By Wayne Gates

Two seats on Georgetown council are up for election in 2019, with three people looking to fill them.

Incumbents Nancy Montgomery and Ginny Colwell and challenger Forrest ‘Buddy’ Coburn were all sent a list of questions by The News Democrat to assist voters in making a decision.

Their unedited answers are below, listed in order of receipt.

Why are you running for council and what qualifications would you like voters to be aware of?

Coburn: “I have worked in service to the citizens of Brown County and Georgetown for thirty-three plus years. I started my Law Enforcement career in 1986 as a Deputy Sheriff and rose to the Rank of Detective Lieutenant with that department. I started my career with Georgetown Police in December 1999 and became the Chief of Police in January of 2003. | remained in that position till my retirement in November of 2013. | have remained a member of the Georgetown Police Department through this date. I spent nearly four years with the Brown County Prosecutor’s Office as their Investigator and I have been Brown County Coroner, Dr. Timothy McKinley’s Chief Investigator for nearly twenty-seven years.

I believe my experience as an officer/chief has given me a unique in-site to many of the issues that Georgetown is facing and will face in the future. I have developed and worked with-in set budgets and understand the need to spend money cautiously and intelligently. I feel that when there is a need to spend the village money it should be done only on projects that benefit the village in such a way that there will be a positive return to the citizens of the village. I think any project that is using village money and/or personnel and equipment should be researched thoroughly and a complete cost analysis be completed. Then the project should be weighed as to just how much benefit it will be to the majority of our citizens. Although, I am conservative in my business approach, | am fully aware of the fact that sometimes you have to spend money to make or save more money.

Montgomery: “Before being appointed to council in 2017, I had been attending council meetings as an interested citizen. Upon hearing of concerns and opportunities that were being presented to the council, I recognized that my background could be helpful and make an impact. I realized that I wanted to be involved in making the Village of Georgetown a more livable/likeable community.

I am a graduate of Miami University and Xavier University. My education as a librarian and educator brings skills of listening, asking questions, organization, and working for public interests. My first order of business when I was appointed to council was to attend the Ohio Municipal League training for new council members. It introduced me to the responsibilities of a councilmember and the inner workings of village council. This training has proven to be invaluable to me.”

Colwell: “I have lived in Georgetown most of my life and care deeply about the residents and our town. I have served in several village capacities, one being a past and current council member. I attend many Georgetown public events and talk to people about their concerns and ideas. As a council member, I make some important decisions and I give careful consideration when voting on an issue. I vote as a representative of the people since that is what I believe and elected official should do. I am a voice for the people.

(Challenger) What issues would you have concentrated on as a member of council and is there anything that council has done that you disagree with?

Coburn: “The decline of our businesses and the need to improve our infrastructure are two area’s I would have had a strong interest in. It is my belief that any village lives or dies with its businesses and both existing and potential businesses need the village they are located in to have a solid infrastructure. Additionally, the citizens that live in a village need and rely on good sewers, water supply, streets and sidewalks.

Not knowing all the information about why council has made the decisions it has does not allow me to give an honest answer to this part. It would not be fair nor the right thing to do to criticize anything or anyone of the current council members. I know them all and believe their decisions are based on what they feel is the best thing to do.

(Incumbent) What have you personally accomplished as a member of council during your tenure that benefited village residents?

Montgomery: “Having a background in education with an emphasis on research and grant writing, I saw the chance to utilize my background to investigate and write grants for opportunities to benefit our village and citizens. Examples of personal accomplishments are having written and received grant to install the Senior Playground at the Kathryn Hanlon Park, the grant for the dog park at the Kathryn Hanlon Park, and the grant for the Bicentennial Park. All of these grants required matching funds which I am proud to say were met through donations and fund raising, not costing the citizens any tax dollars. I am also a co-founder of Kegs for a Cause, our annual beer fest on the square, that raises money for local projects. This year the money raised went to improve our park playground and buy playground equipment for smaller children.

I brought the voice of the people to village government by introducing charter and its benefits. I am currently working on bringing much needed improved internet access to Georgetown by initiating the installation of fiber optics. Fiber optics will not only benefit the people of the village personally but will also improve opportunities for living wage jobs to come to Georgetown. This will be underwritten by a grant written by several other members of village government and me. We just received word the fiber optics grant has been approved. Live streaming of council meetings was something I felt strongly about when I became a council member, and as many of you know, we are now streaming all council meetings.

