News : Meet the Candidate: Bud Maynard

Editor's Note: As the City Election approaches, we invited all candidates for Mayor and City Council to share information about them and their views with our readers, in their own words.

This is the profile submitted by Mayoral Candidate Bud Maynard.

I am a lifelong resident of Vinton. I have been married to Shannon (Elwick) for 20 years and have 2 daughters Alex, age18, and Addy, age14. I have been on the city council for 8+ years and have been very active in the community my entire life. I am currently employed as a Project Manager for a utilities contractor based in Anamosa. Our primary scope of work is sewer and water installation. Along with Sewer Plant and Flood Control Construction. My responsibilities includebudgeting, scheduling, managing the crews and working with Owners, Designers and Engineers throughout the project from beginning to completion.

I feel the Mayor has the responsibility to set goals for the city and work hard for and with the council and the community to make those goals a reality. The Mayor should be able to have the ability to listen to everyone in the community and take the time to find the answers to their questions and concerns. The Mayor also has the responsibility of getting the council to work productively and efficiently on items affecting the community and keep moving forward on them. The Mayor needs to be able to see the potential in every person and utilize and expand those skills for not only the betterment of the community but for their own personal development as leaders of the city.

We discussed many topics at the forum: I-Vinton, infrastructure, the Braille school, housing and challenges ahead.

- Not having a fiber optic system in Vinton has put us behind in the competition for new businesses and being on able to promote the City as a "Technology Ready"� community. It will be important to continue the efforts that have already been started and getting the last pieces together to make it a reality.

- Vinton is a well-kept secret in Iowa. We have everything that a new family could want Recreation, hospitals, schools shopping you name it. But we need to get out and promote the city outside the city limits. To let people know what we have to offer. If they don't know what we have they can't come experience it.

- New Housing is of great importance to the long-term for the community. It brings in new revenue for the city, local businesses and increases enrollment in the schools. It's a win-win for everyone. The city needs to work with the developers moving forward and not be afraid to make short-term investments for long-term rewards.

-A top priority for the first year will also be developing a responsible plan to address the sewer plant improvements and its costs. Several communities face the same challenges and I have been working with those communities to implement their infrastructure improvements and understand the financial impact it has on smaller cities.

- The hotel/motel task is one of those items that seem so insignificant on a visitors bill that it goes largely unnoticed but creates a revenue source to promote tourism and the city in general. It can also be used to help fund economic development for the city

- Economic Development comes in a lot of forms, the city needs to work with the VU and The BDG to promote the city. It may and probably will involvebudgeting for an economic development group that will still be under the general umbrella of the VU but operating solely on Economic Development separate from the retail portion of VU.

- The top challenges for 2018 will be the sewer plant upgrades plan and getting the city ready for new housing.

- The Braille School and discussion with the regents is in progress. The IBSSS Committee has been selected and they are moving ahead separating and assigning different tasks for research and review for the campus. I am very confident that the group will leave no stone unturned and research each idea suggestion to its fullest. They are in constant communication with the regents and when they feel they have exhausted every avenue will present their results to the city council. The council will have the confidence to know that all the cards are on the table and be able to make the best decision for Vinton.

- I hope to be able to serve the community as Mayor, I feel having generations of family attachment to the community and bringing the experience of years on council is a great advantage to being able to fill the position and make the transition while maintaining consistency. We have worked years to get the right people in the right positions and it's time to benefit from the hard work!