Skala promotes smart growth, conciliation

Karl Skala’s work in local governance began 12 years ago with a fight to preserve the residential nature of his neighborhood.

After moving to a new home in the Meadowlands subdivision in northeast Columbia, Skala learned that Godas Development sought to rezone large portions of the an adjacent subdivision from a residential to commercial designation.

Alarmed by the news, Skala took action. He circulated a petition to stop the rezoning and testified in front of the Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission. But the developer persisted and continued pushing for the change.

Undaunted, Skala helped organize the Hominy Branch Neighborhood Alliance in the spring of 1998 and became its chair. Empowered by the alliance, the neighborhood had a voice that eventually reached the developer and the city.

“Ultimately, the Planning and Zoning Commission denied rezoning requests unanimously on four different occasions,” Skala said. “In the end, a compromise was struck that benefited the neighborhood, the developer and the city.”

The 60-year-old director of the Swine Hormone Research Core at the University of Missouri hopes to bring that spirit of conciliation to the Columbia City Council. He is running for the seat that will be vacated by outgoing 3rd Ward Councilman Bob Hutton, who announced in November he would not seek another three-year term. Local businessman Gary Kespohl also is running for the seat.

Not long after his first foray into civic service, Skala was appointed to the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. He served six years and earned a reputation for being a tireless researcher. Though his work on the commission was fulfilling, Skala said, he wants a chance to affect the policies of the city, especially as the community approaches the 100,000-population mark.

“The council is very different from planning and zoning,” he said. “You’re not beholden to anyone when you’re serving on the planning commission. A council member is a representative of the people who elected them. The first thing you have to do is find out what the folks in your ward need and try to deliver on what they want you to do.”

For the past 27 years, Skala and his wife, Mahree, have lived in and raised three children in the 3rd Ward. While gathering signatures to file for City Council, Skala learned residents in the ward have a wide variety of needs.

In and around his subdivision, Skala said, residents told him they wanted more police presence because of a rash of burglary and vandalism cases. Folks near Columbia Regional Hospital expressed concern about development at the end of Stadium Boulevard. But in the Benton-Stephens neighborhood, Skala found residents were more interested in the Benton-Stephens Overlay District.

“Each one of these different neighborhoods had different concerns,” he said. “I have tried to translate that into a list of priorities.”

If elected, Skala said, he would work to make sure the ward received its share of city services. He also would advocate for growth that is “well-planned, responsible, leads to good-paying permanent jobs and preserves our quality of life.”

Though Skala has been a member of the Smart Growth Coalition for three years, he rejects any suggestion that he is anti-growth.

“It’s more complicated than that,” he said. “Everyone knows there has to be growth for a vibrant economy. But if you look at the date for 2005, you’ll see the population growth was 2 percent and the construction rate was 5 percent, more than double the population. There are areas that are overbuilt.”

Skala said his record on the planning commission shows his commitment to responsible development. For example, he said, he voted against the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Grindstone Parkway and the Sapp development on Route PP, because he believed some details involving infrastructure should’ve been addressed.

“I voted against those plans not because I didn’t think they should be developed, but because I felt they needed changes,” he said.

Skala said he would have voted against the extension of LeMone Industrial Boulevard because it will preempt a number of other priority projects that will affect more people. He’s also concerned that the project will affect a sensitive watershed and fail to solve the traffic problem in the area.
Don Stamper, executive director of the Central Missouri Development Council, said Skala’s performance on the planning commission was neither consistent nor stable.

“He was kind of all over the board,” Stamper said. “He has a tendency to adopt extreme positions that don’t look at the whole picture.”

Skala said the best way to balance development with environment and aesthetics is to develop a comprehensive growth plan for the city.
When considering development, “you need to think about 10, 12, 15 years down the road,” he said. “You make sure you have long-lasting economic vitality. If you apply a forward, proactive thinking to development, you will have a sounder economy and growth.”

Skala said the city must identify areas of growth and then find an equitable way to pay for infrastructure that reaches those areas.
“That will take a lot of doing,” he said. “There are some very powerful business interests who want to buy land as cheaply as they can and develop it as cheaply as possible, and I understand that.”

DeAnna Walkenbach, who serves with Skala on the Citizens for Timely and Responsible Road Infrastructure Financing (TARRIF), said Skala would be “an excellent councilman because he has great vision.”

“He looks at everything,” she said. “Karl is very dedicated and intelligent.”

Jeff Barrow, who has served on the city Planning and Zoning Commission with Skala, agreed that Skala is “an excellent researcher and hard worker.”

“I think Karl has very good democratic values,” he said. “I think he is looking for cutting-edge cities and wants Columbia to be one of those.”
If you’re a person buying land on speculation, a councilman such as Skala might make you nervous because he will hold your plans up to the light, Barrow said.

“I can definitely see where developers might be worried if he got elected,” he said. v

KARL SKALA

5201 Gasconade Drive

PERSONAL:
Skala, 60, is married to Mahree Skala, and they have three grown children, ages 26, 22 and 20. He is director of the University of Missouri-Columbia Swine Hormone Research Core.

EDUCATION:
Graduated in 1964 from Riverside-Brookfield High School in Brookfield, Ill.; graduated in 1967 from the Electronics and Repair Program at the U.S. Marine Corps Communications and Electronics School in San Diego; received a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1977 from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill.; and received a master’s degree in psychology in 1986 from the University of Missouri.

BACKGROUND:
He served six years on the Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission and two years on the Columbia/Boone County Joint Planning Group; member of Columbia/Boone County Environmental and Energy Commission; member of Columbia Chamber of Commerce; member of Citizens for Timely and Responsible Road Infrastructure Financing (TARRIF); Member of Boone County Smart Growth Coalition; member of Hominy Branch Neighborhood Alliance; and member of Meadowlands Homeowners Association.