County," Snyder said. "What kind of city leadership lets this happen?"

Velazquez has pitched a River Walk development, which would combine retail and recreation, along the Burns Waterway

Snyder is skeptical of the city's plans to develop that project and a 155-acre office professional park west of AmeriPlex.

"I hear River Walks and fountains. We don't have the money to maintain what we currently have," Snyder said. "The city does not belong in the development business."

Velazquez pointed out that these projects are part of Mayor Olson's legacy, which Snyder says he supports.

"If you're going to continue touting Mayor Olson's legacy, these are some of the projects he has worked for," Velazquez said.

Portage mayoral candidates talk growth

BY JEFF BURTON

PORTAGE | Managing the city's growth was the focus as mayoral candidates discussed their visions during Thursday's Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

The growth that's not going to happen, namely Wednesday's announcement that Porter County's largest city won't be getting a new hospital, should be raising eyebrows, Republican candidate James Snyder said,

"I think it's absolutely outrageous that all three of the new health care facilities planned for Porter County are to be located between Valparaiso and Chesterton," Snyder said. "Three hospitals, three pitches and we strike out. What type of city leadership lets this happen?"

Snyder's words come on the heels of the announcement to relocate Porter hospital's Valparaiso campus to Liberty Township, just days after Indianapolis-based Clarian Health Partners acknowledged discussions to possibly build an orthopaedic hospital in Chesterton.

Both Snyder and Democratic candidate Olga Velazquez said the city's rapid growth presents some unique challenges. Snyder said the city needs to slow some of the growth in its urban areas and focus some attention on aging neighborhoods. Velazquez said the city is starting to receive some of the business it's long desired, but it will take time.

"We must continue to build our city so that Portage is a city people do not have to leave," she said. "I think it's been a long time coming. I think our economic growth is just beginning to bloom on the north side."

As for the city's downtown business district, both candidates agree it should be the city's center and a destination for residents, but they differ on how that's going to happen. Velazquez said she envisions the city developing a pedestrian-friendly park, surrounded by small businesses and the Ivy Tech Community College campus. Snyder said the city doesn't have the money to maintain the parks it currently has and believes the city doesn't belong in the development business. He said the streets just north of Central Avenue serve as a shining example.

"We have new streets that don't get used. There are street lights that run all night," Snyder said. "It's lighting up weeds."

In offering tax abatements to new businesses, both candidates agree it should be a selective process.

Velazquez said those making the decision need to consider whether a business is interested in making a long-term commitment to the community or if they'll go elsewhere in 10 years, when the abatement is up. She said it's also important to look at the kind of jobs and wages being offered, as the city needs to diversify its resident work force.

Snyder: City needs to develop prime locations

BY JEFF BURTON
PORTAGE | Pointing to an abandoned hotel on the city's north side, Republican mayoral candidate James Snyder said the city needs to focus on redeveloping its corridors to create a more inviting community.

"As it sits here vacant, desolate and deteriorating, it is costing the citizens of Portage valuable tax dollars that could be helping our city services and schools," Snyder said of the former Ramada Inn on U.S. 20 at Ind. 249.

The parcel, he said, is among the city's prime real estate. With its proximity to the Bass Pro Shops and other businesses in the nearby AmeriPlex park, Snyder said the corner is ripe for redevelopment and would like to see a big-name restaurant such as Olive Garden take root there.

"People come and want to build less than what we need," Snyder said. "We can't accept less than the best on this corner."

Democratic mayoral candidate Olga Velazquez said there are plans in the works to redevelop the corner, with an anchor and various outlots, but it's not going to happen overnight.

"One of the things I've learned is some things don't always happen as quickly as possible," she said.

The corner, Velazquez said, is somewhat indicative of a larger issue: The city's aging infrastructure. Velazquez, a City Council member, said the city needs to look at improving streets and curbs in some of its older areas, both commercial and residential. She said the city is working to move some allocated dollars to overhaul Central Avenue from Willowcreek Road to the city's western edge. But she said, the city could also benefit from added code enforcement, namely with junk vehicles left on streets and in yards.

Snyder also said the city needs to do more to help residents improve homes in some of the city's older neighborhoods, and said offering tax incentives could be a way to do that.

As far as helping the city improve and attract new development, Snyder said he would use his business background to the city's benefit.

"I intend to take what I know and sell the city," Snyder said.

Charnetzky endorses Snyder for Portage mayor

Democrat backs GOP candidate in Portage

September 16, 2007

PORTAGE | Portage Republican mayoral candidate James Snyder is launching a Web site today he says is aimed at increasing communications with voters and residents.

"It is a virtual campaign headquarters in everybody's home," said Snyder of the site www.snyder4portage.com. "I want to make it easy for people to get a hold of me. It is important to me for people to find out the issues and where I stand."

The Web site was designed by Todd Martin of Lodestone Marketing of Portage.

Snyder's Web site provides information on his background, issues, volunteer opportunities and donating to his campaign as well as information on polling places for the Nov. 6 election, as well as providing contact information.

Snyder said he still plans on opening up a traditional campaign headquarters sometime in September.

BY JOYCE RUSSELL
The Times