Berea City Council candidates discuss local issues at forum hosted by Berea College SGA

Oct. 26—Ricki Pryor

Candidates for Berea City Council, Berea Independent School Board, and Berea's mayor met with Berea College students Tuesday night for a public candidate forum.

The forum was hosted by Berea College's Student Government Association and took place in the college's Alumni Building.

Only five of the 11 candidates running for a seat on the Berea City Council participated in the discussion of local issues.

Three currently-serving city council members — Steve Caudill, John Payne, and Katie Startzman — were joined by Teresa Wren and Rebecca McClure Isaacs for an hour and a half forum which focused on topics such as infrastructure, public transportation, broadband access, public safety, and the relationship between Berea College and the city.

Rebecca Blankenship, a candidate for Berea Independent School Board, also participated in Tuesday's forum.

Current city council members Jim Davis, Jerry Little, Teresa Scenters, Ronnie Terrill and Cora Jane Wilson did not attend. Berea City Council candidate David Rowlette was also absent from the forum.

Berea Mayor Bruce Fraley, who is running unopposed, also participated in Tuesday's night discussion alongside his wife Linda.

"I'm here as a citizen and as someone who wants to practice what I preach," Fraley said of his reason for attending. "I think everyone should be engaged and understand the issues. I'm here because I'm interested in the students and community members' questions and concerns and to have a dialogue. We're all in this together... and I believe we need more of this."

Startzman, who currently owns Native Bagel and Nightjar, introduced herself by highlighting a bit of her background as a knitwear designer and her work within the non-profit industry before deciding to become an entrepreneur. The council member said she feels honored to be able to serve her community and explained her own learning curve regarding local government.

"Being on the city council is just one way to have an impact as a community member. One thing I have learned, and often frustrates me, is the pace of government. As an entrepreneur, I can make decisions and changes quickly... but I've learned that government can be a slow process," Startzman explained.

Wren, a native Berean, said she felt compelled to run due to her strong ties to the community.

"I was actually delivered by the late Mayor Dr. Clifford Kirby, while he was serving as mayor," Wren said with a laugh. "You could say I have strong roots here, right from the beginning."

Wren works as a school bus driver for the Madison County School System and said, if elected, she hopes to focus on ways Berea can better support children and students. The candidate said she would like to see a community center built in town that could provide a safe place for young people and community members to interact, learn, and create together.

"There is really no place for kids or college students to go. I want to push the community center. We need a place for the community to meet and hang out and not get into mischief," Wren explained.

Caudill has served on the Berea City Council for eight years and said his drive in seeking reelection is to continue to make a positive difference in his community.

"There is a lot of talented and amazing people who have come to Berea. I think we've grown in a lot of amazing ways and I continue to want to serve, because I think the work we do is important. It's local politics that make a real difference in our family and friends' lives. While national politics are important, it's local decisions that really affect people's day-to-day lives," Caudill said.

Isaacs, a retired educator from Berea Community School and lifelong Berean, said she is running for city council in an effort to give back to a community that has given so much to her. The candidate said, if elected, she hopes to foster a stronger relationship between the town and Berea College.

"I was raised between the college and the community. I would like Berea to get back to that. The college and the community need to come together more and help and learn from each other. We need to make people more aware of what is going on at both places and support each other," Isaacs said.

John Payne is a Berea College graduate and has spent the last 22 years working for the Madison County Public Library. The incumbent city council member has served as chair of the city's parks and recreation committee and public works committee.

"We really have an opportunity to help the quality of life of people around us. Anywhere we decide to put public money has an impact. Everything we get to do as a council member has a chance to affect everyone of us," Payne said of the responsibility of serving on the council.

Blankenship, a mother of seven children who have all attended — and four who are currently attending — Berea Community Schools, said she felt compelled to run for a seat on the Berea Independent School Board after only two candidates filed to fill the three seats up for election.

Blakenship said, if elected, she hopes to increase teacher and school support staff pay while also improving communication and transparency at the school system. The school board candidate also wants to work on creating more opportunities for non-college bound students to receive technical training.

"I want our community, our students, and families to know what resources are available to them through the school," Blakenship said. "There's a lot of things we could do that could make a real difference. I'm really proud of the school system we have and I want to keep it great."

The first topic of discussion at Tuesday's forum was how candidates could improve a perceived gap between Berea College and the city.

Caudill said it would be foolish to ignore the "symbiotic relationship" of Berea College and the City of Berea, by noting the city would not even exist if the college had not been founded. The city council member said local leaders and college administrators should understand the needs and resources of the college and the city often go hand-in-hand.

"I think over the last 10 years there has been a lot work done to move that needle. We are so fortunate as a town of our size to have a renowned liberal arts college as our epicenter," Caudill said.

