Meet the Township Committee candidates
ANDOVER TOWNSHIP — There are two candidates vying for one three-year term on the township committee. (Although there is another seat on the ballot, Dolores Blackburn — who was appointed to the seat last year — is running for it unopposed.) The two candidates for the remaining seat are Tom Walsh and David Kolstad. Walsh is the incumbent, and he is a Republican. Kolstad is an Independent. Here are their answers to some questions posed by the Township Journal:
David Kolstad
Briefly describe your professional and political background and its relevance to being a township committee member.
I have lived in Andover for 10 years and for the past five years have regularly attended township council meetings. I have served as an active member of the Andover Township Environmental Commission since my appointment in 2011. I am a cofounder and treasurer of Sustainable Andover, which was formed in 2012 and established as a standing committee in Andover Township earlier this year. My service on these committees and attendance at council meetings have provide me with a keen understanding of municipal process, as well as, a good background for addressing the issues and challenges facing our community today which include managing its continued growth and maintaining our community as a quality place to live and work.
I have always sought out opportunities to serve my community and have held leadership positions in a variety of organizations. While in high school I served as an at-large member on the local Community Education Advisory Board. At Colorado Mountain College, I was elected President of the student body. And before graduating with a B.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder, I held positions as a Group Leader and Regional Coordinator of a grassroots lobby organization dedicated to ending world hunger, served on the Student Board for the Performing Arts, and as a Facilitator for the University’s Restorative Justice Project.
What do you see as the single biggest challenge facing Andover Township?
I see the single biggest challenge as managing future growth in our community by promoting‘smart growth’ within the township. Smart growth is creating an effective balance between residential, commercial and industrial development, whileprotecting our natural resources and maintaining the quality of life that we all value. If we demonstrate a will to adhere to the principles of sustainable development, Andover Township’s beauty, natural resources and quality of life will continue to attract new residents and businesses that will be great assets to our community.
In what direction should the township go to begin meeting that challenge?
I feel that we need to promote Andover Township as a great place to live and do business. We need to create a vision of the community that encourages the right kind of growth, to attract the right kind of businesses. To help achieve that goal, developing a community identity is essential. As part of the process, I would push for increased community participation on our boards and committees to ensure that the input of all citizens is considered as we move forward.
We need to ensure that a balance is maintained between residential, commercial and industrial growth. A town that has too much residential (a bedroom community) creates a heavy tax burden on those that live in town. However, total reliance on commercial and industrial ratables is not the answer either. In a study on Morris County’s 39 municipalities over a 20-year period, Leonard W. Hamilton of Rutgers University, showed that the ratable-rich municipalities gained no tax advantage. He stated that, “Dollar for dollar their cost for running local government have remained the same as for the towns that preserved their residential character.”
The key is attracting commercial and industrial ratables that are great assets to our community.
Given the shrinking student population and increasing real estate taxes, do you think Andover Twp needs to increase its number of residents? If so, how do you propose to attract new home buyers? If not, how do you propose giving current home owners relief?
The Township Committee’s budget does not include the schools, by state mandate, and it therefore has no authority to make decisions that impact the school budget. The Andover Regional School Board’s portion of the tax burden to residents is roughly 55 percent of the tax assessment in any given year.
That being said, we need to focus on ways to reduce those costs without sacrificing the quality of education that we provide to our children. Student populations fluctuate over time and the Andover Regional School Board may find justification in consolidating the schools, at some point in the future, which could result in a reduced tax burden.
Our community is currently growing and I feel that encouraging 'smart growth,' or balanced growth will allow for an increased tax base without sacrificing our quality of life. We should promote the community as a great place to live, emphasizing the natural resources and beauty to attract residents and businesses that value these ideas. This will naturally increase our tax base while protecting our resources. At the same time, I would encourage participation by the community at large in the activities of the township to ensure that the township’s goals are achieved without further increasing costs.
Tom Walsh
Briefly describe your professional and political background and its relevance to being mayor.
My professional and political background is relevant to being committeeman because they require leadership and management skills. I managed as many as one hundred ten people in a large supermarket at the age of 26; I have risen to management in three different businesses. I currently own my own business for 21 years, I have been on the township committee for 9 years, and Mayor for 4 years. I have been liaison to the Police Department, Board of Education, Recreational Department, the DPW for 7 years, the Finance Department for 7 years, Clerk’s Office, and Environmental Commission. In past years, I was the president of the Highland Soccer Club, and still very involved coaching the past 18 years for Andover Recreational Basketball.
What do you see as the single biggest challenge facing Andover Township?
What I see as the single biggest challenge that is facing Andover Township is stabilizing taxes, and attracting businesses to do that.
In what direction should the township go to begin meeting that challenge?
We have set up an Economic Development Committee to try to bring in new businesses. We have two sewer service areas approved by the county and state, which we have been working on the last 6 years. Sewer service areas will allow us to bring in the right type of business to the right areas of town. Acquiring a Waste Water Treatment plant is now the key; also to keep pounding at the state to set the same 2 percent cap on themselves as they do the municipalities and return the energy tax receipts to the township. In Andover Township, that comes to 7 tax points.
Given the shrinking student population and increasing real estate taxes, do you think Andover Twp needs to increase its number of residents? If so, how do you propose to attract new home buyers? If not, how do you propose giving current home owners relief?
The state's strategic growth plan is what is dictating a lot of what Andover Township will look like in the future. We need to act as quickly as possible to accomplish what I had answered in question #3, so that we are ahead of the curve. The state is in favor of pushing the population back towards the urban areas and mass transit. One thing that should help our township is the train station off of Roseville Road for the Lackawanna cut off. The service may be limited at first, but we have to start somewhere. Excellent schools, police department, emergency services, and recreation will attract people, so we must stay diligent!