Zachary Bassin, 23,
Washburn law student
2001 W. Sixth St., Suite E-13

At age 23, Zachary Bassin is on the young side for a city commission candidate.

Ask Bassin about issues facing the city commission, though, and he doesn’t sound much different from some of the more experienced candidates: Lawrence can do a better job managing growth. Tax abatements should be used to attract only the best companies. The city’s new fireworks ban should be revisited.

“Leadership in managing the growth in Lawrence is the issue for this campaign,” said Bassin, a commuting first-year law student at Washburn University in Topeka. “While faced with a tough situation, the current leadership has done an adequate job. It is now time for a change.”

Bassin advocates higher development taxes to offset both the city’s budget shortfall and the costs of growth. He does not favor cutting city services in response to the shortfall.

“Taxes can be raised, but on certain areas, like creating higher development taxes to offset the cost imposed upon the city by the same new development,” he said. “Then the current tax structure can be reworked to fill in the expected shortfall areas.”

And he generally favors the use of tax abatements.

“Tax abatements can be a great tool for a city when properly used,” he said. “The companies that should be getting these abatements from the city should provide full time jobs with benefits to prevent Lawrence from being a commuter city.”

Greg A. DiVilbiss, 42,
real estate leasing
1948 Carmel Drive

Like many candidates for Lawrence City Commission, Greg DiVilbiss likes to talk about Lawrence’s growth.

“I want to prepare for progress,” he said at a recent candidate forum. “It’s evident we’re going to grow. It’s just a question of how.”

But more than the other candidates, DiVilbiss’ day job is growth. He’s a developer responsible for two major projects on the city’s west side: the shopping center on the southwest corner of Sixth Street and Wakarusa Drive, and the Wakarusa Corporate Centre at 18th Street and Wakarusa Drive.

DiVilbiss, 42, said the city could do more planning for growth than it currently is doing. He said new areas of town should be “master planned” beyond the general outlines listed in the city-county long-range plan, Horizon 2020.

“If we can design a given area as a whole instead of one project at a time, I believe we will have more cohesiveness in these developed areas,” he said. “In a master plan, the commercial, residential, office space and green space all work together to create an attractive yet functional site.”

When it comes to balancing the city budget, DiVilbiss calls for a top-to-bottom government review.

“Beyond that, we will have to take a hard look at our situation,” he said. “Each program that is in place is there for a good reason. You really impact individuals on a personal level with cuts.”

Lee Gerhard, 65,
geologist,
1628 Alvamar Drive

Lee Gerhard is a scientist — a longtime veteran of the Kansas Geological Survey — and he promises to bring a scientific mindset to the Lawrence City Commission.

“I listen, I learn, I analyze,” Gerhard, 65, said at a recent forum for commission candidates. “Then I come back and ask again before making a decision.”

If elected, he’ll have to bring that approach to issues surrounding the city budget and the attitude to growth.

“First, we need to understand what is being funded and what is being cut, then strive to maintain those services that are essential to the community even if it means raising revenues,” he said.

Gerhard said the public should understand that the city is having to bear the burden of the state’s budget problems.

“I hope to identify for public scrutiny those items which are mandated or passed through by the state, or for which the state has withheld promised funds,” he said, “so that all can see what the city is spending on its own and what items we pay for but over which we have no control.”

Gerhard suggested the city’s tax abatement policy might be used in new ways.

“Whether it’s negotiating with new businesses wishing to locate here or retaining those already in Lawrence, the relative long-term benefit back to the city should be the guiding factor in those (tax abatement) decisions,” he said. “We may also wish to look at tax abatements as one means of enhancing living opportunities near downtown.”