Kuna Grange candidate forum turnout was fantastic

About 80 people showed up for a standing-room-only forum at the Kuna Grange Monday night to hear Kuna’s mayoral candidates hold forth on a wide array of topics.
The forum focused on such topics as the city’s planning & zoning department, the local improvement district, the communication gap between the city and residents and the Boys & Girls Club.
Below are highlights of what was said.
Greg Nelson
Planning department: When asked about the perceived independent control held by the city’s planning director, Nelson reiterated his position that he would not keep on the current planning director. He said businesses all over Kuna are unhappy with the way the city has treated local businesses. He cited Pie Face’s effort to build a deck, a local church’s effort to put in a community garden, among other problems.

Scott Dowdy
City priorities: When asked why the city seems to act quickly on some things of interest to the city (107-acre park, city hall bond, urban renewal) but has spent five years working on something of interest to the residents, such as the Boys & Girls Club, Dowdy said some issues are easily resolved, while others are not. He said it was his understanding that there were a number of difficult issues surrounding the Boys & Girls Club, primarily with ACHD and road access. As far as prioritizing, he said it’s hard to know what’s a priority for the community without feedback.

Richard Cardoza
Local improvement district: Cardoza was asked what the impact on the city would be if the city loses the $30 million LID lawsuit. He didn’t answer that but said that he estimates that the annual cost to operate the new wastewater treatment plant is about $400,000 to $450,000. He said he suggested closing the plant to save money and would like to see an analysis of that option. He also said the city is not being fair to LID landowners and he’d like to talk to Meridian about using the plant to offset costs.

Much more of what was said is in this week's issue of the Kuna Melba News.