Four vying for three trustee seats

The April 7 election for the Belgium Village Board has four people running for three seats.

Two incumbents — Clem Gottsacker and Don Gotcher — are being challenged by newcomers Sarah Heisler and Howie Manos.

Gottsacker, who has been on the board for 16 years, said there are two main issues in the village.

He has been a longtime supporter of paving the portion of Silver Beach Road that goes into the village’s industrial park.

“I think it’s crucial to the industrial park out there. Nothing is really happening out there because of it,” he said.

“I know of at least one business out there that would expand as soon as this road is in. He said it’s not going to happen without the road.”

The village is planning to form an exploratory committee to research paving the road and to seek grant money. Officials had balked at the project, once estimated at $3.2 million, in the past due to cost and instead wanted to do the Main Street reconstruction project first, which has been finished.

“Expenses are going to keep going up the more we put it off,” Gottsacker said. “If you get more industry out there, that helps with our tax base. Even though it’s expensive to do this, it will more than pay for itself.”

The other issue, Gottsacker said, is the village sewage treatment plant, which will need to be upgraded in about a year.

“That will be a major expense,” he said.

Gottsacker said he would like the village to rejoin the Mid-Moraine Municipal Association. He said it’s not expensive and the village could gain knowledge from networking.

Gotcher said there are two things he thinks the village should do this year.

He wants to fix the sewers, a project that he said could cost around $1 million. Only one is scheduled to be fixed now.

“They’re old and they’re not helping us out at the treatment plant,” he said.

The other thing he wants to do is take a “good, long hard look” at Silver Beach Road.

“I’m a proponent of paving it,” Gotcher said, but he supports forming a committee to examine all aspects of the project, including the cost and to seek help from state leaders in Madison — “just looking into it in a way that I don’t think they’ve looked into anything for years.”

If the road was paved, he said village taxes would decrease due to business development. He heard one company won’t build without the road paved.

“We can get past that. We’ve just got to work at it,” Gotcher said.

Gotcher said he also wants to get past “putting out fires” on the board and follow the 2035 master plan.

“It has a lot of good things in it and unfortunately we haven’t been following that for years,” he said.

Heisler is a dental assistant and a member of the Belgium Fire Department, and she volunteers with the Chamber of Commerce.

“I kind of feel like I know what Belgium needs,” she said.

“I want to see Belgium keep going in a good direction for families and keep responsible in spending,” she said.

One important thing, she said, is “just keeping the businesses we have and trying to attract some more, especially near the freeway where a lot of those buildings are going empty.”

While the village has struggled to attract a grocery store, Heisler said she would like to see some kind of large convenience store.

She said she doesn’t have an opinion yet on paving Silver Beach Road, saying she doesn’t know the long-term impact on area farmers or the cost of the project.

Manos is retired after running two businesses and has been the Grafton Police Department chaplain and a reserve officer for the past 15 years. He moved from Grafton to the village to be part of a smaller community.

“It seemed to me that some point in time that new blood on the board would be useful. I think it’s time to serve in government,” he said.

“Just having been the owner of a couple of businesses, you bring to the table that mindset of the ability to evaluate situations, look through that fog and see what’s up the road.”

Manos said he would bring a conservative perspective to the board.

“You only spend what you can afford. I really believe that national and local governments all expect us as individuals try to live within our means. For the most part, I feel Belgium has done that and I’d like to see that continue.”

Manos said he doesn’t know enough about the village’s issues to comment on them.