 Good evening and welcome. I'm Diane Meyerhoff host for tonight's candidate forum for Essex Junction trustee Tonight show is being aired live on channel 17 and streamed live on the channel 17 website and YouTube We welcome your comments and questions. Please join the conversation at 862 3966 Tonight I'm joined by one of the candidates Raj Chala. Thank you very much for joining me tonight Thank you. We are gonna talk about why you're running for Village trustee and some of the hot topics For Essex and Essex Junction. So please tell us about them what qualifies you. What are you interested? What made you decide to run? Well, we've lived in The village for about 14 years and in that time You know we've raised our daughters there and I've always just been impressed and a little blown away by how much Time the people I know give back to the community Whether it's coaching or volunteering It just it's impressive and sort of awe-inspiring and I don't coach I'm interested in politics. I'm interested in Issues that impact our community. So this was a great opportunity. I was encouraged by some people in the village and decided to try it On a hundred percent sure this is going to be great for me. Okay I'm really excited to give it a shot and I've served on some communities in the village in the past I'm currently on the bike walk advisory committee, which is you know concerns itself with with walking in psyching issues in the village we pay attention to sidewalks and bike lanes and programs that will help people with all of those issues Most recently before that on the recreation governance study committee which looked at Merging our the town and village recreation departments I Was an early participant in what became the Essex governance group which was looking at increasing participation in local government and streamlining voting Our community being a village within a town. There's a lot to pay attention to and so streamlining that is is Something very near and dear to a lot of people's hearts and You know some school stuff in between And so tell me a little bit about the governance group and what did you did you talk about you sound you talked about If folks participate more sort of at the the level of the public coming out to speak or at the trustees level or what kind of things Did you hear and find out I think the group was primarily concerned in increasing participation by people who live in the community Increasing transparency what they saw as communication coming from the the boards and the government entities Streamlining voting was very important. You know we have as village residents We have two town meetings two meetings to go to we have the town meeting for the town of Essex Because we're residents of the town and then we have the village annual meeting which is coming up for us on April 3rd So there's two budgets that we vote on but you have to be at town meeting to vote for those both of those meetings Then we have Australian ballots so all in all Village residents pay for or a village residents vote. I think it's five times Every time we're we need to this so streamlining that It's a lot to ask and it impacts participation So I participated early on that that group became much more formalized they produced a great report and some action items That's rolling slowly. I just looked at it last week And I think some of the issues that were raised there are being addressed and as we look in the Essex ex-exjunction community at you know potential new governance models a lot of those concerns will be addressed as Well, yeah now talk a little bit about on the Essex junction village budget that you're proposing I assume you're voting on that on April 3rd. Yep, the trustees. I think put together a pretty Pretty solid budget. It's a very minimal increase a reasonable increase. Do you know what the number is? It's just under 3% I believe I want to say 2.8. I'm just under 3 I Think it's reasonable. I thought it was responsible And I don't really have any issues with it. I think you would particularly change or no you know, we have a lot of capital and infrastructure needs and concerns and I think They're trying to address those as quickly as possible. There are some on the books that are coming along and I think you know what? George Tyler said here a couple of nights ago, you know that the trustees are very concerned with The fact that Village taxpayers especially are paying into the town budget as well and the school budget. So The village municipal budget being I think the lowest of the three They really try to keep the the increases down. I think they did a good job on that And now you talked a little bit about infrastructure Talked to me about what the situation of infrastructure underground roadways, etc I are for particularly for the village and I suppose things you're seeing in the town too if that's appropriate Yeah, I mean village The village has a lot of work that's going to need to be done You know, there's some sidewalks that are in pretty bad shape For one and there was just a sidewalk study. I believe completed for the entire community That we'll be hearing about soon You know, we've added sidewalks in the village That doesn't mean that the existing sidewalks are in great shape. I'm you know, we've always been concerned about You know people with mobility issues whether you're in a wheelchair whether your balance isn't great You know how they're functioning on some of the some of the sidewalks the roads You know, we're a high-traffic community. We're one of the commuter pass-throughs I think I've heard something along the lines of 30,000 cars a day go through five corners even with the Cirque Yeah, well what little of the Cirque is built right so You know our smaller neighborhood roads are there's some in really bad shape out of a lot of people upset I think the Capital Committee is looking at various ways to increase funding and find funding sources for that to address It's that particular area. I think is going to be the steepest learning curve for me In how all of that comes together because there's so many different funding sources and so many different entities that participate in Getting that work done that that's going to be Right, there's never enough money and and You know, they've there's been various ideas thrown around but all of them involve raising more money so There are various ways to do that and they impact different populations and I'm gonna be relying heavily. I think on the Unified manager and the other trustees to get me up to speed if elected sure sure And but you do have experience on that the bike walk committee So you've certainly done a lot of thinking about sure about these and and we've secured some grants for for some pretty interesting work We've got some crosswalk signals going in that we the trustees helped to match a grant from free transfer that so hopefully that happens this summer fall and some pretty key locations Love to get a conversation with the school board about what they can do to work with the village if that's appropriate to You know, they're bringing they're bringing bussing to the community As soon as they yeah, as soon