By Patricia Bogumil
Interim editor
Four candidates will vie for three Village of Waterford trustee positions in the April 3 election.
Incumbent Ron Kluth faces challengers Steve Denman, Don Houston and Tamara Pollnow.
Incumbent trustees Don Hewitt and Randy Harrington are not seeking re-election.
The two-year positions p[ay $5,400 annually, plus $40 per meeting.
Information provided by each candidate follows.
• Steve Denman has been active in fire and rescue services in the village and surrounding areas for 33 years.
Next month, he retires as Waterford Fire Chief, a position he has held for the last 18 years.
If elected, Denman said he will take to the next level of community service the knowledge and experience he developed over those years for personnel supervision, budgeting and living within budgeted funds.
He will also bring with him an understanding of the obstacles and ongoing changes that lay ahead at the state and federal level.
Having lived in the Waterford area since 1976, he has experienced the tremendous growth in the Village of Waterford, Denman said.
“The Village Board must find adequate funding to maintain the services the taxpayers deserve, while holding the line on taxes. We must also continue to focus on making Waterford an attractive place to live and own a business.
“I want to take an active role in that next step,” Denman said.
Among the most pressing issues faced by the village are a number of commercial properties that remain undeveloped, he said.
“We need to actively engage our developers and lay down a plan to fill these properties. The taxpayers have made an investment and should be rewarded with more options to shop in their own community,” Denman said.
The village also faces ongoing traffic issues and an upcoming state highway expansion, he noted.
“The Board Trustees need to focus on overall costs and how it affects operations within the Village.”
• Don Houston has lived with his family in the village for 17 years.
For nearly 20 years, he has owned and operated a successful, small business in the Milwaukee area.
Houston is a volunteer member of Absolutely Waterford, which is working to revitalize the downtown historic district. He serves on its board of directors and its economic restructuring committees.
Houston also presently serves on the village’s public works committee.
“My vision for Waterford is for responsible growth while keeping the small town atmosphere that we all love,” Houston said.
“This should be accomplished without putting any added burden on us, the taxpaying residents,” he added.
The village has one of the highest property tax mil rates in Racine County, and this needs to change, Houston said.
“I would like to see com-mon sense put back into gov-ernment, starting at our local level.”
• Tamara Pollnow describes herself as a long-time Waterford resident who enjoys people and cares about her community.
She has worked in the insurance industry for over 16 years with a focus on subrogation and recovery, in which an insurance company recoups expenses for a claim it paid out when another party should have been responsible for paying. Her professional history includes experience with loss prevention and auditing.
Pollnow also works part time in the hospitality industry and has been an election inspector for the Village since 2008.
She and her husband have two daughters and own a small business.
Pollnow said she is experienced in active listening, addressing concerns being raised and has strong negotiation skills. She also knows the value of hard work and said she is dedicated to every task she pursues.
“I intend on keeping an open mind and will provide fairness and common sense in all decision-making,” Pollnow said.
“I understand the strains of the recession on our community and want to work to encourage business growth and retention.”
Pollnow said she is also eager to work on lowering the village’s mil rate.
“I plan to bring my commitment to the board and my desire to be a conduit for ideas and involvement from our community.”
Pollnow said she thinks it is important for people to be involved, adding: “I volunteer at my daughters’ school and teach Sunday school at our church.”
• Ronald Kluth, the incumbent, is a member of the village’s Board of Review, Finance Committee, Pension Review Committee and has been appointed to the special ad hoc Fire/Rescue Review Team.
He is also an active member of the Chamber of Commerce and the recently state-authorized downtown revitalization committee called Absolutely Waterford. Kluth is a member of Absolutely Waterford’s Promotion Committee and its special Wild Blue Yonder Holiday Lighting project.
Now retired from the Milwaukee Fire Department after 30 years, Kluth has been a girl’s basketball coach for 25 years, including head varsity girls basketball coach for 15 years at Franklin High School.
He is currently an assistant coach at Alverno College, Milwaukee.
Kluth is also a member of the National Eagle Scout Association and co-founder of the All-American River City Kazoo Band, which performs in Waterford’s Fourth of July parade. He is also founder of the Union House Social Club in Rochester, a social charitable organization.
As a Village Board Trustee, Kluth said he has learned and experienced a great deal
“The village is faced with numerous challenges, which call for a great deal of time and dedication on part of the Village Board,” he said, adding that he believes he has “stepped up to the plate” and hopes voters will choose to have him continue his work as a trustee.
“I am pro business and want to be part of the efforts to build Waterford to the ‘wow!’ factor it certainly deserves,” Kluth said.
As a fiscal conservative, Kluth will continue to keep the tax levy down and look s forward to not only keeping the community one that people can be proud of, but will work to make it even better.
“I believe through my experiences and training, the desire and passion, I can be a positive influence for the Village of Waterford,” he said.
Among the village’s most pressing issues are a review and reconstruction of the fire and rescue department; a five-year project of Highway 20/83 with the state Department of Transportation; completion of a million dollar storm water management plan; maintaining services with less tax revenue from state/federal sources; and revamping the village employees’ pension.
His experiences with the fire department in Milwaukee will help out greatly with the reconstruction of Waterford’s department, he added.
“I bring common sense, good judgment and the safety factor, while I will continue representing the voice of reason for the village,” Kluth pledged.
-
-
-
-
-