Colwell: “LED street lights throughout our village provide better security for our residents and helped save a large amount of money. I helped secure a grant for the revitalization of the downtown sidewalks, street lamps and underground electric. I continue to support funding our police department to keep our officers safe. I worked to make improvements and helped solve ongoing issues at Confidence Cemetery. I would have supported continuing the Stanley/Black & Decker property tax abatement. I support making the finances of the village and fire/EMS available for all town residents to read. I voted to remove the 2.4 mil fire levy tax if the 9.5 mil fire/EMS tax levy passed. This would have made the tax levy 7.1 mil. The new Merchant’s National Bank building is open for business and I voted to make land available for construction of the bank.

What are the three biggest issues facing Georgetown and what is your plan to help address those issues?

Coburn: “Number One. The financial stability of the village now and in the future.

In order to insure this, we must bring in more businesses into the village. I truly believe we have to develop an aggressive Pro-business plan that will make it profitable for an existing business to survive and grow and make Georgetown an attractive location to start a new business. All avenues of financial assistance must be made available to the business community from Tax Abatements; Utility rates; low interest loans; village assistance on Utility’s installation.

Number Two. The upgrading and expansion of the village infrastructure is also of vital importance. This goes hand in hand with the financial stability of the village. | would work to develop a plan to make it attractive and financially possible for property owner’s outside the corporation limit to come into the village and open their property’s for development. | will propose the repair/expansion of the sidewalk system in the village. There are several area’s that need to be repaired/replaced and there are areas that have none and need sidewalks for the amount of foot travel these areas receive.

Number Three: The village’s ability to continue to provide the quality and quantity of services it currently provides to its citizens. Again, this has a direct correlation to the financial stability of the village. We are blessed to have village employees who are knowledgeable, dedicated, experienced and dependable. I would put our village employees up against any other village anywhere. In order to keep this level of employee we have to remain competitive with the wage and benefit package we provide. I will work closely with the other council members to explore and pursue all available resources we can find to be able to continue to provide for our employees.

Montgomery: “ For me the first and foremost issue is living wage jobs. I have begun to address this issue by bringing fiber optics to Georgetown. This utility will enhance our ability to market this area to companies looking to locate in smaller rural areas. We must clean up the town and make it inviting to businesses to want to locate here. This shows potential companies that we have pride in where we live and want to share that with others. I will continue to push for the enforcement of ordinances that can bring this about. We must also improve our marketing and economic development opportunities and be aligned to offer incentives to attract companies to Georgetown.

I will also continue to work with local businesses. Small businesses represent 95% of all business in the U.S. Our local businesses create jobs and foster our economy. They keep money close to home and support our community. Village government needs more communication with our local businesses. This may take the shape of a business advisory group to council, a regular get-together (ex. breakfast) between village officials and local business owners, or special invitations to business owners to council meetings or committee meetings to discuss issues. I have helped solve one major problem for a local business just recently by presenting her problem and a solution to the appropriate village department. Business owners need to come to the village council and make us aware of their problems, issues, and concerns. I look forward to continuing to work with our local businesses, helping them solve the problems and issues facing them, and helping them grow and succeed in our community. Communication is the key so we can work together to be sure our businesses thrive.

Secondly, an emergency room/24-hour urgent care site is a must. Council is aware of the need and is working with Oglethorpe, the company occupying the old Brown County General Hospital location, to obtain services that could be housed in the old emergency room. We will continue to contact health networks and hospitals in the region to supply this needed service. I will encourage village government not to let this sit on a back burner but to be something that is continuously addressed until resolved.

Thirdly, this community is rich with history. It is imperative that we have an historic maintenance/preservation program in place that will help maintain the rich history that is Georgetown, a history that brings tourists and visitors to our community. This may be providing low interest funding to businesses in the historic district for maintaining the integrity of their buildings. It may be that we assist in helping these businesses find grant opportunities, only available to historic programs. It may be that we continue working to bring the historical society and village government together to provide needed guidance to preserve these landmarks.

It is my belief that all of these issues impact one another. Jobs are dependent upon companies that want to locate in clean, well preserved areas with accessibility to high quality technology and emergency healthcare. They are looking for areas that are inviting to a potential workforce and pride themselves on good schools, friendly businesses, and welcoming citizens.

Colwell: “Georgetown needs an Emergency Room. We need to continue to try to find a hospital willing to open an ER. Not only would it provide medical care to those needing medical treatment but it would also create jobs. As a member of council we must provide police protection and fire/EMS services. If the levy is passed to reduce the funding of the fire/EMS we must develop a backup plan to continue to provide the quality care the fire/EMS provides for the people in our town and the township. Attracting businesses to come to Georgetown would provide jobs and revenue for our town. We have lost some large employers and we desperately need to get some businesses to open and employ our townspeople who are in need of jobs. Thank you to all who have supported me in the past, and I ask for your vote to allow me to continue to be a voice for YOU, and the people I represent.