as they can find some drivers. They're having some trouble with that I guess that's happening everywhere, too. Yeah, right But they are still there will still be still be zones around each school where students are expected to walk So in those areas, I think the school can play a role in some way shape or form To ensure that there's a safe route to school whether it's on bike or on foot for students and that may mean looking at how many crossing guards are there or participating in In You know acquiring more crosswalk beacons or what have you and do those tend to be areas that are there a priority in terms of Walking and biking when you when you look at how you spend your money I mean would you say those are probably some of the most important ones to get kids to school? I think Yeah, I mean, I think We have a high population of students that that do walk and bike especially in the village core It's something that people are very proud of I think in the village and It's it's a great community to be able to do that in so the bike walk committee for sure has been Has concentrated on those areas Especially where we've cited the the three I believe it's three new beacon systems that we've we've put in we looked at All the school areas to there's the ones that you that you push the button in the So you can overdo it there can be too many of them So we're trying to be careful in terms of how we recommend Placement so that you know eventually if there's too many I suppose they could be ignored Yeah, well anything can be ignored. I guess when you're driving a car So you know there are a lot of partners to the draw on yeah Yeah, so sort of all the things we've talked about I think hit on the issue of consolidation or merger or whatever appropriate words I know there's different words we use when we talk about this I'm gonna use consolidation, but but if I that's not the appropriate phrase. I apologize Talk to talk to me about I what that looks like now I feel like it was certainly over the years have seen a movement toward that But you know, where do you see that going or where would you like? I supposed to see that go I can't off the top of my head rattle off All of the no, I wouldn't expect departments and positions that have been merged I know public works is a biggie. We have a unified manager now that we the two entities share There's common billing and tax collection and things and I've seen I think the trustees and the select board Quoted the figure of something like two point one million dollars has been saved over five years just doing that So that's great You know while this is going on there's a subcommittee of the select board and the trustees looking at Possible changes to how the community is governed So wholesale change wholesale changes to how the community is governed and I wouldn't call that merger As much as you know, is there a way we can Redesign, you know the whole governance for the whole community. So While that is going on I would personally like to see the the efforts that you know future consolidation of other positions or other departments kind of stop I Think we need to figure the governance question out. I think there's a goal of The presidential election in 2020 to have something to put before the voters and that's a that's a pretty aggressive timeline I Understand the the subcommittee has three options there. They've narrowed it down to and they're gonna try to flush out So I'm excited to see how that plays out But in the meantime, I think we really need to kind of stop we've gone and I think done probably the low-hanging fruit Yes, that's what I think the manager and and select and trust each year Whatever had said that that was probably the issue that it's gonna get harder and harder, right? And you know village residents are looking for tax equity But what comes with that is an understanding that you know, whatever we do has to have value for people in the town So, you know, we can want tax equity, right? We can want tax equity, but that might be a negative to a town taxpayer So we have to figure out, you know, how we're both achieved How is there value for the town resident in and coming together with us in some way if we find tax equity So that bill is still there. So we may not get to a complete and total Okay, merger. Yeah, there may be some things that are still left For the village to deal with but I really just don't know but I think until the governance Conversation has played out. I think we need to just kind of put the brakes on it and yeah And then, you know, take advantage of the same as we found but Finish the governance conversation and see what that's gonna do And so it's not necessarily a failure quote-unquote if all the all the departments don't merge I mean, there are there sounds like there are many ways really and I guess I've always thought about it as merge No merge. I've never actually thought about that. There's really a lot of iterations and especially when you talk about governance That's a whole that's huge, right? Right. Well, I mean if we merge we're gonna have to figure out What to do with this community that one board represents that's now technically twice twice as big You know, it's it's still the same I suppose for the select board right because they represent the village in the town inside and outside the village so they're they sort of represent everyone But then how do you have representation Do we need fixed representation for certain areas and how does that look all of those questions are being looked at What happens I think it's there's not a lot left. There's recreation, which has been a conversation And part of it's impressed or at least there's they're going to co-locate right co-locate. Yes Okay, I know there was some change they're locating and that you know That's that's an effort to really make it easier on residents You know when you go and you have to pay one bill it on Main Street and they have to go through the neighborhood to Maple Street to pay the other bill Or do whatever you're going to do. It's really inconvenient. So this this is a good step I think libraries are going to be a conversation Recreation is going to be a conversation and everything that's sort of left undone Police fire the unionized folks. Are they all separate still police are Already done. That's that's its own unit fire We've we the the communities have Unified sort of how they're paid okay, and how they're trained. I believe is my understanding So that's well in their way. I don't know if they're union in the same union or have the same contract, but they're mostly volunteer Okay, so I don't know if there are That's a great question for me to find out if there are paid There must be one or two paid positions and the rest volunteer. I would think yeah, I should know I should look that up You can find out but I think you know as I said, I don't know if it's going to be You know in the past we've gone all or nothing those efforts have been sort of we're going to merge Or we're going to separate or we're going to do whatever And I think you know obviously those didn't work and the folks involved over the past five or eight years