Friday, October 4, 2013

P&Z chair Geoffrey Moore says he’s ready to take larger role


By CHRISTINE COLBERT
For the Express


    Longtime Hailey resident Geoffrey Moore will be challenging incumbent Don Keirn in a bid for City Council this November. After serving for six years as chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission, he feels he ready to take a step up into a larger role.
    Having lived in Hailey for 19 years, and unsuccessfully running for city Mayor two years ago, Moore, 57, has been active in city government. After retiring in 2009, he has served as a volunteer on the Hailey Fire Department, Blaine County Search and Rescue and has attended public meetings regularly for the last decade.
    “I’m ready to take this seat,” he said. “I think I can bring a quality note to it, a quality that I have developed sitting as the chair of the planning and zoning commission.”

I’m ready to give people a sense of the trust
and repertoire that they’re looking for.”

Geoffrey Moore
Candidate


    Moore said the council is not doing the job it should be doing.
    “I think they are rushing into things, and there’s no individuality amongst them anymore,” he said.
    Moore said he can bring a sense of careful decision-making to the seat that he finds has been missing for some time.
    “Their hearts are not in it—they just aren’t in it any more for the right reasons,” he said.
    He also seeks to encourage “real, economic development.”
    “I don’t think loud music into the night is economic development, and I don’t think bicycle races are economic development. We need businesses and manufacturing companies.”
    Moore reflected on his time on the P&Z, saying that he has excelled at understanding the city process, working with budgets and staying within parameters.
    “I’m more fiscally conservative than other people,” he said. “I think people are hurting, and the city needs to prioritize their decisions.”
    Moore contended the city is asking too much of its residents.
    “The council goes to the well way too often with levies and bonds,” he said. “They need to come up with equitable means other than making residents pay.”
    Moore said he would like to explore other methods of generating revenue, especially in regard to capital improvement funds.
    He said he also wants to work on pedestrian and bicycle access, making the streets safer for the community.
    “There’s still a really long way to go to make it safe, especially for our pedestrians.”
    Moore said he hopes to mix things up at City Council meetings by asking more questions and encouraging increased public debate. He said he wants to see more community involvement created by making council participation more friendly.
    “It’s hard enough for the public to go to a meeting and to stand up and address the council,” he said. “We don’t need to compound that by intimidating them. I want people to feel that when they address the council, they actually have been heard. I want people to leave satisfied.”
    He added that as an elected official, he would want to hear more feedback from the public.
    “I don’t want to make a decision strictly based upon my personal beliefs. I want support from my community.
    “I’m ready to give people a sense of the trust and repertoire that they’re looking for. I think it’s important right now that the public start gaining the trust back with its council.”




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