Council races begin, critical decisions ahead

Should the city build a new power plant? Should it widen West Broadway? How much money is needed for building schools, roads and sewers, and when should the bond issues be placed before voters? What can be done to invigorate the airport? How should ideas from the visioning process be implemented?

Besides the usual but significant judgments on development proposals and in-house proposals, such as changing planning and zoning procedures and instituting a merit raise system for city employees, the Columbia City Council faces numerous critical decisions in the next year, City Manager Bill Watkins says.

So Watkins has decided to institute an orientation session for council candidates to make sure they know what they’re getting into and to help them be prepared should they get elected in April.
“We’ve got a lot of things on our plate that we’re going to have to deal with pretty quickly,” Watkins said shortly before the orientation session on Jan. 20.

Four candidates are seeking the seats that 4th Ward Councilman Jim Loveless and 3rd Ward Councilman Bob Hutton are vacating, and John Clark is making another attempt to unseat Mayor Darwin Hindman.

The second round of Columbia Business Times profiles on the candidates can be found under Feature Articles.