The Journal-World sent a 16-question survey to each candidate running for three at-large seats on the City Commission. Fourteen people filed for those seats. The March 3 primary election will whittle the field of candidates down to six for the April 7 general election. These answers are presented as they were received from the candidates.

Candidate profile: Rob Sands

• 33 years old, a full-time officer in the Kansas National Guard

• Full profiles and more questionnaires

Do you believe a new police headquarters facility is needed, and if so, are you open to considering a property tax or sales tax increase to fund the facility?

The police facility is needed to improve key capabilities within the LPD. That is the key, improving their patrol, investigations, and support capabilities. A good, purpose built facility lays the groundwork to having a police force that can expand to meet Lawrence’s needs for the next 30+ years. There is never a 100% people pleasing answer when it comes to how to tax. A pure sales tax is considered regressive, since it affects lower income households at the same percent as higher income households. A pure property tax will affect higher income neighborhoods, BUT that increase is also generally passed down to rental tenants. There are multiple ways that a new facility could be funded. I support adding the police facility to the Capital Improvement Plan and have it funded through GO bonds that are applied to the cities assessed value. That will mean that other debt will have to be retired to ease the impact to property owners.

The city in 2014 approved a new registration and licensing program for apartments and other rental units in the city. It is set to begin inspections in July. Do you support the program as approved?

I support the concept of ensuring that rental properties are in good order and safe for tenants. I do not agree with the fee schedule the city has adopted. The city has set a fee schedule that will help defray the cost to the city of the inspectors as well as a flat rate of $50 for each dwelling unit inspected. There will be a myriad of other costs associated with successfully passing inspection. I foresee many of these costs being passed to the tenants in the form of rent increases.

As part of the Rock Chalk Park sports complex, the city entered into a public-private partnership with Kansas University Endowment and a private development group. As part of that agreement, the city is paying for about $12 million worth of infrastructure that was exempted from the city’s standard bidding process. Do you support public-private partnerships that involve the city paying for work that was not bid?

I do support the city government leading public-private partnerships or public-public partnerships. That is the type of collaborative leadership I hope to bring more of to the City Commission. However, for the city’s part, it is a requirement of Kansas Law and ordinances that the city adopted in the mid 80’s that a bidding process is used to ensure that tax payers receive the best project for the money, and that the infrastructure meets quality guidelines and is able to support development beyond the immediate project.

In 2014 the city approved tax rebates for projects in East Lawrence, downtown and near the KU campus that were either wholly or largely for apartment development. Do you support providing tax incentives for apartment development?

I support use of tax incentives with conditions. The city must develop a set of guidelines that awards the best incentives to businesses that can demonstrate long term, well paid employment to Lawrence residents. All other projects, including hotels and rental properties, should be allowed to apply for lesser incentives to entice development.

The city last year opened Lawrence VenturePark, the new business park that was built on the former Farmland Industries fertilizer plant site in eastern Lawrence. Do you support the idea of providing tax abatements and other financial incentives to attract businesses to that park?

Absolutely, so long as the business can demonstrate long term, well paid employment to Lawrence residents.

In 2015, the city is budgeted to provide about $220,000 to the Lawrence chamber of commerce to lead the community’s economic development efforts. Do you support that arrangement with the chamber?

I support public-private collaboration if it will benefit Lawrence citizens, and this partnership is one of those. The Chamber has recently reassessed its strategic plan to incorporate incentives for existing businesses and vocational training to build a professional work force for Lawrence and expand businesses that have been part of our community. I applaud the Chamber’s strategic plan and look forward to their assessment phase of the plan.

In 2008 voters approved a three-tenths of a percent sales tax to fund city-street maintenance and other infrastructure projects. How would you rate the condition of city streets today?

The major thoroughfares are getting better. While the construction is an inconvenience, the city planning department is planning those projects well. Most residents may not like the streets in their neighborhoods, but repair and resurfacing of those streets come with additional challenges. As a member of the City Commission, I would vote to start addressing residential areas for resurfacing projects.

In 2014 the city built a new dual-lane roundabout on Wakarusa Drive, and is considering building more in the future. Do you support the use of roundabouts in the city?

