09212007 - News Article - Portage mayoral candidates talk growth - Velazquez, Snyder make their case to chamber members

Portage mayoral candidates talk growth
Velazquez, Snyder make their case to chamber members
NWI Times
Sep 21, 2007
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/portage-mayoral-candidates-talk-growth/article_a4d9578d-f13d-546c-a49a-1490ef126128.html
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.