An in-depth look at WR’s Post 3 Candidates – Scott Howard

Just as the position of mayor is open for re-election in Warner Robins, so are several of the council positions. Early voting has already begun for the city, and candidates are preparing for their new roles as Election Day draws closer. For Post 1 this year, there are three potential candidates: Incumbent Councilman Keith Lauritsen and challengers, Angie Eugene and Scott Howard. All three live within the district and are, therefore, familiar with the area and what concerns its citizens may have. In an effort to provide our readers with the views of each candidate to best inform their vote, The Journal has done an in-depth interview with each of them, and is publishing the results in three separate articles.

Howard was born in Missouri, and moved around and out of the United States with military parents. For a time, as an adult, he did much the same, moving across the country working for the United States military until he retired and went into the reserves, working in aircraft maintenance. Howard settled in San Antonio, Texas with his wife and kids and fully intended to live there indefinitely – until BRAC shut down the military base he worked on, and he had to relocate to Warner Robins for work. Howard has remained since 1998. At Robins Air Force Base, Howard continued to work on C-5 airplanes until he retired. Howard has remained a part of the community since moving here, raising his children, and eventually his grandchildren all the while.

Above all things, Howard believes that his time in the workforce provided him with a major necessary skill: teamwork. “We all had to work together to accomplish whatever goal you had as a team,” he said. Howard believes that these skills will translate to his time on council, working with the mayor, other council members, and even department heads and the city administrator; whatever the issue they’re trying to resolve.

Howard’s platform for this upcoming term comes in three parts – smart city initiatives, diversifying Warner Robins’ economy and reducing storm water flooding problems.

He believes the best way to begin putting in place smart city initiatives is to resolve the city’s lawsuit with A2D, and beginning using the fiber optic lines that the company put in. Taking advantage of the high speed internet these lines could provide, Howard believes “it will completely change how we do business, how we live, work, and play here in Warner Robins.”

For lack of a better phrase, when Howard talks about diversifying the city’s economy, he talks about taking all the eggs out of one basket. Howard recognizes the great boon that Robins Air Force Base provides the city, but also notes that he wants the city to be less dependent on the base for economic activity. Howard said he wants “broader base for our economy than just Robins Air Force Base.” He calls for more small businesses and even major corporations to take up residence in Warner Robins to diversify the economy.

Finally, Howard intends to reduce storm water flooding in the city of Warner Robins. He said that in speaking with citizens across the city, he has found that the problem covers both new and old neighborhoods in the city, and wants to work with each of the council members so as a whole the problem can be handled.

Outside of his platform, Howard spoke on several issues that are concerns of Warner Robins citizens.

Blight will be ever-present for any city that grows; however, it is especially pressing for a city that has grown as quickly as Warner Robins has. Howard says that the solution is to identify the owners of blighted properties and hold them accountable for their property. “Basically, give them a ultimatum; you fix this property up, or we’re going to foreclose on it.” Following the legal steps necessary, Howard wants to hire the necessary people, begin the necessary work and “get the eye rebuilt, remodeled, or removed” from the area. Additionally, Howard wants to initialize a redevelopment plan for blighted areas.

Entrepreneurship is incredibly prevalent in Warner Robins, with existing small-businesses spread out across the city, and new ones coming in every day. Howard said the best way to nurture this trend is to continue to utilize Robins Regional Chamber as a liaison between the city and businesses. He said that it may also be necessary to streamline licensing and permitting processes.

A downtown area for Warner Robins is a consistent discussion for Warner Robins citizens, especially as the Downtown Development Authority has been revived and the Community and Economic Director Kate Hogan has recently been hired. Howard said that natives of Warner Robins often mention Commercial Circle as the prime location for a downtown area; however he believes that no location should be taken out of the running yet. “I don’t know that it has to be [at Commercial Circle],” Howard said. “We can designate any place we want.” He cited the sheer size of Warner Robins, from 96 to Dunbar, from 247 to US 41. “Warner Robins is not the sleepy little town that it once was, where the west city limits of Warner Robins went to maybe Big Lots. It’s a much bigger city.” Howard suggested that all of Warner Robins could be considered for green areas, parks and community centers.

Transparency is often discussed among citizens, and how they’d like to see city leadership be more so in city dealings. Howard said that this could be solved in a number of ways. He suggested more in-depth minutes be written after each council meeting but also suggested that a website or social media be utilized to keep citizens informed and to take in feedback, as well as more frequent town halls.

Warner Robins’ utilities can be a hot topic of debate as citizens discuss rising utility rates and the mass of leaks that city saw in recent months. Howard remarked that he understands the need for raised rates. As more infrastructure is needed as Warner Robins grows, Howard said, “It’s the price of doing business – sometimes you have to raise your rates.” Howard also recognizes that many of the city’s leaks have been resolved, and that much of the water leaks come from piping that over time produces small leaks that build over time. He said that maybe a solution lies in hiring more additional staff or contractors, and over time, replacing the faulty pipe as necessary. Additionally, by having developers put up returnable bonds in case of infrastructure faults, the city may be able to hold developers accountable.

The city of Warner Robins currently has 15 lawsuits aimed against it, some of which directly affect city council. Howard said “I don’t understand, personally, why everything has to go to a lawsuit to be resolved,” but that he won’t be able to draw full conclusions until he is privy to all legal information in each case.

Finally, Howard responded to a phenomenon called the “brain drain.” The city is seeing much of its high school graduate population leave for college, and then not return until retirement. He said the solution is multi-faceted. First and foremost, Howard believes that by providing students with more education opportunities, students may be more liable to stay during their education. Additionally, he believes that by diversifying the economy and providing students with jobs in their fields, they’ll say even after graduation.

“The incumbent has had eight years in office to accomplish what he felt was important to accomplish, and the sense I can get from the citizenry is that they want a change. They want a fresh set of eyes to look at the problems and see if they can come up with a solution. While the incumbent is a very nice man, I’ve met him, I know, he has one perspective. Sometimes a problem needs a different lens to find a solution. I believe he’s offered all the solutions he can give, because that’s his perspective. I want to be the different perspective for Post 3.”

Early voting began on October 12, and will continue every weekday and Saturday until Friday, October 29. Voting areas will be open every weekday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The final and official Election Day will be November 2.

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