The three candidates for the Ward 4 seat on the North Platte city council took questions Monday night about the challenges of growth, housing, economics, tax incentives and tax increases.

The candidates, Aaron Edwards, Nick McNew and Tracy Martinez, hope to represent the north side of the city on the council. They differed in their approaches to development, especially Martinez, who emphasized the needs and relative poverty of the north side.

The seat is open since the current Ward 4 councilman, Mark Woods, is not running for re-election. The two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary election will advance and go head-to-head in the general election in November.

The forum was produced by RA Productions and the Lincoln County Cattlemen. it was moderated by Nebraska Board of Education President Elizabeth Tegtmeier and Bulletin Editor George Lauby.

First, the candidates introduced themselves and their qualifications.

Aaron Edwards said he and his wife Kate bought their first home in Ward 4, and instead of selling when they outgrew it, they expanded it. He wants more economic development. He said one of the reasons he is running is because his son Ayden wants to be an engineer, and currently, there is no opportunity for him to have a good job in North Platte.

Edwards said he worked with Edwards Land Surveying for 10 years and has experience planning streets and lots. Edwards currently sits on the County Planning Commission and is a right-of-way acquisition agent for Dawson Public Power District. He feels that, with his background, he understands many of the rules and regulations of development.

“I can hit the ground running and I don’t have to play catch up,” Edwards said.

Nick McNew said he loves the community and the town. He grew up on the north side, riding his bike to the fairgrounds and attending Buffalo Elementary. McNew has spent most of his life in small business, making connections and engaging with the community. He has been a member of the North Platte Jaycees for five years. He said they look for needs in the community and figure out how to solve those needs.

“Instead of looking at the problems, we look at the solutions,” he said.

 He credits his work with the Jaycees for leadership skills, chairing committees and meetings and becoming aware of the needs.

“We are on a path of growth and I just want to make sure we continue that growth,” he said.

Tracy Martinez was born in his mother’s bedroom in the where he now lives. He said he will be buried in the city cemetery three blocks away and will buy his headstone at North Platte Monument – that’s how dedicated he is to the city.

“North Platte is the center of my universe,” he said.

Martinez was raised on the west end of Ninth Street, a hard area of town in the 60s and 70s. He said some changes came to the north side in the 70s through Urban Renewal, but the city has let the north side become stagnant.

Like Edwards, he has ambitions for his children. He wishes there was enough income for his two daughters to practice law in town, now that the second one has earned a law degree and passed the bar exam.

“When I talk about how well my family is doing, I do it to inspire the people on the north side of town.” he said.

 Martinez said if elected, he would be gracious enough to say hello and smile; he doesn’t want to be a city council member who ignores people. 

Aims

McNew feels the community needs many things. He has no magic wand and can’t fulfill everyone’s needs overnight.

McNew said the biggest thing he wants to accomplish is always having his phone on and listening to those who are looking for help or answers. He applauded the transparency of the current city council and wants it to continue. He wants to be an advocate for the entire town, not just the north side, and intends to work to unite the town.

In the way of specifics, he would like to see more parks in Ward 4. 

Martinez would like to see another Urban Renewal program. After talking to the city administrator about opening 8th Street from Curtis to Adams, Martinez found out that the fee for Urban Renewal would have been $40,000 in the 1970s. He said people on the north side of town need their houses renovated, with better insulation and need better access to city services. He said the north side had needed parks since the 70s.

Martinez said putting the city Rec Center expansion on the ballot was a good thing. He thinks putting in a second Rec Center east of the Historical Museum, along with a park there, would have been a good idea.

“The kids on the northside would be able to go to the parks, and it would be an improvement for the land values,” he said.

Edwards said his priority would be to ensure North Platte and, specifically Ward 4, are moving forward. With the amount of growth North Platte is seeing and will be seeing, Edwards said a strong infrastructure is critical to success. He said there are several development opportunities in town, and having the proper infrastructure needs to be assured first. 

City expenses, property taxes

Martinez said the citizens of North Platte have been pounded with taxes since the 70s, but “we have gotten the tax level to where we can manage it, and the tax levels are even.”

Martinez said the problem is with how tax money is spent. For example, a chain link fence around the light and water building on E. 8th St. was replaced with a privacy fence. In his opinion, it was a waste of money.

He said north side residents didn’t want a beef plant — many of them cannot afford to eat beef — but now that it’s coming, residents will make the best of it.

