City Council members and mayoral candidates Gail McLeod (left) and Kevin Rourke (right) at the Oct. 22 city council study session with City Attorney Joe Couvreur.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
ALLEN PARK – City Council members Gail McLeod and Kevin Rourke, the top two vote-getters in the primary, seek the mayor’s office, which will come with an entirely new city council.
Gail McLeod
McLeod said her experience includes serving on the City Council as mayor pro tem, and on multiple occasions, in the mayor’s absence, she presided over and facilitated council meetings.
She also represented Allen Park as a voting member of the Downtown Development Authority board, and at the Downriver Community Conference and Downriver Mutual Aid, and the Downriver Utility and Wastewater Authority meetings.
“My participation has given me the opportunity to interact with other members of these organizations and create working relationships, both internal and external to the city,” McLeod said.
McLeod said she has a wide range of experience, having worked as a human resources manager, and having more than 20 years of experience with administration, budgets and organizational restructuring.
“I know how to lead,” she said. “This is going to be especially critical for an all new council.”
McLeod said during her first 90 days as mayor, she will establish regular office hours for residents to meet with her to address concerns. She said she will also review decommissioned city commissions.
“I will review commissions established by (city) charter but eliminated by the emergency manager to determine which need reactivation and staffing,” McLeod said.
McLeod said that during her first six months, she would work toward re-establishing regular annual meetings between the city council and the three school boards serving the city.
“I will also explore the possibility of sharing resources with them to address unmet community needs,” she said.
McLeod said within her first year in office, she would address the issue of periodic flooding, which she said would continue to be a priority throughout her tenure, by actively working with neighboring communities and county, state and federal agencies.
“I have already begun to have conversations on this topic, both within and outside of the city,” McLeod said.
McLeod said debt, deteriorating roads and infrastructure and water backups are major issues which must be addressed.
“Although property values are rising, we are still at about only 65 percent of 2007 (property) values, and revenue remains below peak levels,” she said. “In addition, all communities have been negatively impacted by reductions in state revenue sharing.”
McLeod said she would work to ensure that the city continues to employ highly qualified individuals to oversee its finances and spending, to work with city departments and community organizations, to identify areas of potential growth and pursue other funding sources to support improvements to city roads and sewers, and to offset other administrative expenses.
“I will also develop liaisons with local community leaders and legislators at all levels of government, with the goal of pursuing legislation more equitable to local communities,” McLeod said.
She said studies of area flooding conducted by Wayne County and the Army Corps of Engineers present multiple options, all of which will require funding from county or federal agencies, which requires legislative approval.
“We cannot wait to determine what can be done,” McLeod said. “More studies are not needed; action is needed. Doing nothing is not acceptable.”
She said she plans to meet with the leaders of communities who are similarly affected, and will contact county, state and federal organizations, with the objective of finding solutions, particularly as they relate to the Ecorse Creek.
“Even if it is something as simple as making sure that debris, which blocks the flow of water in Ecorse Creek, is regularly cleared out by Wayne County, so that residents in that area do not experience flooding, I will do everything I can to alleviate this problem for our residents,” McLeod said.
Kevin Rourke
Rourke cites his experience and commitment to the city, and said he has nearly 40 years of experience in public office, community service and as a volunteer with the city of Allen Park.
He said he has a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University, and a master’s degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from Wayne State University.
Rourke said he served for 12 years on the City Council, listening and responding to resident concerns, and eight years as a Parks and Recreation Commissioner when the community center was built.
“I understand how important our park programs are to maintain our community and housing values,” Rourke said.
He said his year on the Downtown Development Authority taught him the importance of bringing in and retaining businesses within the city’s DDA district.
“I can work with administration, department heads and lead a new city council to move Allen Park forward,” Rourke said.
In his first 90 days of office, Rourke said he would meet with the past mayor and the current city administrator to discuss what they feel still needs to be accomplished, and to learn about the committees for which representation is needed.
He said he would work with the city administrator to set up a training program for the new city council members, to introduce them to the city’s department heads, the DDA, the Michigan Municipal League and more.
“I believe it is very important to give the new council an update of what is going on with the city and an understanding of what is involved in being on the city council,” Rourke said. “We would set up a physical tour of the city’s facilities, meet with the city clerk to review all of the commissions and where we need additional members.”
Rourke said he would attend department head meetings to introduce himself, and to understand the needs and goals of each department.
“I would make it a point to introduce myself to all our employees and thank them for what they do,” Rourke said.
Within six months, Rourke said he would set up resident meetings at the community center.
He said in addition to ongoing involvement with the Downriver Community Conference, DDA and chamber of commerce meetings, additional involvement and networking with county and Downriver relationships will be a priority with him.
Rourke said during his first year in office, he and the newly elected council will learn roles and how to best serve the residents of Allen Park in a “positive, respectful way.”
He said informative council meetings, setting positive goals and continuing to prioritize residents’ needs are his top priorities.
Rourke said the top issues facing the city are flooding, ordinance enforcement of rental properties, roads and public safety.
“We need to continue to provide the services our citizens deserve,” Rourke said. “I have listened and shared this with our administration. I believe we are addressing those issues, and we will get better communicating our successes.”
He said the police and fire millage, which expires in December 2022, represents a crucial $5 million of the city budget.
Rourke said with state funding limited to $3 million for major and local roads, the city’s street millage provides $1.4 million for local streets repairs, and the city budgets $500,000 from general fund to repair additional streets every year.
“We developed a road grid based on the quality and condition of the roads and the infrastructure below,” he said. “We have been following that process. We set up a street sectioning program, which has helped us target sections of roads in need of repair utilizing the best financial investment.”
Rourke said flooding and ordinance enforcement can’t be ignored.
“We have learned how important they are to our citizens, and we need to work with our engineers, the county, and surrounding communities to continue to look for solutions to flooding issues,” he said. “Ordinance enforcement is key to good neighborhoods. We will start to read ordinances at council meetings to make people aware of some of the common occurrences.”