Waukon City Council At-Large To Fill a Vacancy - Jean Brink, Christine Enyart, Ben Rausch
Waukon residents Jean Brink, Christine Enyart and Ben Rausch have declared their candidacy for the vacant At-Large Waukon City Council seat up for election in the Tuesday, November 3 City Election, seeking to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of former councilman Darrold Brink. The responses from candidates Brink, Enyart and Rausch to questionnaires issued by The Standard in the interest of informing voters appear below:
Please provide some background information about yourself.
Brink: I grew up in Waukon and left after graduation. I married and spent the next 25 years with the Army and raising my children. Tanya is my oldest and she lives in Waukon with five of my grandchildren. My oldest son lives in Ft. Sill, OK with his wife and my youngest grandchild. My youngest son lives in Kentucky at Fort Campbell.
When we were deciding the next chapter of our lives we decided to move back home to Waukon. We made this decision based on the values of the area, it was very important for us to live in an area with a better sense of community. I then moved back and worked as the Technology Director for Allamakee Community School District. I always wanted to have a quilt shop and opened one in Waukon. I had to let go of my position at the school in order to work my shop and I have been there ever since.
Enyart: I have lived in Waukon and the surrounding area all my life. I attended school here, married, raised my four children and started a couple businesses in Waukon. When my children were little, most of my time was devoted to raising them, but I did have a couple part-time jobs to give me some adult interaction.
When my children were grown, our family bought out the Main Street Enterprises Video store on East Main. We expanded to include homemade pizzas and chicken wings, and for a short time we added an ice cream parlor. The development and growing availability of electronic movies had a great impact on our business and our family was expanding at the same time, so December of 2009 we closed those doors. Within two weeks we were blessed with two more grandchildren, which today total 14.
I was a member of Allamakee Community Players for many years and acted in and directed plays and musicals. The most memorable for me was as the director of the musical ‘Oliver’ in the mid ‘90’s. Then I went on to direct the plays for three years in the North Winneshiek School District. My husband and I currently own and operate Main Street Enterprises in Waukon, a business and residential rental company. I attend Center Baptist Church, where I am the Vice Chairperson.
Rausch: I grew up on a dairy farm near Waterville, and graduated from Waukon High School. I enjoyed participating in sports, and continue to coach today. I graduated from Loras College, in education. My wife, Kris, and I have two children. Currently in my sixth year of teaching, I’ve spent the last four years in the Allamakee Community School District Junior High.
What motivated you to seek a seat on the Waukon City Council?
Enyart: I had no interest in community politics until we owned and operated our store. Decisions being made by the Council affected our business. I decided to attend the council meetings in 2009 to become better informed and see how the process worked and to see if I could affect some of the directions of the decisions. I have been attending those council meetings weekly for the last five years.
During that time, I brought a request before the Council to temporarily waive the ordinance that restricts store signage and sidewalk clearance. The Council, in turn, requested that I find out what the other business owners thought, so I developed a questionnaire asking for input on shopper appeal in the Waukon area. I personally walked to 90 percent of the downtown stores, spoke to the owners or managers, and delivered the questionnaires. Then a week later I went back to pick up the papers.
Through those efforts and compilation of information, I was able to show the Council the overwhelming desire to make our town more appealing to shoppers and the opinion that signage and sidewalk appeal would be a benefit to our business community. The ordinance was temporarily waived and a few businesses were able to make some changes that positively impacted their business.
Through that research I saw a need for connected advertising, so I made some fliers that listed our businesses by category: dining, collectibles, gifts, recreation, etc. and gave them to the store owners to copy and hand out to patrons. One subject that all the store owners put in their information was the vacant unattractive store fronts on our Main Street. Because I wanted to do something about what I learned, I got permission from the owner of one of those store fronts to clean it out and decorate it.
I helped plan and develop the ‘Thunder In The Park’ Civil War Reenactment because I wanted to bring new people into town and to grow and support our community. This event is growing each year and my goal is to get our business community to use this opportunity to become part of the weekend. I have a couple ideas to make this happen, but I am looking for more input.
The vacancy on the Waukon City Council seemed to come at a time when I would be best able to direct my desire to support and grow my town.
Rausch: I enjoy living in Waukon, and have always felt a strong sense of home here. I know that it’s by the effort of our citizens that we make Waukon a great place to live and work. I’d like to do my part to continue to improve our community. I’m specifically concerned with infrastructure and quality of life.
Brink: "If you don't like it, change it" is a phrase my husband is always saying. So, I am seeking a seat in order to make change. I think we need to grow as a community in order to thrive, and that starts with the leadership. We need leadership that is for the "Community of Waukon" and what is good for all.
As a candidate for the Waukon City Council, what do you feel would be your ultimate responsibility to the Waukon citizens if elected?
Rausch: My responsibility would be to help make decisions that affect the well being of our community. I think it’s important to focus on making well informed decisions that reflect the values of Waukon residents. I also believe looking at the needs of the future is vitally important; we can’t just focus on today.
Brink: I believe my responsibility would be for the good of all, that means making decisions that will benefit the majority and also being frugal with the resources allotted.
Enyart: I would like my first responsibility to be integrity. There are situations that I will face in this setting that I will find challenging. I will do my best to be honest in the reasons for my conclusions and actions. I also hope to increase the interaction between the community and the Council, opening dialogue that people feel passionate about.
What are the current issues of greatest concern that you see facing Waukon, and what does your candidacy offer in addressing those issues?
Brink: We need to clean up our town, both figuratively and literally. By literally, I mean we have rules on the books on how our town should look. Let's use those rules to ensure the beauty of our community. This starts with the leadership, so let's get busy. By figuratively, I mean let's get the drugs and dealers out of our town. If you see it and you know it isn't right, let someone know. We as a community need to stop sticking our heads in the sand and get busy.
Enyart: The current issue for me is small town economy. Owning a business in a small town, I have experienced how hard it is to keep the doors open. My goal is to use this opportunity to promote and protect the business community by being a good steward of the finances and responsibilities we are entrusted with and to thank and encourage the continuing support shown by the community.
Rausch: I’m concerned about the condition of our streets and sidewalks. We’ve also had a problem with storm water that needs to be addressed. I’d like to support local businesses health and growth by supporting economic development. Long-term budget planning is needed to be sure large infrastructure projects get done.
In your view, what will it take to help Waukon not only survive, but thrive in the future?
Enyart: My family drove to Idaho this summer for a wedding and we passed through many small towns. In comparison to those small towns, we are thriving. If we are doing better than most in the hard times of this economy, our goal should be to continue to be diligent, and not lose our optimism, focus, or direction. In my capacity as a council member, I will strive to work with my fellow council members to keep the foundations this city was built on, meet the challenges we face today, and focus on stability, planning for the future, and growth.
Rausch: I think the current city council has been on the right track exploring a city manager or administrator. This is the type of forward thinking that will help us thrive in the future. Having a dedicated person to run day-to-day operations for the City is essential. I would like to continue in the exploration and development of this plan. This will allow us to be more efficient and accomplish new initiatives.
Brink: In order to thrive as a community we need to find our niche, whether that is industry to keep good jobs in the area or finding a way to get people in to our downtown. But the one thing we have to stop is not wanting to share with the outside world the beauty of our little town. We can still maintain our sense of community and allow in other industry. We have to stop doing what is right for the few and make sure we are doing what is right for the community as a whole.