Isaacs said the college and city officials need to "make ourselves more available to each other." The candidate remarked that, in the past, the lines between the college and community were often blurred as Berea citizens served as host families for students and community members could take classes, like piano lessons, at Berea College and also performed alongside students in theatre productions.

Startzman said she felt there had been a "divestment" of faculty and staff of choosing to live in the community. The city council member said, years ago, Berea College faculty members even served on the Berea City Council and helped make decisions regarding both the school and town.

"That feels like a real loss to me... I'm very interested in the actual data of how many faculty and staff live in Berea... It's hard (to form strong partnerships) when you don't have people seeking leadership outside the college," Startzman added.

Connor Courtney, executive president of Berea College's Student Government Association, said he agreed with Startzman that there has been an erosion of professors living in Berea and questioned whether affordable housing may be a factor.

"So many commute from Lexington. It's troubling, because one of our eight Great Commitments is centered on living and learning, simultaneously, together, inside and outside the classroom. That applies to faculty and staff, too," Courtney said.

However, he did note that when the college was shuttered for a time during the pandemic, students, staff, and some faculty had some difficulty finding affordable housing in Berea. Furthermore, faculty housing availability on campus is only for a brief time, Courtney added.

Wren said she knew first-hand how the college can transform community members through programs like the New Opportunity School for Women. The candidate said she was a graduate of the program which was founded in 1987 by Jane Stephenson, wife of then-president of Berea College, John Stephenson.

"It started at the college and then grew," Wren added."There is so much opportunity there to benefit both the college and community."

Payne said the community and college have fallen into a habit of treating each other like "two different entities," but assured the students present that they were a part of the city of Berea and had much to offer.

"Whether you are here for a semester, or four years, or stay longer — you are Berea citizens during your time here. All the work we do on the city council is for your benefit, as well. You should all feel like you are a part of this community," Payne said.

Berea College SGA Executive Vice President Ezra Lanoue asked the candidates if more could be done to increase the walkability of Berea.

"As we talk about bridging the gap of the college and the town. I feel like we need to discuss the need for more sidewalks or pathways for students to navigate the city. If we are physically isolated by a lack of accessible paths, I think that does reinforce a separation between us," Lanoue said.

Many Berea College students present noted the dangers faced by students who attempt to walk to Walmart or other businesses in town and the lack of car ownership among their peers.

Payne said the city council has prioritized improving local sidewalks and noted Berea's designation as a trail town, which has created safer pathways for citizens to navigate.

"It's not going to happen as quickly as we would like, but as long as we keep it a priority and local leaders keep working to make it happen — we will get there," Payne added.

Startzman echoed Payne on the need for "safe routes to places that may be less recreational and more utilitarian."

"We should definitely prioritize that when we are looking at new road projects. It's hard to go back and retrofit things that are already existing. It's more a matter of continuing to prioritize it and be creative in finding funding opportunities to create safer paths," the council member added.

Berea College SGA BOR Chair Ket Perkins asked the candidates about what could be done to also improve availability of public transportation.

"I think Berea could benefit from a better public transportation system... When you have that walkability issue, there is a need for some kind of public transportation," Perkins added. "There has been many times I've almost been hit by a car walking to Walmart, because it's hard for cars to see you."

Fraley responded by noting the city provides funds to the Kentucky River Foothills Express which provides low-cost transportation to those in Madison County and has stops near Berea College and the Berea Walmart.

"Sounds like we need to do a better a job of explaining the public transportation we do have. We need to work out a way to make it more visible or talk to Berea College administration about providing more information about this service to the students," Fraley said.

The mayor noted the discussion about public transportation with the students shed a new light on the need for the Kentucky River Foothills Express.

"When I thought in terms of Kentucky River Foothills, my original thought was to try and connect public housing and apartments to other areas. I'm guilty, I admit it, I didn't think of a college student needing transportation. Maybe we need to do more of that," Fraley added.

Payne also noted Berea College students have an important role to play when it comes to public services.

"There is an essential way you can help us. If you use a service, that service is likely to continue. It helps us when we go to the state when we are requesting funding for services like this. The more you use it, the more essential it becomes, and the more information we have to bring to the state," Payne said.

Students also asked the candidates and council members what work was being done to improve broadband infrastructure locally.

Caudill and Payne replied by noting the council worked to create room for more competition among broadband providers which, in turn, lowered costs and provided better service to the community.

Caudill also noted the pandemic exposed a need for internet access in public buildings.

Courtney asked candidates if there had been any discussion or desire to create a community recreation center in Berea that would be open to citizens and college students.

Perkins noted many students had a desire to engage with the community, but had no large, dedicated place to gather and interact.

"It's called the 'Berea bubble' for a reason. A lot of students would like a place off campus to interact with other people our age that are not attending Berea College. It could be beneficial to both the community and the college as a place where we can share ideas and let each know what is going on with each other," Perkins said.

