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Pflugerville City Council, Place 3 Candidates
Place 3 candidates are A.K. Brewer, Kimberly Holiday, and Bradley Hickman. Below are their respective responses.
A.K. Brewer
electakbrewerplace3online
electakplace3@gmail.com
What are your top priorities if elected?
If elected, to Place 3, my top three priorities, as I remain “tried and true” to my platform, are (1) Fiscal Accountability: Finance and Budgetary policy, accounting alignment, tax rate, tax exemption (homestead, disabled, veterans), (2) Health and Safety: Strengthen City relations with County Emergency Services Department, improve Dashboard connections with Travis County’s system to better identify COVID cases specifically for Pflugerville, improve and/or upgrade our First Responder (PfPd) dispatch systems, (3) Diverse Growth: Address infrastructure and CIP “rollouts” for improved timelines, introduce policy for expanded Vendor/Contractor listings, support the process for voter approved Propositions that increase citizen local spending, promoting small-business rebuild.
Our city continues growing without any sign of slowing down, with traffic being a top priority for residents. How do you think Pflugerville should manage its growth and what infrastructure improvements do you support?
Suburban sprawl or Pflugerville’s rapid growth management is a very challenging charge. We are faced with inevitable variables of increased family developments and will continue to take a collaborative effort of analyzing the positives and negatives of past errors coupled with Austin’s growth dynamics. I support traffic infrastructure geared toward increased flow and connectivity without impeding upon our neighborhoods adequate and timely access to highways. Target implementation of the ASPIRE Strategic Plan through the expertise of engineers and developers from City, County and State.
As we continue to navigate the impact of the pandemic, how will you work with the business community to create and encourage business growth and development in the City of Pflugerville?
Continuing to work, as a team and individually, with the varied industries by first identifying the City’s pockets of Commerce and their projected rate of growth as it relates to sales tax and traffic impact. Secondly, ensuring that the American Relief funds are properly and efficiently, channeled through apparatuses focusing on small-businesses, micro-businesses, entrepreneurs and non-profits that were previously underserved/overlooked. Lastly, build out the existing entities in place, such as the chamber, to invite and engage other segments of community commerce with resources and networks that position those entities toward advancement.We are experiencing a divide in our politics like never before. How will you work to build bridges within our community to ensure you are representing the entire community and making choices that benefit the greater good
for all of Pflugerville?
My whole candidacy is based on representing all of Pflugerville standing on the Charter rule of this being a Non-partisan electorate City, I continue to dedicate my service of time, effort and expertise to the greater good for every person and business
with a Pflugerville address including ETJ and the County line, to which we service in some form. Being an “interrupter” and dismantling of internal and external systems, policies, procedures and issues that cause and/or promote divisiveness is mandatory. My position as a Councilwoman will continue work as a team player, just as my campaign slogan states, “It’s About the People”, reflects and represents my 2 decades of striving and achieving solution-driven results, such as the Inaugural Town Hall Meeting and including City departments in the public/private partnership engagements.
How do you view Pflugerville’s competitive standing compared with other cities in regard to taxes, regulations, and job creation? As a councilmember, how would you improve our city’s competitiveness?
Pflugerville is not a regulatory agency, in and of itself, except for departmental ordinances, codes taxpayer obligations. As a City we must adhere, meet and if possible excel where County, State and Federal government regulatory agencies such as (TCEQ), demands on standards for Quality of Life, such as our Water/Wastewater system(s). Comparatively, we, as a City, including the PfISD stand in a desirable and sought after position. However, our tax rate can improve if our business growth and its tax rates are adequately adjusted. Creating jobs and growth go hand-in-hand and requires collaborations, partnerships and access to those entities that provide and/or support the workforce in all stages of development, expansion and retention such as the Chamber of Commerce, PCDC (Pflugerville Community Development Corporation) and the TX Workforce Commission (and its subsidiaries).
What are the areas of city operations that you think you can bring any special knowledge or expertise? Why are those areas important to you?
