The following is part of a series of Q&As with candidates running in contested Park Ridge aldermanic races this April. The two wards with contested races are the 3rd and 4th Wards.
Roger Shubert, elected to alderman of Park Ridge’s 4th Ward in 2013, is running for re-election to his second, four-year term.
A resident of the city for nearly 10 years, Shubert, 49, is chairman of the City Council’s Public Works Committee; serves on the Mayor’s Advisory Board, which interviews and recommends candidates for appointment to city boards and commissions; and is the City Council liaison to the Historic Preservation Commission and Bike Task Force.
Shubert works as a healthcare consultant.
Q: What do you believe a Park Ridge alderman’s role is?
A: An alderman’s role has multiple aims. First, to vote on (and sometimes sponsor) legislation that helps city staff to shape and run the operations of a community/municipality. Second, to represent the interests and address concerns of residents within his or her ward and across the city. And third, to focus on strategic priorities to invest in a community/municipality to create a better living environment within fiscal/budgetary guidelines.
Q: What are the top issues facing Park Ridge today?
A: Stormwater management, economic development and parking are the top issues that can be discussed and addressed by the City Council.
Q: If re-elected, what topics do you plan to bring to the City Council for consideration?
A: All of the above have been introduced or advanced by me in one way, shape or form during my time on City Council, and I will continue to focus on these issues if I am re-elected to a second term.
Q: Are there ways the city can further reduce its expenses?
A: I believe that there are additional expense reduction opportunities in terms of outsourcing key functions, streamlining regulations and moving paper-intensive processes online with technology investments.
Q: Are there city services you believe can be improved?
A: City services have improved over the past several years with additional investments in systems, processes, and people (through training). One area of focus that I continue to hear about from residents relates to investing in city services that touch residents online (i.e. paying bills online, getting city stickers online, online building permitting process, redesigning the city website). The city of Park Ridge could see additional benefits in customer service and reduced overall expenses from investing further in these areas. I also think that stability is important for both the City Council and city staff, especially in leadership positions. Some unforeseen circumstances have led to instability in both areas in recent times, but I would hope after the April elections that stability will return which should improve overall morale at City Hall and in turn will lead to improved customer service with the community at large.
Q: Do you believe any changes should be made to the city’s zoning ordinance?
A: Yes. While not professing to be a zoning expert, I have seen a repeated pattern of faulty interpretations of our zoning ordinance, which results in frustrated developers and residents, and inconsistent application of zoning ordinance rules by city staff has only contributed to this challenge. With the number of lawsuits that have surfaced since I became an alderman related to zoning issues, as well as the number of controversial special-use permits and variances that advance beyond the commission level to the City Council, I started proposing a few years ago the idea of updating the zoning ordinance (and possibly the sign ordinance) to simplify and clarify both ordinance documents …. I would prefer that the city hire an outside consultant to run the process of updating and simplifying the zoning/sign ordinances. However, if city staff and the City Council currently feel that the expertise to lead this process quickly and efficiently now exists within the city, then I am in favor of moving forward in a timely fashion without outside expertise.
Q: Several non-retail, non-restaurant businesses have received City Council approval in recent years to open in the Uptown core district, which is meant to be retail-focused. What is your position on granting a special-use for such businesses?
A: It is challenging for the City Council to make these kinds of decisions when we lack a good understanding on what we want Park Ridge to become and what types of businesses we would like to encourage to invest in our town …. I would prefer to focus on sales-tax generating retail and restaurant businesses in the Uptown area and grant less special-use variances for non-retail/restaurant businesses (my voting record supports this view), but that is not the City Council’s directive, nor should it be our mission to choose which businesses come or stay in Park Ridge. My preference would be to create an environment that is business-friendly overall (with less regulation and bureaucracy) to attract small and mid-size retail/restaurant businesses to Park Ridge in line with an updated comprehensive plan.
Q: Should the city fund the construction of a parking deck on the site of the Summit and Euclid public lot?
A: [I] recognize the need to find parking solutions in the Uptown area that benefit residents, local shoppers, business employees, and commuters. I would need to understand more about the overall cost of a deck, how it would be financed, who would manage it, how other communities operate their parking decks, etc. Other parcels of property in Uptown also may or may not be more suitable to a deck. I would prefer to wait until the results and recommendations of the parking study are available this spring to help inform my decision-making on whether a parking deck is a good idea in general, and if so what location(s) might work best. There may be some other avenues to improve the parking environment in the Uptown area before needing to build a parking deck.
Q: Are you supporting a candidate for mayor?
A: No. While I have experience working with acting Mayor Maloney over the past four years and sincerely appreciate the job he has done under difficult circumstances over the past two years since becoming acting mayor, I do not believe it is appropriate to choose sides in a nonpartisan race, and would be happy to work with and support the mayoral candidate for the position that is selected by a majority of voters in Park Ridge in April 2017.
Q: What else would you like voters to know about you?
A: I have enjoyed being the alderman of the 4th Ward over the past four years and hope I get a chance to continue the opportunity after the April 2017 election. I have strived to be responsible with respect to city finances, responsive to resident concerns within the 4th Ward and across the city, and progressive in “moving Park Ridge forward,” especially with my work in leading the city liquor ordinance overhaul in 2014-15 and serving as Public Works Committee chair (among other roles). My involvement in the community in a variety of areas such as Holiday Lights, St. Paul of the Cross Men’s Club, Spirit of ’45, Wilderness Scouts/Princesses and now the Taste of Park Ridge, have been both rewarding and gratifying over the past several years, and I look forward to continuing my involvement and serving the community for many years to come.
Twitter: @Jen_Tribune
