Candidates: Ruesink Answers Progressive Questions

Question 1
Animal ordinances in Bryan are currently enforced through warrantless home inspections and searches, jeopardizing pet owners' rights. College Station is in the process of adopting a new set of animal control ordinances that are more respectful of rights to privacy. Do you support similar revisions of the City's animal control ordinances in Bryan?

No Comment Submitted

Question 2
Do you believe that pedestrians, bicyclists, and wheel chair users should have complete and safe access to all places of residence, commerce and employment within the city? If this is to be achieved, a number of measures would need to be taken to improve connectivity in College Station, such as creating more dedicated bike lanes and crosswalks and enforcing traffic laws that ensure the safety of these users of our roads.

No Comment Submitted

Question 3
College Station has a successful curbside recycling program in place, but there is still a great deal of recyclable material going into our landfill. Do you believe the city should be promoting further actions to reduce waste and encourage reuse and recycling?

No Comment Submitted

Question 4
Farmers’ Markets can reduce transportation impacts of food, support local farmers, create community connection, increase the viability of surrounding businesses, and project our community character. Do you support funding for a permanent farmer’s market in a visible, central location?

Yes. The locations in Bryan are not at all convenient for those of us who live in south CS. Having the market at Central Park was a big step forward, but was not very satisfactory because I never could remember to get off the bypass at the right time. Somewhere on Texas Ave would be much more likely to succeed.

Question 5
Our community is sprawling to the south while more than 40% of the developable land within the city limits remains undeveloped. Urban sprawl drives up tax rates by increasing the cost of infrastructure and community services such as police, fire and ambulances. It also diminishes aesthetic appeal and increases traffic. Many cities have recognized the advantages of “Smart Growth” and taken measures to curb sprawl. Do you believe the city should take a proactive role in addressing this issue?

Yes. I wish I had the answer. Infill is needed, but so many property owners are too “proud” of their holdings. If a reasonable purchase price could be determined, it would no longer be an incentive to go outside the city limits for development. I have actually thought about making the taxes higher for the undeveloped property within the city limits to make it more attractive to sell than to hold onto the land.

Question 6
While we recognize that City Hall needs to be expanded, the citizens of College Station voted last May against rebuilding at a site on Kranek Tap Road. Expansion at the current location could meet the city’s needs while also taking a positive step toward increasing building density in College Station, thereby decreasing the pressure for sprawl. Do you support the expansion of City Hall at its present location?

Yes, I am in agreement that expansion could take place, however the way the current building is constructed, the only place that could go up is the part where there is already a second floor. I am told that the rest of the building is not constructed in such a way that going up is a possibility. That being the case, perhaps rather than expanding the current building, perhaps the parking lot could be used for another building then use the open space east of the current building and parking lot for the surface parking.

No, it would be more effective to begin a totally new building that could incorporate the “green” and “LEED” methods for new construction. At the present time we have the same size office facility that we had when we were 1/2 the current population so it is important that we do something soon in order to improve worker productivity.

Question 7
T The first Paragraph of the fourteenth amendment reads:
"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. "
Do you agree?

Yes.

Question 8
Locally owned, independent businesses can provide economic stimulus, develop human resources, reflect community character and encourage tourism. Yet Bryan has encouraged large retail development by national chains with financial incentives, thus creating unfair competition for locally owned businesses. Other communities have taken measures to level the playing field, including stopping the provision of incentives to outside competition and putting restrictions on the size of retail outlets that can be developed. Would you support these or other types of initiatives to promote local, independent businesses?

Yes. I don’t think we can stop big box stores from coming in, but we can make it necessary to have adequate space and proper traffic impact studies before they begin construction. We have excellent examples of good independent businesses that are making outstanding contributions to the quality of CS. If there are specific ordinances that need to be examined in order to make these types of firms more capable of starting to do business, we need to have the ordinances identified and bring stakeholders involved together to reach consensus about changes to be offered.