I support any project that keeps traffic clear and citizens safe. Roundabouts are widely recognized in several studies as reducing vehicle-vehicle collisions, pedestrian-vehicle collisions, and vehicle-bicycle collisions when compared to signaled intersections. While they reduce risk of injury and fatal collisions, they do not eliminate all risks. Roundabouts are not appropriate at every single intersection, but their use at certain intersections is appropriate and I support them. I urge anyone not convinced of roundabout safety to find the US Department of Transportation’s study on roundabout safety.

Based on current city capital improvement plans, the city is scheduled to spend about $3 million in 2015 and 2016 on a project to rebuild a portion of Ninth Street as part of an effort to make the area into an “arts corridor.” As currently proposed, do you support the project?

I support this project. Susan Tate, of The Lawrence Arts Center, among many others, sought grant funding to help in defraying the cost of this project, hopefully setting the stage for more grants to Lawrence arts community developments. This project will cement Lawrence as the cultural center of Kansas, and will develop national attention on our city. This supports attracting new citizens and businesses to the city, thereby growing our tax base. This type of collaborative leadership is what I hope to bring to the City Commission.

The city has been asked to approve financial incentives designed to spur the installation of additional gigabit, super-fast broadband service in Lawrence. Do you support the idea of providing a financial incentive to private companies interested in providing enhanced broadband services to the community?

This is a terrific opportunity to work with the University as well as the county to develop a phased plan to puts gigabit service in the right areas first, then spreading to residential areas. I support gigabit internet in Lawrence, but I believe the City Commission needs to take a more proactive role in attracting carriers. As a member of the City Commission, I would work with the University and businesses within the city to develop the areas that need gigabit service to attract new businesses and expand our tax base.

What is the biggest issue facing Lawrence neighborhoods?

Tax revenue leaving the city. I’ve spoken to several of our neighbors that have told me that they leave the city to do their shopping in Overland Park or Topeka. But it goes beyond anecdotes involving shopping. Without attracting businesses that hire educated, well trained professionals, our students in the university and our high schools will seek their employment elsewhere, slowing our growth and hurting us in the long run. The only way we will ever see property and sales tax relief is through smart, sustainable economic growth.

Given the other needs of the city, what is the likelihood that you would support additional funding for trails, bike lanes and other pedestrian-oriented projects in the community?

Quality of life measures like multi use paths are a core service and my number one priority. As a commissioner, I would task the planning department to develop improvement plans for neighborhoods that desire additional paths but do not have them. I would then look to improving existing paths in neighborhoods that did already have them. Bike lanes on roads should be tied directly to road maintenance schedules and be installed if needed. Organizations like the Lawrence Pedestrian Coalition can assist the city in determining which areas are most in need.

Given the other needs of the city, what is the likelihood that you would support the idea of city assistance for a new conference center in the community? (Full disclosure: Members of The World Company, which owns the Journal-World and LJWorld.com have put forward a proposal for a downtown project that includes a conference center.)

I am a member of different organizations that hold yearly conferences, and from that experience I can say that Lawrence loses a lot of conferences due to lack of adequate space. As with all other issues, I support responsible projects that can demonstrate economic gains to the city. As far as specific assistance, it would have to be a case by case basis, but I support it in a general sense.

In 2014 there were six homicides in Lawrence, the highest number in at least a decade. Is there anything the Lawrence City Commission can do to improve public safety in the community?

Statistics show that most crime is drug related. I support measures already taken by the LPD to improve investigations of drug related crime, and new police facility will assist them. But we cannot forget about demand reduction and counselling programs. The City Commission must take a proactive role by bring key organizations to the table and develop a public-private partnership to fund demand reduction and rehabilitation services in the city.

A proposal has been made by a development group to create a major new retail area just south of the South Lawrence Trafficway and Iowa Street interchange? Are you supportive of rezoning property for major new retail developments in the community?

Any rezoning must happen in accordance with guidelines set forth by the Horizon plan. I applaud the city in rewriting this plan, and hope that the rewrite and implementation are much quicker than the initial approval timeline. Changes to zoning need to be the exception, rather than the rule. However, I don’t see any change in zoning of that area being a departure from what is already north of the interchange. I generally support limited rezoning for economic growth opportunities.

What’s your vision for the type of community Lawrence will become in the next decade?

Humans are terrible at prediction. The law of unintended consequences tells us that we cannot reliably predict all the effects of decisions we make. It’s the old “Murphy’s Law”. With that in mind, I can tell you I want Lawrence to retain its character, adopt smart policies that prepare it for growth, grow the WHOLE city economically, and improve quality of life for all our neighborhoods.