Areas of city operations that I can or will be a dedicated asset is within the Administration, Community and Police Engagement, Finance and Budget, Ethics and Professional Development and Library Services. All areas of service to our community is
important to me, as they all serve different purposes for one united goal: The People. It is always about the People.What is your vision for the City of Pflugerville in 10 years? How will you, in your role as an elected official, help make that vision a reality?
In 10 years, I would have accomplished providing comfortability to our senior communities and blazed a trail for our younger generations of leaders and promises of lifelong living in Pflugerville, through imparting experience, knowledge and wisdom.
To have Pflugerville, this metro-city, “Between a Rock and a Weird Place”, known and celebrated for its diverse cultures and heritages, through destination and attraction landmarks. For our City to become a model on how to effectively manage growth and development through trying times.
Kimberly Holiday
www.kim4council.com
kimpforcouncil@gmail.comWhat are your top priorities if elected?
My first priority is affordability for all citizens and I will start by working to double the homestead exemption for 65+ and disabled as well as implement a 10% homestead exemption for all homeowners. My second key priority is public health and safety. It is my desire to facilitate difficult dialogues with key partners, law enforcement and citizens about a shared definition of community policing. I will also be an advocate for training on mental health 1St aide responders as well as providing access to mental health resources for all. Finally, I want to maintain the “hometown feel” for the city of Pflugerville by promoting diverse Pflugerville Pfun activities for families and communities.Our city continues growing without any sign of slowing down, with traffic being a top priority for residents. How do you think Pflugerville should manage its growth and what infrastructure improvements do you support?
With growth come changes. Rapid growth is going to continue, therefore we must be strategic and intentional about the choices we make for our city and citizens. We must do a better job of staying ahead of the growth with a proactive stance when it comes to infrastructure. We must take a deeper look at the projected growth areas and implement traffic solutions before they become road blocks with a dead end.As we continue to navigate the impact of the pandemic, how will you work with the business community to create and encourage business growth and development in the City of Pflugerville?
The pandemic has not gone away nor the psychology of shopping patterns cautious consumers. Local commerce is stimulated. Now that a large portion of our population is vaccinated we are finally seeing a decline in cases benefiting local businesses in Pflugerville. I will continue conversations with business owners to discover their perspective on business and the challenges they may face. I would like to advocate for collaborations that create a win for all, city, business and consumers.We are experiencing a divide in our politics like never before. How will you work to build bridges within our community to ensure your representing the entire community and making choices that benefit the greater good for all of Pflugerville?
Political divides have no place in local politics. Issues like infrastructure, affordability, health and safety affect us all regardless of which way we lean politically. I will work for every citizen of Pflugerville to ensure we are making decisions equitable for all.How do you view Pflugerville’s competitive standing compared with other cities in regard to taxes, regulations, and job creation? As a councilmember, how would you improve our city’s competitiveness?
For many years Pflugerville was seen as a more affordable option to the surrounding areas that is rapidly changing. We do have people being priced out of the area. This is why I want to implement a homestead exemption for all to try to keep people in their homes in Pflugerville. I will work closely with PCDC in regards to job creation. We have seen an increase in better paying jobs coming to Pflugerville and we need to continue to improve in that area.What are the areas of city operations that you think you can bring any special knowledge or expertise? Why are those areas important to you?
I bring lived experience to the table. I am a social psychologist by trade, showing up in the world as a restorative justice Practioner, certified peer support specialist, certified mental health first aide responder, motivational speaker and advocate for all people. By modeling authenticity I create safe spaces where others feel liberated to do the same. If we feel safe to be ourselves we become more willing to honor ourselves while respecting others who may not see things the same. The only way forward is together.What is your vision for the City of Pflugerville in 10 years? How will you, in your role as an elected official, help make that vision a reality?
