There are seven candidates running for four seats on Upper Arlington City Council. Pencilstorm asked each of the candidates five specific questions centered around issues that impacted Upper Arlington residents and questions that were being raised by fellow voters. Pencilstorm will be posting their complete and unedited answers individually throughout September and reposting all their answers together before the election. School Board candidates will appear in October. Answers will be posted in order they're received. Our fourth candidate, Kathy Adams, is featured below.
Kathy Adams, Upper Arlington City Council Candidate
Kathy Adams
https://kathyadamsforua.com/
What makes you qualified to have oversight of the $72 million city budget?
I work as a lawyer for the state of Ohio in the finance section of my office, where I represent clients with much larger budgets than the Upper Arlington city budget. I have worked for the state for over 15 years, and public service is so important to me that it is what I have chosen for my career.
I work on large construction projects and energy conservation performance contracts for my state clients, and I understand the financial implications of the decisions of public officials. I am a fiscal watchdog of state taxpayer funds, and I take that responsibility very seriously.
What steps do we need to take so that the new community center is the best it can be for all Upper Arlington citizens?
Continued communication and engagement with residents is key. I was supportive of the community center, and I did a lot of canvassing work in support of the community center ballot issue. I thought the city did a good job of communicating and engaging with residents for the ballot issue, and residents had a lot of great ideas. We need to continue that process as the project is developed.
I would like to see engagement with seniors, because I want to advocate for our seniors and I think there are so many opportunities for the community center to provide not just a space for social contact and programming for seniors, but also intergenerational opportunities and innovative health care options. Similar to the ballot initiative, the city should use different forms of communication for resident input, including information on the website, mail, information sessions, and meetings with community groups.
I have asked about the sustainability aspects of the project, and I understand the city will be pursuing LEED certification. We should engage in Eco-Charrettes (project stakeholder brainstorms) to develop community buy-in to sustainable design and operation of the community center. This is an amazing opportunity to create a space that merges sustainability and wellness, with innovative ideas. To this end, we should explore LEED certification and WELL certification.
Residents have expressed concerns about the cost of the community center, so the city should be very transparent about costs and any overruns. I review architect, consultant, and construction contracts for my job, so I will be interested to learn about the terms of those agreements.
Much work has been done over the past two decades to improve the financial well-being of our city. What are the next steps we need to take for our parks and pools as we continually improve?
I learned from the city horticulturist that Upper Arlington has over 160,000 square feet of gardens, including rain gardens at Sunny 95 park that are among the largest in central Ohio. I would love to explore more rain gardens and other sustainable uses of our park space. I attended a recent event at the Westover Park Butterfly Garden, and I would like to encourage more pollinator gardens.
I want to explore bioswales and permeable pavement and other ideas at our parks. I believe we can improve on the sustainability of our park spaces without having a negative impact on the financial well-being of our city.
Our pools are very popular, including with my own family. Given the recent renovation projects at Tremont Pool and Devon Pool, I would not anticipate major capital improvement projects in the near future. It would be nice to explore salt water pools instead of chlorine, but this may not be a realistic option.
Overall I think it is important to properly maintain our parks and pools, since they are important amenities that draw people to live here and stay here. I would be looking for innovative ways to recruit more lifeguards and find a way to potentially address the heating issue at Reed Road water park if it is still an issue.
Central Ohio is the fastest growing area in the state and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission projects we’ll have 3 million residents by the year 2050. What are two things Upper Arlington needs to do to maintain its position as one of the best places to live in Central Ohio?
Upper Arlington has very little commercial space, and we need to be very strategic about how it is developed in order to attract new residents and be sustainable. We can leverage public-private partnerships, innovative solutions in conjunction with The Ohio State University, and explore business incubators and other creative ideas. I think there is a lot of opportunity to develop an Upper Arlington community brand that creates excitement. Forward thinking sustainability initiatives are just one example of a way to generate excitement.
I want to support local businesses to add character to our community, including women owned businesses. We should support restaurants and community socialization by bringing ideas like DORA (designated outdoor refreshment areas) to UA faster.
Housing is another major issue I am hoping to continue to work on. Accessible housing is a necessary part of a sustainable community. This involves a multi-faceted approach, since housing is such a nuanced issue.
Here’s a fun question. We’re all musicians here at Pencilstorm and are excited about the return to live music. What band or performer are you most excited about seeing live again?
Before COVID I enjoyed the free summer concert series downtown and in Upper Arlington, so even more than one performer I miss seeing free live music in downtown Columbus and in UA- with campaigning and canvassing, I didn’t have time to go to any concerts this summer! I love community events, and supporting the arts. I am most excited to see MojoFlo and Amber Knicole doing aerial performances!
Pencilstorm would like to thank Kathy Adams for taking the time to answer our questions. Learn more about Kathy at her website: https://kathyadamsforua.com/. Look for responses from future candidates in the coming days. Pencilstorm is an independent news source and does not endorse any individual candidate.
Local UA Politics coverage provided by Wal Ozello. You can email him at Pencilstormstory@gmail.com or try to catch him at Colin's Coffee.
Check out coverage of all the candidates we've received responses from by clicking here.