Wren again noted her desire to work on establishing a community center in Berea and was glad to hear college students would be interested in utilizing the space if created.

Isaacs noted Berea College's past leadership in forming long-standing community spaces by mentioning the creation of Berea Community School.

"The college used to have a school and they merged the city school and the college school in order to bring the community together... Berea College was the biggest endorser of building this school. It was the college's idea,"Issacs explained.

The college contributed 45 acres for the site, a cash donation, and retired a portion of the bonds. The city council, through the federal Open Space Program, appropriated funds for the school's outdoor recreational and athletic facilities.

Blankenship added the school was built to be "extremely experimental" with the goal to bring college students studying education into real classrooms for experience. The school board candidate said Berea Community was originally supposed to serve as a laboratory where educational practices could be tested and the whole community invested in educational outcomes of all the students.

"We've lost some of the wonderful, joyous spark between the college and the city school," Blankenship said. "There's a lot of wonderful opportunities we could still explore and I'm for creating that kind of community involvement again. We deserve to have each other and learn from one another."

The final topic of the evening dealt with concerns about public safety.

Perkins said many Berea College students have faced instances of homophobia and racism and questioned what candidates could do to support people from different backgrounds to feel safe in the community.

"There are a lot of times students will be walking on campus and people will drive by and yell derogative things at them. That makes students hesitant to reach out to the community. For students that come here from other states, it gives the impression they are unsafe and not welcome here," Lanoue said.

Caudill responded by saying, as city leaders, it was important to him that students and community members know the resources they can call upon if they are harassed or feel unsafe.

"I can almost promise you, with a police chief (Berea Police Chief Eric Scott) who is as forward-thinking in terms of helping our students and our local community so that no one feels they are being harassed or attacked — you will be heard. What we can do as an institution is to make sure we are doing enough to let you know who that is and who you can turn to for help. There is no room in this city for people to be harassed in that way," Caudill said.

Startzman said it was crucial to build relationships and work to create a community that is supportive and safe for all citizens.

"The leaders in our community should recognize that being a diverse and inclusive community provides us with myriad benefits. It makes people want to move here, start their businesses here, raise their families here. The relationships we build are key. Some of the folks I sit next to (on the Berea City Council,) we don't agree politically. I want them to see me as a human being and not a caricature of who they think I might be," Startzman said.

Isaacs said growing up in Berea near the college exposed her to a diverse group of people and echoed Startzman by saying building strong relationships among the community can help provide space for people to get to know each other better.

"I was exposed to different religions and other cultures. I think we need to bring everybody together and see each other as people," Isaacs said.

The discussion hit home for Wren and Blankenship.

Wren said she was very supportive of creating dialogue between diverse groups as she is an openly gay community member.

"I am a lesbian and I'm still in that coming out part of my story. It's hard for me as a community member and school bus driver to be open. I'm all about fairness and diversity and seeing where we can lead others to believe we are all created equal. I am also an open Christian lesbian," Wren said.

Blankenship, as an openly lesbian and transgender person, echoed Wren's sentiments by saying "It's not always the easiest in this community to feel 100% safe." The candidate added Berea needed the college students' help to create a more inclusive community.

"Hate thrives when it is not contested. Everyone of us has an opportunity to stand collectively to condemn the viciousness, cruelty, and hatred that make this a hard place for people to be. Particularly, we can do that by building strong communities of the kind we have talked about all evening. That result will be people having an opportunity to know one another, be strong together, and hold people accountable when they do evil. To know, we are part of a shared set of values," Blankenship said.

Startzman said the sad reality is that "there are plenty of people in our town that are full of hate."

However, the city council member said by working together, instances of open hostility could possibly be lessened.

"That is the power in building these relationships with each other and also with other people in our community. Then we can say collectively, 'This is unacceptable. This is the line. We have civility, here.' There is more accountability in that," Startzman said.

Fraley assured students worried about their safety that there were plenty of Berea citizens that supported them.

"I grew up here, too. There were a people back then that were throwing the bird up out the window and calling people 'queer-this or a bad-name-that.' My point is, when people were doing it then, and when people are doing it now — those are a small number of people — and they do not represent the fabric of this community... The people that yelling at you do not represent the values of the vast majority of this city, I promise you," Fraley said.

After the forum, Courtney said he and other students were pleased the candidates and current city council members seemed willing to engage in deep conversations on shared issues and forge a greater partnership between the city and Berea College.

However, the student leader lamented the fact students missed hearing from the other candidates running for local office.

"I emailed all the Berea City Council candidates... and I would've really liked the rest to come. I think it's disappointing they missed out on a very good conservation. It was an opportunity to engage with a different set of constituents that they likely won't have another opportunity to do again before the election," Courtney said.

The SGA Executive President said, with the success of Tuesday's forum, the student organization hoped to host other such events with city leaders in the future and will be taking information garnered from the forum back to college administrators.