This question allows me to make full circle by restating my key priorities which when fulfilled will make Pflugerville the best place in the world to live. Here in our city, you can have it all. There would be affordable and diverse living options for all residents of the city. We would live in a safe city where citizens and cops work together on community policing. Our police would respond to mental health emergencies with a trained mental health professional. Finally our city would maintain its history while celebrating the diversity of those that live here. Once elected, the work begins immediately. Intentional effort today will pay off for a better and brighter Pfuture for tomorrow and 10 years from now.
Bradley Hickman
www.Brad4Pf.com
bradhickmancampaign@gmail.comWhat are your top priorities if elected?
I will focus on lowering taxes, water quality, and roads. The city is growing so fast that we are starting to need new roads and more maintenance on existing roads. We also need to add to our water and wastewater facilities. These are big, long term projects that will affect the city for the next couple of decades.Our city continues growing without any sign of slowing down, with traffic being a top priority for residents. How do you think Pflugerville should manage its growth and what infrastructure improvements do you support?
As we continue to grow, we need to be smart. I will bring my experience from Planning and Zoning to ensure that development happens in a way that is responsible and enables sustainable growth to allow for the infrastructure to grow at the same pace.As we continue to navigate the impact of the pandemic, how will you work with the business community to create and encourage business growth and development in the City of Pflugerville?
The pandemic has shown everyone that the normal ways of doing business are no longer the norm. I will work to continue and expand an environment that embraces the small and medium size businesses and continue to focus on bringing large businesses, ideally a corporate headquarters, to the city.We are experiencing a divide in our politics like never before. How will you work to build bridges within our community to ensure you’re representing the entire community and making choices that benefit the greater good for all of Pflugerville?
This divide is one of the reasons I decided to run. I’m not affiliated with any political parties. I just grew up in this city, and I care about what we do here. Most of my best and cherished memories are here. I want that for every single resident. I want to give every single person living here a reason to be happy they live here and give them every chance to stay here.How do you view Pflugerville’s competitive standing compared with other cities in regard to taxes, regulations, and job creation? As a councilmember, how would you improve our city’s competitiveness?
We are in Travis County. There is a lot to be said for that, and we can leverage that in our pursuit of businesses desiring to move into the area. We have things like highways (45 and 130) that allow anyone to be at the airport or downtown Austin in 20 minutes. No one else has that, so part of it is marketing, but a lot of it is thinking strategically about what is next to have a city that can grow with the area and weather a downturn as well. Our development and business environment needs be responsible and not get lost in the quest for double digit growth.What are the areas of city operations that you think you can bring any special knowledge or expertise? Why are those areas important to you?
Budgets and planning. My day job is a commercial banker, so I will leverage those experiences to focus on the numbers and foresight for the projects in the city to deliver the best return on investment of the tax dollars.What is your vision for the City of Pflugerville in 10 years? How will you, in your role as an elected official, help make that vision a reality?
My vision is a city where citizens can do and get everything they need in Pflugerville. With the recent growth, we have seen a hospital, retail, and dinning variety growth as well. Over the next decade, we are making choices about land to our east that will impact the city for the next three decades. From roads to water, we have to make our city a place where our citizens will have more reasons to stay and call Pflugerville home. -
Pflugerville City Council, Place 5 Candidates
Place 5 candidates are Mike Heath and Jim McDonald. Below you will find their respective responses.
Mike Heath (incumbent)
www.MikeHeath.org
contact@mikeheath.orgWhat are your top priorities if elected?
We need to maintain roads, parks, trails, water/wastewater and drainage facilities; secure our water supply for the foreseeable future; complete the expansion of our water and waste treatment plants; encourage businesses that provide good-paying jobs to move to Pflugerville; establish the right mix of businesses to residential land uses; and make Pflugerville the safest city in Texas.Our city continues growing without any sign of slowing down, with traffic being a top priority for residents. How do you think Pflugerville should manage its growth and what infrastructure improvements do you support?
