Business development, job growth top issues at forum

There was little dispute between Shawano mayoral candidates at a meet-and-greet Monday about the steps needed to address business development and job growth in the city.

While their priorities were mostly in sync, there was disagreement about whether the city has been doing enough along those lines and which of the candidates is better suited to moving the city forward.

Jeanne Cronce, a 14-year member of the Shawano Plan Commission and former Shawano School District teacher and principal, sat down to take questions with Jim Oberstein, retired director of credit and collections with Johnson Controls in Milwaukee, at the Shawano City-County Library.

About 20 people attended the event.

Oberstein stressed his 45 years’ experience in business management, including banking, finance and credit collections.

He said he viewed the role of mayor as akin to a chief executive officer for the city.

He said the mayor should “be a spokesperson, lead the city, and go out and get the business that we need and the jobs that we need.”

Oberstein promised a more aggressive role in attracting business.

“We can’t wait any longer for business to come to Shawano,” he said. “We have to go out and get it.”

Cronce stressed her lifelong ties to the community and her work with the school district and numerous community groups.

“I’m very familiar with a lot of the issues we’re going to be looking at in the coming years,” she said.

She also said some of the initiatives proposed by Oberstein were efforts that were already underway in the city, including a youth apprenticeship program in the schools and an economic summit of business leaders, though Oberstein said those programs should be expanded.

Downtown revitalization and addressing the issue of vacant buildings was another area where the candidates found common ground.

A number of long-vacant downtown buildings are owned by the Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology or its subsidiaries.

“The organization that owns those buildings has been here a long time,” Oberstein said. “We’ll have to work with them, if they volunteer and work with us. If not, then the city’s got to step up and do something because we can’t wait any longer. It’s been too many years.”

Cronce said the city’s re-establishment of the Redevelopment Authority should be able to address the issue of the vacant buildings.

“Hopefully the owners will see that we are willing to work with them,” she said.

Cronce also took issue with the notion that many people feel they need to leave Shawano to shop, saying there are many businesses in the city that need support and encouragement from the community.

“We have to promote what we have and encourage the people that are here,” she said.

Oberstein said too many people were leaving Shawano to shop for specialty items, and said the city needs to attract those businesses to Shawano.

He said he was the only candidate to put forward specific plans to bring new industry and businesses to Shawano.

Mayoral leadership style was another question that came up, as both candidates fielded a question on whether the city needs a mayor.

Both agreed the role was important to the city but with some slight differences in the job duties.

“It’s important that we have a mayor that can field questions, that can be supportive of what’s going on in the community, that is the major cheerleader for our town and what is going on,” Cronce said.

She also said she would be “an approachable person,” with a standing invitation for the community to come in and chat.

“I’m going to bring to the mayor’s office the idea that your concerns are important, that we will work together to make sure that we do get new businesses, that we do get new industries,” she said.

Cronce also said she would not “micromanage” city operations.

“I will work with the department heads, who are all educated people. They work together as a team,” she said.

Oberstein opened the door to the possibility of melding some of the mayor’s duties with the city administrator, saying that was something that would have to be looked at in the future.

He said he also stressed a team approach, collaboration and communication.

“My style will be open, integrity, honesty, and I have a set standard of morals and values that I will not waver from,” Oberstein said.

Other questions included what would become of the former Shawano Medical Center, with both candidates agreeing the building needed to be torn down to make way for other development options.

“There’s just no feasible way at this point to make it work,” Cronce said, noting that the building’s infrastructure would be “astronomically expensive” to update.

“I have mixed feelings about tearing it down,” she said. “But everything has its life span.”

Oberstein agreed it was time to move on from the existing building.

“The facility really does not have the ability to be retrofitted for anything else,” he said.

Oberstein also noted that the waterfront site is a valuable piece of property that could go back onto the tax rolls and increase the city’s revenue.

The question of the future of the library, where the event was held, was also raised.

Oberstein said library repairs or replacement with a new facility would be a priority in the budget process.

“It’s a a key part of the city, and I would support whatever we need to do here,” he said.

Cronce said whatever is done would have to be in collaboration with the county.

However, she added, “as city mayor, of course that would be a priority of mine.”

Incumbent Mayor Lorna Marquardt is not running for re-election. Voters will choose between Cronce and Oberstein on April 5.