have decided Let's try a different path. Sure. Well, yeah, and there's something easy about going to vote Yes or no right right but but having to vote on maybe five different iterations Maybe a much harder thing to understand too right and and I think you'll find people in the town who will say you know we've saved money to doing this and You know there may be some that say we didn't but I think that the truth is we have saved money over time Getting to where we are right least as far as I understand it Right, and I don't know that that was always an overshadowing issue I don't recall I mean when we when all the votes happened that that was something that was the premier reason for doing it I think part of it as you say is is transparency issue the governance issue Making it life a little easier for the folks who live in one or the other and you know I think there were a lot of others So I think that in some ways that was kind of the icing on the cake Whether it continues and that's not going to be as clear. Yeah, I think I think yes All of that is very true, and I think for village voters village residents, you know with two tax bills You know it it was there was a there was a financial aspect of it too and then consequently for town voters So we're looking well if we fix this then it goes up for us You know like I said earlier that you know it's it's great to say we want to merge But we have to figure out how it Somehow how it works for both Because if we just look at a town resident and say town outside the village residents say well your taxes are going to go up It's just a non-starter, right? It's not fair and and so I One way or the other be great to figure this out and and move on and do other things right because it takes up a lot of Historically it takes up a lot of bandwidth and a lot of effort so putting that effort into Coming up with a creative downtown Yeah, let's actually talk about what some of those things are when we get past that point sure because you know Maybe you'll be in trustees for a long time Well, I think you know we need to look at You know what comes next and and how to keep the you know from my perspective how to keep the village vibrant We've started to attract artists creative types We've got a very active population Increasingly senior population as well You know, how do we how do we keep downtown as an attractive fun safe place to go And and you know Move beyond being a place where people you know are in the evening and on weekends Passed through probably pass through And I think there are some interesting ideas. You know, we're having this hopefully the Crescent connector Which will be this bypass road around five corners will alleviate a little bit of traffic at five corners the word is that that should work So if that crest when the Crescent connector gets built if the predictions are true That takes pressure off five corners, which allows us to then look at how can we change five corners? Maybe it goes to four which would make it smaller and less dense and more attractive to For people to be in the downtown area and then what does that mean for attracting businesses and what does that mean for? We've already got some Some I think increased activity in the village. I mean we had a coffee shop come in almost two years ago Then a couple other businesses and there's not a lot of empty space. Is there I'm trying to think when I've been through last Is it I don't think there's a lot of empty space There there could be more To draw people in we certainly I think it's definitely changed in the last three or four years though there are more places to eat and More things to do I Think those changes if they're made The idea is that that people will want to be there. It'll feel more comfortable being on foot will feel more comfortable Walking around that area. So you'll stay longer If you feel like you're walking three feet from cars zipping through a giant intersection And that's all it has to offer then Then it's not really a thought of where you want to go. Yeah, and where you want to shop There's also a lot of new residential at least for my recollection and it's interesting I talked some of those folks and they love going to the restaurants and the bars and such down down in the village Like they don't even bother leave in town. You know, they can walk, which is great So that seems like that's also been been there's been a lot of new units. Yes, they're having there. I think a lot There are many many more proposed And now you can is that a concern on the flip side? Do you think that's going to get too congested or Kind of balanced to be struck here You know, we just had a parking study completed because the impression has been that parking is a huge issue in the downtown area But the report came back Identifying some hot spots and some potential hot spots should some of this development go in But also had solutions and I think the general consensus is we we max out at 60% capacity So we don't really have a parking problem. Yeah, we have a perceived parking problem We have a we have maybe we have a parking problem of you know You want to go and park right in front of the business you want to go to? Yeah Maybe you need to park around the corner and then walk a block or half a block to to where your destination is And you know, we are going I think the idea is we're going for a semi-urban feel My hope is while we while we have all this development that we sort of take What's called a health and all policies approach to this? Got it recent Recently received a master's in public health. So I'm all gung-ho. Okay, but there there is this concept of of integrating Concerns about how Decisions made a municipal government and other decision-making How that takes into account the impact on one's health? And you're talking about you know, just access to local and affordable food affordable efficient transportation Everything that goes into into the overall health and well-being of the resident Having that be part of the rubric When you're making decisions around how you're gonna zone how you're gonna prove development where you're gonna put parking What infrastructure you're gonna work on and when you know we're gonna we're gonna wrap it up right there because that's a good thing for Folks folks to remember giving them some food for thought And we should just let folks know when when they should when should they vote? When do they need to come out? the vote for trustee and the school board and is April 9th from 7 a.m.. To 7 p.m.. At Essex High School. Okay, the Village annual meeting where you vote in the budget is April 3rd There's a community dinner at 6 and the meeting at 7 Okay, and we're in high school and is that when when are you elect? When would you be elected or you? What is your race? April 9th. Here's the April Australian ballot at the high school. Okay, good So everyone knows where they need to be. Yes, I'm sure it's all on the website of the village as well So thank you so much appreciate so much for joining us. Thank you And thank you for joining us and we hope you will vote on April 3rd and 9th in in Essex. Thank you so much and good night