Two seek office of Urbanna Mayor in May 4 election
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Current mayor Beatrice Taylor is not seeking re-election.
Richwine was born in Urbanna at his present home site on Marston Avenue. He attended Urbanna Elementary school, Christchurch School, and earned a civil engineering degree from the University of Virginia.
He has been married to wife Judy for over 45 years and has 3 children and 5 grandchildren.
He worked for the Commonwealth of Virginia for 38 years in various capacities, including; surveyor, grade foreman and inspector for VDOT; planner, state flood plain engineer, and state member of Appalachian Regional Commission for Division of Water Resources; planner, regional director, and EPA representative for WQ permits and Chesapeake Bay Program for State Water Control Board; wrote industrial permit limits and coal mine waste safety limits for Department of Environmental Quality.
He served on Urbanna Town Council 8 of the last 14 years, and on the town planning commission for 10 years.
His volunteer work includes being actively involved with the American Heart Association, March of Dimes, Cancer Society, Jacob’s Ladder, Middle School Reading Program, Oyster Festival committees, blood donor, wrestling and baseball Little Leagues, and citizen committees. He is an active member of Urbanna United Methodist Church.
For the last four years, Janet Suzon Smith has been a member of Urbanna Town Council. During those years she served on the Urbanna Planning Commission, Urbanna Utilities Committee, Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission Board, Middle Peninsula Business Development Partnership Board and current chair, and the Middle Peninsula Access Authority as a board member and vice chair.
Just prior to serving on the town council, Smith was appointed to help develop Middlesex’s first Capital Improvement Plan. This year she has been appointed by the Middlesex Board of Supervisors to help update Middlesex County’s Capital Improvement Plan. During her time on council and as part of the town planning commission, Smith drafted the first Urbanna Capital Improvement Plan.
Last year she wrote and presented the resolution to remove all sewage effluent from Urbanna Creek, which council approved with no opposition. Following that she wrote and presented a resolution for the Town of Urbanna to seek Exceptional Waters Status (Tier 3) from the state for Urbanna Creek, which passed with no opposition. She also participated in the “Sewage Summit,” which was attended by state and local officials as well as HRSD, to seek alternatives for sewage disposal that do not pollute local waters.
The Sentinel recently asked the two mayor candidates to answer three questions. Their responses are as follows.
1. What are the top two issues/concerns facing Urbanna today and in the near future, and how will you address these issues/concerns?
Richwine: Of major concern is the town’s financial health. While our current and projected budget will meet most needs, any emergencies or unexpected events could cause extended financial hardship for the town and its citizens. Infrastructure maintenance, pool rehabilitation and adequate employee compensation are all in jeopardy and steps need to be taken to stabilize funding. The proposed budget is an important first step to fiscal soundness. A rise in water rates (not sewer) is long overdue and will help pay for those infrastructure needs which have been draining the general fund, thus depriving other areas having needs. There is also a need to build up a reserve fund and capital improvement fund to help us through economic downturns or unexpected systems breakdowns. These funds could alleviate some cost items such as those we are now experiencing and have had to borrow monies for.
Secondly, the town needs to attract and develop more business opportunities and promote tourism which, in turn, will encourage more people to visit and settle in the area, improving the economy through the use of our waterfront resources and our best resource of all—the town citizens.
Smith: The top two issues facing Urbanna today are related: We need to bring in more visitors, and we need to protect the water and waterfront that bring them here. We can’t just wait for “something to happen” in Urbanna; we need a mayor who will make Urbanna a better destination for more visitors. I have visited other towns and I have attended conferences, all at my own expense, to learn what other communities have done to promote themselves successfully, such as banding together to attract visitors to their areas. That’s why I would work with other communities in the Middle Peninsula, such as Gloucester Courthouse and Mathews and Tappahannock, to encourage visitors to explore the region. Also, I would research businesses and contact ones I think might be interested in locating in Urbanna. They may not know about us and we can change that. Another of my ideas is to honor the spirit of the “Miss Anne” by seeking to revive the once-popular “whiskey run” from Irvington to Urbanna. Folks visiting the Northern Neck may not feel like driving all the way to Urbanna, but they sure do like coming here by boat.
2. In what areas could government services be trimmed, and in what areas are there such urgent needs that you would consider raising taxes for needed revenue?
Richwine: In my understanding of the budget and expenditures, I see very little waste in the services sector. Sure, we could do with less landscaping and beautification of parks and properties. We could close the pool more often (or not open). We could do away with the trolley or not spend monies on promoting the town as a destination, or not make donations to fire, rescue or library, and so on, but, no one has protested these services or suggested that they be trimmed. As the town and some of its citizens have become inclined to be more proactive about changing Urbanna, the current budget has no funds for some suggestions that have been made, due to the economy. It is always important to be seeking more ways to improve our town and to provide the funding, but we do need to build up our funds before going into any more debt. So, I do not see any areas now or in the near term which might require a tax increase.
Smith: I do not see any need to raise taxes, and I don’t anticipate that Urbanna’s needs will be so urgent in the near future that a tax increase would be needed. As for whether Urbanna needs to trim additional services, I don’t think that is necessary at this time. As has happened to many communities, Urbanna’s finances have been strained during this economic downturn. I am pleased the town has responded by cutting its budget and also by better managing the money it has. I think it’s important that we carefully manage the town’s finances well, limit our expenses and increase our revenues. For now, though, rather than trim services, I believe what is called for is to freeze our administrative costs, and focus on increasing our revenues by enhancing our business community. I believe that the key to Urbanna’s future is private business, and our local government’s role is to help pave the way.
3. What qualities do you have that will help you lead Urbanna as Mayor.
Richwine: Having been born here and schooled locally, and having an investment of my life here, I want to give back what this means to me so others might fall in love with this town. I have grown up with a large number of my present-day contemporaries and owning property here translates into a vested interest in the well-being for the town.
My work experience—38 years in state government, mostly water quality, the environment and planning, dealing with over 50 persons as a manager, and responsible for millions of dollars spent for natural resources provides me with valuable experience; 13 years in town government, 8 on council, 10 on planning commission has also given me good experience.
My ability to get along with people and to listen and respect people’s views, even when I may not agree with their views, I believe is a valuable asset. Being retired also gives me the opportunity to give a lot of time to the office, which does appear to be more demanding these days. The people of Urbanna are special and really care about Urbanna. Striving to be open, to earn the people’s trust, and to work with the citizens to lead Urbanna wherever they want to go will be my goal.
Smith: One of the mayor’s major roles is to build consensus, not just among members of town council, but also among town residents and business owners, on a vision of Urbanna’s future and how to achieve it. For many years I have worked in a variety of settings for pay or as a volunteer in which I was privileged to act as a consensus builder. I enjoy people, and I enjoy engaging with them in a process of problem-solving to develop innovative and practical ways to achieve common goals. If elected mayor I would dedicate myself to doing this for the town of Urbanna. I have also had the benefit of hands-on experience with an array of financial, business, personnel, environmental, marketing, and land use planning issues that I believe would serve me well in my role as mayor. For example, I am chair of the Middle Peninsula Business Development Partnership and I serve on the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission. Before moving to this area some 16 years ago, I sold and developed real estate and ran my own business. And somehow during all this, I managed to raise a dozen children.
