RICHMOND – Contested city council and school board races, almost non-existent in much of Ray County, in this area involve only two Richmond City Council wards.

Rob Brash faces 2nd Ward incumbent Deanna Guy.

Jedidiah Watkins faces 4th Ward incumbent Rob Kinnard.

There are no other contested Richmond City Council or school board races.

2nd WARD CANDIDATES

The basics.

GUY, 75, a six-year council veteran, said she is running to use her experience on the public’s behalf.

“We’re heading in the right direction and we’ve got some really good progress behind us and I just want to keep that going,” she said. “I love my town and I’m just wanting to continue that.”

BRASH, 39, said he is running to improve the city in which he lives.

“I’ve lived here, and I’ve invested in this community, and I want to make sure that it’s successful,” he said.

How would you suggest addressing the city’s frequent water line breaks?

GUY: Much of the system is aging, which results in breaks, but the city has acted to address breaks by working to install an advanced metering infrastructure, or AMI system, and has rehabbed water towers and wells, but there is no simple fix, she said.

“It is nearing completion now. It’ll be great for the citizens because it’s an automatic system where, if you have a water line problem, which shows an increased usage … there’s an immediate red flag at City Hall and they are able to let you know about it right away, rather than waiting until the next bill comes out. … This entails all-new meters for most everybody, residential and commercial.”

BRASH: The city’s water line issues have long been a concern to him, he said.

“That was my biggest concern the previous time I ran and … I don’t get to know exactly what goes on in their budget, but I think it definitely should be a much higher priority in the way we budget and the way we do our maintenance, because from the outside looking in, it’s not made sense to me – the way they’ve done things, the way they’ve spent money, the way they pave the streets – the next week, they have to cut a hole in it to fix something. It just doesn’t add up to me.”

From 1-5, one being best, how would you rate the city’s ability to get snow off streets?

GUY: “My personal experience has been I’d give them a one. … My experience in my neighborhood is that they’ve been prompt to address the issue. … Our public works crew is quite diligent.”

BRASH: “I think they have the ability to do about a two, but I think they’ve been doing about a four. I have noticed that, if it’s a weekend, they will just, like, not plow all weekend, but I do know they have plows and they do have employees they could pay overtime, if necessary, to get out and get the job done. There are times I have seen the city plow trucks drive around with their blades up on streets that still have snow on them, and if you’re already out driving, there’s no reason you couldn’t be plowing the street you’re driving on.”

From 1-5, one being best, how would you rate street maintenance efforts?

GUY: “Our efforts, I’d give a one. We’re limited. That is an extremely expensive issue. So, we have tried every year to do the needed streets. We’re working on the list now of streets that are needing addressed this year. I wish we could do them all, and do them all at once, but that’s not a (financial) possibility.”

BRASH: “The street maintenance efforts, I’d give them a two – they do try to keep those up in town. I’ve run into situations where I find a pothole and I call and tell them about it. There’s been times the next day it’s fixed, and they do tend to repave sections of town every year or so.”

From 1-5, one being best, how would you rate public facilities maintenance efforts (pool, parks, etc.)?

GUY: “As far as there being lots of things to do, I wouldn’t say that we have a No. 1 condition, but we do have No. 1 efforts, because there’s a lot there to do. We’ve done a lot in the last year to do very needed projects at City Hall, something our voters have invested a lot in to deal with roofing and appearance, and issues with the gym and the pool, the animal shelter, the water plant. … It’s like in our own homes: We have to do what we have both the labor and the money to do.”

BRASH: “I’d go with a two with that. Most of it’s pretty good. It was an issue last time I ran, when they were building the new park. I wasn’t thrilled. … We do have a couple of our existing parks that I don’t feel get good enough maintenance, they don’t get enough improvements; they could have invested better into those, rather than spending a lot of money on building a whole nother park. … It could have been spent on our existing ones and we’d have nicer parks.”

What is the city’s most-pressing need?

GUY: “One of the biggest responsibilities is to provide safe water, sewer. … We’re working with experts to try to do this right. … Police and fire are other big priorities.”

BRASH: “Our most-pressing need would be anything budget-related. Our budget isn’t the way it should be. … Our police, we have the lowest-paid ones in the area, which causes us to have high turnover, and when you’re not making that a priority, then that can lead to other problems. … (And) we need more business here and we need more employment here.”

Why do you like living in Richmond?