Martinez also said city services are hard to access; it doesn’t make sense that a widower who decides to get a new mattress can’t get the old one picked up without paying for the pickup.

“The people on the north side worry about living there and trying to exist,” he said.

Edwards pointed out that public schools account for about 65% of property taxes, so the city’s portion of property tax has a much smaller impact than most people think.

“Now, we do need to make sure we are fiscally responsible,” he added.

According to Edwards, police and fire protection, and services necessary for the safety of the community are the top priority in expenditures. A good, solid infrastructure is also essential. Edwards says these are significant expenses that, but if done right the first time, “we won’t have to keep returning and fixing things.”

He agrees that property taxes are high but feels they are going to good causes with the city services in North Platte. 

McNew said that, like anyone, the city must balance its budget. With times becoming more challenging, the city must be careful about how the tax money is spent. He said he would look at it from a business standpoint and make the sometimes-tough decisions. He said he would have to prioritize, look, and be business-smart about spending. McNew said he has talked to some who like living on the north side because of lower property taxes.

“Know that good things will come, but it will take time and things will not happen overnight,” he said.

Affordable housing/ Solid business growth

Edwards said affordable housing is commonly misunderstood. He likes to consider  attainable housing. The average “affordable” house costs $275,000, and many dual-income families can’t afford that.

“We need to make sure what is affordable is actually what is attainable,” he said.

McNew said that if the city brings new businesses, it brings new people, and the city has to be able to accommodate them. He said if the price of a modest home is $275,000, new businesses must offer good-paying jobs.

McNew thinks Ward 4 would benefit from affordable apartments; he said the city is not meeting the affordable housing needs of most of the town. 

Martinez said that attracting more business is the most important thing. To entice companies to come to town, he said the city should build a free-standing, showcase building on an industrial tract.

He also said, “The key to our happiness is sales tax,” quoting a former city treasurer, because the city directly benefits from sale tax income.

Tax Incentives: TIF and Supplemental Sales Tax

With a smile, McNew thanked the moderators for letting him be the first of the candidates to speak about tax increment financing. He said he hears all the time that “TIF is a hot topic; it is taxpayers’ money (that is) paying businesses (to develop.)”

McNew is concerned about the need for more education expenses that TIF projects bring, but feels there are a lot of good things about TIF nevertheless.

His approach to TIF would be to ask himself: 

• What is this going to do for North Platte?
• How does this benefit North Platte?
• What kind of new jobs is this going to bring to North Platte?
• What other businesses would it bring to North Platte?

McNew said North Platte has sat on the sidelines for too long, and needs to do something to keep up with other towns and communities. He said he is happy to pay the supplemental sales tax at Dist. 177 to help the city grow and be competitive with places like Kearney and Grand Island.

He hopes that attracting more businesses will generate more sales tax, bringing the costs of city services down in the long run.

Martinez said TIF is not a problem; the state has already established it. The challenge, Martinez said, is that the city council has to manage it correctly. Martinez hates when a government program is hijacked for personal gain. He said the mall plan was the most insane thing to implement and he would not vote for it in the future. He said people are already paying sales tax plus an additional tax when purchasing goods.

He feels people in Ward 4 get stuck paying it because they don’t get to travel out of town to shop. They don’t have enough disposable income for that. Martinez feels TIF wasn’t needed for the mall but is beneficial for places like Murphy Tractor. 

Edwards said, “TIF is a tool. It is a tool that we need to use.”

He said North Platte is behind other cities in utilizing TIF to help grow the community. He said MicroTIF is a good tool that developers can use in Ward 4 to fix up properties and make them more viable. 

Summary

Martinez said his heart is in Ward 4; he is tired of the north said being overlooked and nothing changing. He feels council members in Ward 4 have not done enough to help improve the north side, and that needs to change.

Edwards said, “I agree we need change; vote for me!” He said many good things are coming and he is excited to help maintain that momentum. He is confident he can hit the ground running. Edwards welcomes anyone and everyone to reach out; his gave out his phone number, which is always on — at 308-530-3478. 

McNew said many tough decisions must be made, but North Platte is now on the right track. Only some decisions will be popular, but it takes a community willing to grow and support efforts to grow. He said when he has the opportunity to do something, he puts everything he has into it. 

(Editor George Lauby contributed to this report. Watch for the upcoming report on statements at the forum from Joe Hewgley and Stuart Simpson, the two Republican candidates in the District 1 Commissioner race.)

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