Housing, ARPA top topics at first of two Muleskinners council candidate forums
First Ward Columbia City Council Candidates Pat Fowler and Nick Knoth shared their election priorities this week with the Boone County Muleskinners.
They participated in the first of two lunchtime forums Friday with council candidates, which was moderated by David Mallory, Muleskinners' past president. Fifth Ward candidates Gregg Bush and Don Waterman will have their chance next Friday, Feb. 24.
Fowler said she is focused on improving equity in the first ward, which will lead to other improvements, such as in housing, zoning, and more. She also has a goal of finishing out the process to allocate American Rescue Plan Act Funds.
"I have through these past three years earned the trust of many of our First Ward residents, who know that even if we don't succeed in a vote at a council meeting, they are comforted to know that we are making progress and we keep working at it," she said.
Knoth said he aims to be a problem solver and will bring all voices to the table. The top issues for him are equitable service access, sidewalks, sewers and housing.
"My campaign is not about me. It's about the first ward," he said, adding that low-income childhood experiences mean he is the best advocate for those who may be experiencing the same issues in the first ward. "Government clothed me, fed me and put me through school. I have a profound belief in the good and an understanding of the bad that government can do."
On the housing front, Knoth wants more public and private partnerships to help address affordable housing. This also could mean exploring any planning and zoning issues causing some lots to currently be empty.
"At the end of the day, the answer to the affordable housing shortfall is more housing," he said. "It is going to take every single organization who is impacted by this and private employers who can step up and help this cause."
Fowler would like to address unoccupied properties and why they are sitting empty in the first place, while also exploring rental property energy efficiency and zoning issues making some smaller lots considered illegal.
"What makes housing affordable is not only your base rent but what you pay in utilities and transportation," she said.
Both Knoth and Fowler want more transparency in the ARPA process.
"I am not at all happy with the closed loop that exists in terms of how the city is handling funding applications for ARPA," Knoth said, adding budget and department projects have greater transparency than the ARPA allocation process.
While ARPA dollars are a one-time spend, Knoth hopes that the dollars are invested in such a way that it has long-term impacts. He would like investments to reduce barriers to workforce development, broadband access, and those for the city's unsheltered programs.
Fowler sought guidance from both the National League of Cities and the Missouri Municipal League in relation to Columbia's closed request for the proposal process for ARPA funding. The answer they gave is that the closed process is out of the ordinary, she said.
"I went to city manager and the mayor more than once and said, 'Why are you putting something between us and reading these proposals?'" Because, just as Nick said, this is our one best chance to attend to years of neglect," Fowler said, adding so often this process leads to white-led businesses receiving funds over organizations led by people of color.
"We have an emerging group of Black leaders that would like to be at the table and eligible for those funds and we do not know if that is happening or not until it ends up on council agenda and we vote on it. Not OK," she said.
Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Boone County Muleskinners host First Ward candidates at forum
