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Candidates have one last say at CC forum
Nine of the 11 candidates for Town Council were on hand to answer questions posed by the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce during a forum held on Tuesday, April 29 at the Country Club of Culpeper.
Consolidation, water and sewer, economic development, and Culpeper's vision for the future were issues Chamber President Win Carithers questioned the candidates on, most importantly, how those issues affect the businesses in the town.
Starting with a vision for the future, candidates were asked what actions they would take to ensure meaningful progress and solutions for business if they were put in charge of the town.
U.S. Army Command Sgt. Major Jerry Beckett said he would start looking toward the future by controlling unbridled growth and demanding residential developers contribute to the town's infrastructure.
"I think everybody realizes here that the residential growth has pretty much outgrown infrastructure," said Beckett. "Regulating and managing growth is going to be critical in the future for Culpeper. You could base that growth on the ability of the town to supply water."
Under the economical development issue, candidates were asked several different questions pertaining to how Town Council can work together with local businesses, in particular how the business, professional and occupational license (BPOL) tax is equitable.
"Existing business is important to the community because it sets the bar for new businesses to come into the town," incumbent Mike Olinger said. "The BPOL tax is an equitable tax. I manage a business in town. I pay the BPOL tax. It gives the town of course a revenue, sidewalks, street repairs, funding for outside agencies."
Next the candidates were asked to weigh in on the water and sewer issues between the town and county and their opinions on the formulation of a joint authority. Fauquier county schoolteacher Pat Baker said no matter what, the town's residents should be protected.
"The natives that have been here, they built the water and sewer system. They have to have protection. What they put in their tax dollars built what is here now," she said. "If you're going to extend into the county, you have to protect the town residents from paying to install and build and develop and improve on a sewer system."
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