Candidate Name: Tod Satterthwaite

Campaign Address: 201 W. Green, Urbana

Campaign Phone/Fax: 367-7940

Campaign Email: tod@satterthwaiteformayor.com

Campaign Web Site: http://satterthwaiteformayor.com

1) What are your best environmental achievements so far?

See the Recycling, Power Company Tree Trimming Policies and Smart Growth and Urban Planning sections of the Statement (below).

2) What environmental issues will you publicly support throughout your campaign?

I support our recycling program, enhancement of landscaping and greenspace, smart growth and energy efficiency.

3) Why are you interested in environmental issues?

I love the outdoors and believe that our environment should be respected to the best of our ability.

4) Any personal environmental work, education, groups, hobbies, or habits (e.g. energy efficient home/cars/appliances; reduced consumption/driving; reuse; buy recycled/organic/local; vegetarian)?

I have helped in many neighborhood cleanups, I have a small 4-cylinder pickup that gets good gas mileage, I am a member of many organizations that work to protect the envirnment including the Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Arbor Day Foundation, Rails-to-Trails Foundation and others. My sister and I own the canoe rental business in Kickapoo State Park that offers trips on the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River, the only National Scenic River in Illinois.

5) What are the three most pressing environmental concerns in Urbana?

Smart growth and urban planning, water quality (the ammonia spill at the U of I is a good example of why this is a concern), energy efficiency and continuing a top rate recycling program.

6) What is your opinion about environmental protections in the recently proposed Urbana Comprehensive Plan?

I think that the concepts of building more densely in the core areas of Urbana help to reduce growth on the fringe areas.

7) Would you publicly oppose the proposed ring road around Urbana? If not, what would you do to prevent further sprawl and another slow flowing, low quality commercial corridor with desolate buildings?

I do not support funding the ring road concept of connecting Rt. 130 with Olympian Drive.

8) What would you do to encourage more varied shopping in central and eastern Urbana (e.g., Philo Road) to reduce sprawl and gasoline consumption?

Financial incentive are available to businesses that wish to locate downtwon and at Philo Road. See the Smart Growth and Urban Planning section of my statement.

9) Would you publicly support policies that discourage sprawl by recovering all infrastructure (roads/utilities) and service costs (schools/fire/police) of expanding into natural areas and farmland?

I would be willing to explore these concepts to see if they are appropriate to Urbana.

10) What financial support would you give to create bike/hike trails that link Urbana together?

I am a strong supporter of bike paths and multi-purpose paths, Urbana has been successful in obtaining many grants to fund them.

11) Would you support sharing residential streets (walk/bike/drive) that slow traffic in Europe and traffic calming devices for smoother flow?

I support looking at traffic calming devices and street designs and putting them in when its possible.

12) Would you publicly support ending utility tax discounts for higher consumption and use the revenues as energy efficiency matching funds?

Our policies should encourage efficient consumption of energy.

13) Would you publicly oppose another nuclear reactor in Clinton?

14) Would you publicly support shifting street maintenance funding from property taxes on everyone to gas taxes on actual users?

Motor fuel taxes fund much of Urbana's road repairs.

15) How much will you increase Urbana's fleet of hybrid cars?

Urbana currently has two Hybrids and we will increase the number as they are available.

16) How will you increase Urbana's purchase of environmental products?

17) Would you publicly support adopting LEED building codes for energy efficiency in all future city government construction and remodeling?

Many of the LEED standards were implemented in the building of the Library. I support many of the LEEDs concepts.

18) Would you support shifting to sales taxes (slowing consumption of imports) from property taxes to keep housing affordable?

I support keeping our property tax rate as low as possible. The City's rate has gone down from $1.58 to $1.31 while I have been in office (12 years). Shifting more dependence to sales taxes can be problematic since they are not income tax deductable and property taxes are. In addition, many view sales taxes as regressive since low-income people pay a higher proportion of their income in taxes than higher-income people.

19) Would you support increasing parking fees for SUVs and pickups?

20) Would you support requiring the equivalent of storm doors and windows on rental units to reduce fossil fuel imports?

I support energy efficiency standards in our building codes.

21) Would you enable residents to use the city's webpage to sign up for emailed newsletters and announcements, saving postage and paper?

Yes.

22) What would you do to protect the environment in Drainage Districts?

I would work cooperatively with the Districts on storm water and drainage issues in an envirnmentally friendly manner.

23) Is there anything else you would like to add?

Statement

As a member of the local Sierra Club, I share the belief that we should do what we can to preserve our natural resources as best we can by smart planning and growth policies, environmental protections and environmentally friendly local programs such as Urbana's recycling program, U-Cycle.

Recycling

I have been a strong supporter of Urbana's U-Cycle program. While I have been in office, U-Cycle has grown and expanded in many ways. In my first term, the types of materials were expanded to include plastics, cardboard and office paper in addition to glass, cans and newspapers. A funding mechanism for the U-Cycle program was established as part of an overall plan to update our Solid Waste Management Plan.

In my second term, the U-Cycle program was expanded to include all apartments in addition to the single-family and small apartment buildings that had been served previously. This was a major undertaking as each apartment building has its own customized service plan that can change with the demand at that particular building.

Most recently, new 65-gallon U-Cycle toters have been added to the single-family pickup program, a move that has greatly increased the volumes of materials collected.

In addition to the U-Cycle program the City has been a co-sponsor to several Household Hazardous Waste collection events while I have been in office. We have received State of Illinois grant money for these events.

Power Company Tree Trimming Policies

Urbana was a leader in the effort to enact legislation at the State level that requires utility companies to coordinate their tree-trimming activities with the City. The legislation also requires the tree-trimming to be done according to current arborcultural standards. I helped to put the coalition of Cities working on this legislation together. Other communities involved were Champaign, Normal, Galesburg, Alton and others.

Smart Growth and Urban Planning

I am in favor of smart growth and planning policies that help develop strong communities and promote livability. The downtown plan developed a couple years ago encourages dense and compact development. It also encourages mixed-use developments similar to the Lincoln Square Village project which will combine retail, office and residential uses all in one building. The Stratford Residences being built at the corner of Race and Water also incorporates these concepts.

Multi-story residential development in the downtown area is advantageous for several reasons. Having people live downtown brings customers to downtown businesses. Downtwon residents bring a vitality to the area on evenings and weekends in addition to weekdays. A three or four story residential building downtown can have as many residences as 15 - 20 acres in a single-family residential subdivision.

While encouraging downtown development is important, Urbana should offer a variety of residential opportunities to people who want to live here. New single-family residential subdivisions are an important part of Urbana's growth if they are contiguous to the city boundaries (no leap-frog development) and if they do not stretch our ability to provide municipal services. Before promoting new residential subdivisions, my administration has worked with the school district and park district to be sure the area can be served with existing resources.

While I have been in office, Urbana has provided incentives to businesses that decide to locate downtown and in other areas where we want to promote development. We have several development tools to help attract development such as TIF districts and Enterprise Zones. Conversely, these incentives are not available to businesses that locate on the edge of town. For instance, no incentives of any kind were offered to Wal-Mart when they choose to locate near the intersection of Routes 150 and 130.

Other

I support funding for bike trails. Urbana has received many bike trail and multi-purpose path grants while I have been office.

Urbana got an award from the Isaac Walton League for using hybrid vehicles in our fleet. More will be added as they become available.

The Library expansion was built using many Leeds concepts.

I support energy efficiency standards in our building codes.