The City of Pflugerville should adhere to its own operational standards, implement the projects identified in our latest transportation plan that addresses current operational deficiencies (remove projects that were added to the plan that don’t conform to those goals), and develop a transportation plan based on the city’s anticipated build out conditions. A project implementation plan should be implemented based on available funding. Growth should be managed using our updated comprehensive plan and by updating the UDC to foster desirable land uses that will result in a fiscally sustainable city.As we continue to navigate the impact of the pandemic, how will you work with the business community to create and encourage business growth and development in the City of Pflugerville?
There isn't a clear picture about COVID-19-caused changes; work-from-home, reduced travel, modified water usage, reduced sales-taxes, slowed growth will be permanent. We're blessed in Pflugerville. The economy has rebounded quickly, even w/ the delta variant. We will continue to learn and adapt our forecasts as things change, but the City's economy continues to grow. We will have to continue to plan for growth by focusing on transportation, water/wastewater infrastructure, and city services to encourage businesses to our community. Furthermore, we should develop defined action plans to realize the strategic plan recently adopted by the Council. Specifically, the goal of recruiting a Fortune 100 corporate headquarters.We are experiencing a divide in our politics like never before. How will you work to build bridges within our community to ensure your representing the entire community and making choices that benefit the greater good for all of Pflugerville?
I will continue to serve the people of Pflugerville in an open and honest way and continue to make choices that benefit everyone in Pflugerville. Focusing on the health, safety and welfare of our residents doesn’t lend itself to divisive partisan politics. Discourse around how best to serve should be fostered, because that’s how great decisions are made.How do you view Pflugerville’s competitive standing compared with other cities in regard to taxes, regulations, and job creation? As a councilmember, how would you improve our city’s competitiveness?
I’ve been advocating for the creation of performance metrics and benchmarking since getting on Council. We are blessed to be surrounded by a lot of well run cities that we can learn from. Our tax rates and fees are higher than a lot of our comparative cities like Round Rock, Cedar Park and Georgetown. We can improve by continuing to benchmark ourselves against these cities. Pflugerville can grow and prosper by identifying and working to get the right mix of residential and businesses in town where Pflugerville can lower its taxes and become fiscally sustainable.What are the areas of city operations that you think you can bring any special knowledge or expertise? Why are those areas important to you?
My professional background as a Professional Civil Engineer with an expertise in transportation operations along with a strong financial background developed while obtaining my MBA and helping run a business for 24 years affords me with a background that is uniquely suited for serving as a Council Member.What is your vision for the City of Pflugerville in 10 years? How will you, in your role as an elected official, help make that vision a reality?
I want Pflugerville to be the best city it can be and continue to be uniquely Pflugerville. I want Pflugerville to become a thriving community that people want to call home forever. A place where their children can grow up and continue to live, work and play in their home town. It all starts with getting the land use mix right in our comprehensive plan, updating our UDC to foster the type of development that our residents want, maintaining and developing our infrastructure in a thoughtful fiscally responsible way. We also need to make sure that we consistently make good decisions throughout the next ten years. Developing meaningful performance measures allows us to measure our progress, and benchmarking allows us to know how good we’re doing relative to our peers and helps us strive to do better.
Jim McDonald
www.jimmcdonald.com
jim@jimmcdonald.comWhat are your top priorities if elected?
I believe maintaining and growing our infrastructure to meet the needs of our rapidly growing Pfamily is as important as preserving our Quality of Life. We need traffic solutions that evolve to meet our growing needs, not wait for the “perfect solution” to implement tomorrow. We must work together with our School and Emergency Services Districts to create opportunities for mutual success, not launch accusations and name-calling. We must safeguard our water supply and increase capacity to support future demand. Creating more parks and recreation spaces, replacing aging playscapes, adding sports fields and building the best Park Trail system creates Community opportunities. We must invest in programs that support our City Staff, improving morale and reducing turnover. There are many priorities and challenges our city faces, and they require a broad vision of the future.Our city continues growing without any sign of slowing down, with traffic being a top priority for residents. How do you think Pflugerville should manage its growth and what infrastructure improvements do you support?