GUY: “I’ve lived here since 1976. I’ve raised my children here. I’ve found the people to be good, hometowntype people who tend to work together to fulfill all that Richmond can be to ‘Make it Richmond’ – that’s our motto.”

BRASH: “It is generally a safer community, it’s an easy commute to areas like Kansas City. I went to school here, and I feel like we have a good school system. … We have a range of property values.”

4th WARD CANDIDATES

The basics.

KINNARD, 59, a 10-year council veteran, said he is running to serve the community he has lived in for more than 35 years.

“My desire is to preserve the history, to leave a legacy and also to ensure a positive future for the younger people and the families that come behind me as I get older. I’m about making a difference.”

WATKINS, 29, a former Richmond firefighter, said younger people need to follow a tradition of “stepping up to the plate” and getting involved for the city’s future.

“We need to get in and learn while we can and make a difference,” he said, “There’s some changes that need to be made in the city and I want to be the first step in doing that.”

How would you suggest addressing the city’s frequent water line breaks?

KINNARD: “We just need to continue to phase in the work, prioritizing where they’re worst and just work from there to continue to upgrade. It’s difficult – we all know that. It’s just going to be a concentrated effort between public works, city administration and city council to prioritize and to see how we can get the issues taken care of.”

WATKINS: “A strong infrastructure is important for the growth of the city. We need to definitely come up and develop a plan for addressing that. I believe the whole water line infrastructure does need to be replaced at some point. I know that’s costly, but it’s something that needs done in order for Richmond to grow.”

From 1-5, one being best, how would you rate the city’s ability to get snow off streets?

KINNARD: “We do it oftentimes with a short staff, so the effort is a one. It’s difficult. There’s late hours and our staff works very, very hard, but I would say it’s a one because I’m very proud their effort with the amount of people that we have to do it.”

WATKINS: “Two or three. It seems like they don’t get cleared that quickly. It seems like the sand isn’t the solution. They put a lot of that down. I feel like that might just be a waste. When new ice gets on top of it, it’s just as slick again. Some of the side streets don’t get addressed and I believe that could be part of employee retention – not having enough guys who’ve been around long enough to get the job done right.”

From 1-5, one being best, how would you rate street maintenance efforts?

KINNARD: “Efforts are a one. The vast amount of work that needs to be done is ongoing and oftentimes an uphill climb, but I’m behind our team 100% and I rate their effort as a one, and the difficulty is probably a three or a four.”

WATKINS: “Three. I know they’ve been working on it. In the past couple years, we’ve seen some new streets, but it doesn’t seem like you can drive on very many of our main streets without hitting potholes or having to drive around them.”

From 1-5, one being best, how would you rate the public facilities maintenance efforts (pool, parks, etc.)?

KINNARD: “I would rate that as well as a one. We have a progressive park board and they’re phasing in various repairs that include the roof at Southview Pool, resurfacing the Southview (lot). It’s continual maintenance. … In terms of the difficultly, I’d say it raised up to a three because it’s a difficult job with a lot of acres to cover.”

WATKINS: “Two. They do a pretty good job. The parks could use some cleanup. I know they put cameras up, but last I was told, they weren’t using those cameras. I think that needs to be addressed because of graffiti and vandalism.”

What is the city’s most-pressing need?

KINNARD: “I’m going to have to give you more than one. I would say continued street improvements, water line improvements, drainage improvements, economic development, upgrade in equipment (and) facilities, improving communication with the citizens, (and) … upgrades and maintenance of the Memory Gardens Cemetery.”

WATKINS: “Looking at how we spend our money. … Also, there’s a huge need for employee retention and making sure that’s better with the city. The fire department’s had a huge turnover – I, myself, was one of those. The police department’s had a big turnover and I know for a fact public works had a big turnover.”

Why do you like living in Richmond?

KINNARD: “I like living in Richmond because of the small-town atmosphere it has. People know each other, people help each other. The people that I encounter want me to be successful as I want them to be successful. It’s friendly. It’s where I’ve raised my kids. It’s where I’ve been deeply involved in volunteerism, work for 35 years. I love the people, I love the community and I love what I do.”

WATKINS: “It’s my hometown. I love this town. I served it for nine years … on the fire department. It was an amazing experience for most of it. I think Richmond’s a very strong community. We can come together and we can make Richmond better together … and have the hometown feel, but have the growth needed to maintain and better the city.”