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Candidates emphasize urgent stormwater fixes; councilor outlines $3.5 million phased plan
Summary
At a VMA council candidate forum, candidates broadly agreed stormwater is a top priority. Incumbent Jeff Blander described a phased $3.5 million plan with roughly $1 million in reserves and proposed low‑interest municipal loans for remaining work; task‑force recommendations include homeowner education and potential code changes.
Candidates at the Village of Martin's Additions election forum said stormwater and aging drainage infrastructure are among the most urgent problems facing the village.
The issue surfaced repeatedly when the moderator asked how candidates would address stormwater. Arthur Alexander, who helped create the stormwater task force, said the group produced recommendations covering six major areas that include immediate homeowner education — rain swales, rain gardens and rain barrels — and longer-term items such as building‑code changes and major capital investments.
"There are some things we could do immediately," Alexander said, describing the task force's mix of short- and long-term proposals and urging careful trade‑off analysis before changing codes.
Matt Kanter and other candidates emphasized that solutions should be tailored by street or neighborhood rather than applying a one‑size‑fits‑all approach. "Not every street and not every property have the same issue," Kanter said, arguing for targeted interventions and homeowner education.
Jeff Blander, an incumbent and former treasurer, framed stormwater as a safety and fiscal issue and urged prompt investment. "We have a plan, and it's about $3.5 million. We have about $1,000,000 in reserves already that we can apply to immediate critical things," Blander said, adding that the remaining roughly $2.5 million could be financed through low‑interest municipal loans so the village would not need to deplete reserves.
Candidates agreed that the village should pair homeowner incentives (such as retention features on private property) with infrastructure work in the public right‑of‑way. Several candidates also noted a recent consultant report (the task force referenced a Bayland report) and said further study is needed to prioritize projects and assess trade‑offs between code changes and capital work.
All candidates described the problem as increasingly urgent. "If it continues to get worse ... the danger becomes exponential," John Zachary said, urging proactive work now to avoid larger costs later.
Next steps discussed by candidates included deeper analysis of the task‑force recommendations, targeted outreach and using existing reserves in combination with financing tools; no candidate proposed a finalized contract or vote at the forum.
The forum transcript records candidates' proposals and statements; decisions about specific projects, the timing of borrowing or amendments to village code would require future council action and formal votes.