With last year’s Bond Election, the citizens gave a strong indicator of the infrastructure they demand: $101M in roads, $42M for Parks and Trails, and $47M for a new Recreation and Senior Center. These bonds include continuing development around Lake Pflugerville and the 1849 Park. The focus with all of these efforts is to build long-term, sustainable projects that we will be proud of decades into the future, not “value engineered” structures that our children will get to pay for again. To accomplish all of this, we need to be considerate of the workload being placed on Staff, and hire additional positions as necessary, and outsource as needed, to prevent burnout and turnover of key personnel.As we continue to navigate the impact of the pandemic, how will you work with the business community to create and encourage business growth and development in the City of Pflugerville?
There are two major initiatives to focus on, and two different vehicles to carry them forward. The Pflugerville Community Development Corporation (PCDC) is tasked with creating opportunities for Primary Jobs -- employment that is paid for by money from outside our community. This happens through attracting new job creators and also working to retain and expand those businesses already here. The Chamber of Commerce is free to focus on developing Retail businesses with specific Committees for supporting vitality in specific sectors. Both of these fine organizations should continue to support Diversity and Equitable opportunities.We are experiencing a divide in our politics like never before. How will you work to build bridges within our community to ensure you’re representing the entire community and making choices that benefit the greater good for all of Pflugerville?
My wife and I, with the help of many others, created a Community Space in downtown Pflugerville in an effort to revitalize an area that was seeing more and more vacant spaces. In this Safe Place, you may often overhear conversations that lack the more standard, “I’m right, you’re wrong” rhetoric all too familiar on social media. Instead, pfolks seek to relate their Life Stories and how those experiences shape their opinions of the world, and in turn learn how someone else’s vastly different Life Experiences have shaped their views. We’ve hosted events ranging from the George Floyd Remembrance March to fundraisers for schools and local charities, to most recently a Celebration of Life. We are home to the Pflugerville DAV and St. Joan of Arc Episcopal Church. It is this willingness to accept different Life Perspectives that allows me to have beneficial, non-judgemental conversations with people that have vastly different opinions than I do.How do you view Pflugerville’s competitive standing compared with other cities in regard to taxes, regulations, and job creation? As a councilmember, how would you improve our city’s competitiveness?
Pflugerville ranks very well in all three of these categories. The city’s tax rate was on a downward trend until this year, when Council voted to increase the rate to cover bond debt. As a councilmember, I would look for opportunities to apply surplus Sales Tax to retire bond debt earlier, allowing us to issue new bonds without the need to increase taxes. We can create new flexible housing opportunities to attract first-time home buyers and working professionals that might not be ready for a larger floor plan. And always we must work with PCDC to bring more Primary Jobs that allow us to Live, Work and Play in Pflugerville. This has the added benefit of bringing more high value commercial property onto the tax role, decreasing the share of taxes paid by residential home owners.What are the areas of city operations that you think you can bring any special knowledge or expertise? Why are those areas important to you?
Although I have over 20 years in ECommerce Software Development and Supply Chain Delivery Systems, I would not engage in micro-managing the Information Technology department. Instead, I would apply my knowledge of problem solving to the broader goal of setting and achieving Strategic Goals. When working with clients I always had to solve a problem with finite resources -- there are always limited staff, limited budgets and limited available tools. I had to solve problems for clients that often started with conversations around what was the exact solution they needed. This skill is transferable to many different scenarios, as you always start with questions, and understanding the need.
What is your vision for the City of Pflugerville in 10 years? How will you, in your role as an elected official, help make that vision a reality?
I see a vibrant Pflugerville filled with laughter and vitality. Current predictions put our population at 150,000 residents bu 2032, which will require continued growth to the east of 130. We need to focus on geographically distributed opportunities as much as possible to avoid traffic congestion with everyone trying to get to the same place at the same time. This isn’t always possible, as some destinations like The Pfield, Stone Hill Shopping Center, the 1849 Park and Downtown will always stand out. Still, smaller retail centers, neighborhood parks and sports practice fields scattered throughout the city and a business corridor along 130 will create equitable access to amenities and jobs.