Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Smith wants to focus on growth management, senior citizens

Keith Smith

By DAVID S. OWEN

Keith Smith, a retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel and chairman of the City Property Maintenance Task Force, is running for City Council in the Nov. 8 general election.

Smith retired after 28 years of military service. He was appointed to the task force by Mayor David Shaver.

Smith is one of seven candidates running for four seats on council.

The others include incumbents Mitch O'Brien. Michael Sabatino and William Wright and challengers Jeff Fix, Cristie Hammond and Tory Kramer.

Smith and his wife, Rebecca, have been married for 11 years. They moved to Pickerington in December 2003 because they wanted to live in a suburb and after meeting some neighbors that lived in Pickerington, they decided to move.

Smith has two sons -- Jonathan, 28, and Robert, 23 -- from a previous marriage.

''Rebecca and I decided to live in Pickerington because it has everything we wanted, with its economy and property values growing, and it offers services that we were interested in,'' he said.

Smith, 49, attended college at Eastern Kentucky University on a three-year ROTC scholarship, and received a bachelor of science degree in law enforcement.

Soon after, he received his master's degree in systems management from the University of Southern California. He became activated for military service in the Army in 1977.

In 1990 Smith spent three tours of duty in South Korea.

He left the active military in 1993 and entered the Army Reserves.

While in the reserves, Smith worked for TRW as an International Logistics Consultant.

After his stay in Saudi Arabia, Smith took a position with Columbia Gas in Charleston, W.Va., as a project manager.

By the time Smith moved to Columbus, Columbia Gas had been purchased by NiSource Inc.

Smith was promoted to business improvement consultant.

Smith said he's had the opportunity to interact with city staff and council members.

''If we don't address the issues today and get set up for the things around the corner that we don't even know about,'' he said, ''we may not be prepared.

''We need to get the issues addressed today and for tomorrow to prepare us for the future,'' he said.

Smith has three main issues on which he wants to focus.

One is growth management. He said his goal is to implement a comprehensive growth management strategy.

Keith Continued SNP

His second key issue is looking at an issue's impact on senior citizens on fixed incomes.

''Property taxes are going up, Levies are being enacted, but their incomes are not going up,'' he said.

''In my mind the right thing to do for our senior citizens is for the city look for ways to mitigate the impact of those increases on our senior citizens,'' he said.

The third is to propose a ''Buy Pickerington'' campaign

On the ''Buy Pickerington'' campaign, Smith said Pickerington has a good selection of commercial stores and the full capability of providing for residents' needs, but he wants to urge any procurement for the city be purchased from a Pickerington vendor.

''I think I have the skills and abilities to address the issues the cities are facing today, and to cooperate with City Council to fix them,'' Smith said.

When asked if he could be anyone in the world, Smith said he would be ''Retired U.S. Army General, Herb Lloyd. He's my mentor, a genuine hero, a man I most respect and admire, and the most morally correct and happy person I have ever met in my life,'' he said.

Simth in This Week

Pickerington City Council
Seven seek election Nov. 8 to four open seats


Thursday, October 13, 2005

By MACKENZIE WHITE
ThisWeek Staff Writer

Keith Smith, 49, is making his first run for elected office. He is employed as an internal consultant/project manager for NiSource Inc./Columbia Gas.

He earned a master's degreein systems management from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and a bachelor's degree in law enforcement from Eastern Kentucky University. He is serving his second term as a trustee for the Stonebridge Civic Association and is chairman of the Pickerington Property Maintenance Task Force.

Smith and his wife, Rebecca, have two sons: Jonathan, 28, and Robert, 23.

Six of the seven candidates responded to questionnaires from ThisWeek. Sabatino did not respond.

Looking ahead to 2006, what do you see as the city's biggest challenge? If elected, how do you plan to deal with this?

Smith: The city's biggest challenge over the next year will be dealing with growth. If elected, I will support implementation of a comprehensive growth management plan, parts of which are already in the process of being adopted. The first step is impact fees. I would also support design standards, increased sewer and water tap fees and a comprehensive, reasonable zoning approach. All of these items will only impact new development and not current homeowners.

The city and Violet Township have been working to cooperate more than in past years; examples are the resolution of several annexation lawsuits, a possible joint parks district and a possible Joint Economic Development District (JEDD) or a Cooperative Economic Development Agreement (CEDA). Do you think this is a positive move? Why or why not? In what other ways might the two communities work together?

Smith: I believe that the more the city and the township work together, the more our citizens will benefit. The city is also cooperating with other governmental entities as well as the school district. The logical next step will be for the city and the township to look for a coordinated growth management strategy. The primary beneficiary of this cooperation will be our school district, which will be better able to plan and prepare for growth.

Residential design guidelines have been proposed. Some say they will benefit the city and will affect only those building new homes; others say people should be able to design their homes as they wish. What do you think? Do you think these guidelines might keep people from moving into the area? If so, would this be an appropriate way to manage growth?


Smith: I support residential design standards for new home construction as part of a comprehensive growth management strategy. Most current builders are already in compliance with the proposed design standards, so this will only affect a relatively small number of homes being built. I do not think that this will have the effect of driving prospective home buyers away; in fact, just the opposite by making our city more attractive with stable property values.


mfry@thisweeknews.com