Johnstown City Council Gears Up for Election Day
BY LIZZIE MARGOLIUS
JOHNSTOWN - Johnstown has been the center of much attention the last few years. With the arrival of Intel, came much public uncertainty, fear, and frustration. At the same time, Johnstown also moved from village to city status. Adding more fuel to the fire was a special city recall election involving Johnstown’s Mayor, Chip Dutcher, and City President, Marvin Block, along with the resignation of the city manager, finance director, two city council members, a police officer, and an unjustified firing of the police chief. Ohio unemployment rules Johnstown fired police chief without just cause
As Johnstown continues to experience pressure from Intel and rapid growth, the city is still undergoing turbulent growing paints of the old vs. the new. This election, Johnstown has 4 open seats and 6 candidates running for city council. We were able to speak with one of those candidates about Johnstown and its future.
Nicole Shook was previously appointed to Johnstown City Council right after the city lost two council members, its president, and mayor. Nicole served out her appointment and is currently serving on the board of Greater Johnstown Parks & Recreation Department, is a founding member of the Johnstown Lifestyle Board, and helps organize the Johnstown Fireworks Celebration. When asked about how she plans on dealing with the impending growth of Johnstown, Nicole said,
“Growth can bring opportunity, but must be managed with intention, which means strengthening our infrastructure, supporting our schools, maintaining green space, and keeping our small-town charter intact. One of the ways we do this is through tougher pre-development agreements with builders and developers. For example, they should share the responsibility of upgrading infrastructure, so they leave things better than they found them.”
Nicole said her biggest lesson from serving on city council the first time is that communication and follow-through with the public is what matters most, and that structure and accountability are necessary to get things done.
“When residents feel left out, or uninformed, trust breaks down quickly. Transparency can’t be just another talking point, council must live it out daily. Council must also have clear goals, timelines, and progress updates that residents can easily track. It is imperative to roll up our sleeves and get things done on the committees, rather than allowing things to stall and that’s where standard operating procedures will help us achieve our objectives. Having well-defined processes between committees, city staff, and planning will set expectations, avoid confusion, and make sure that every project aligns with our long-term goals.”
Which leads Nicole to her final point of working together. Nothing gets done when council is constantly divided and Johnstown’s residents have had plenty of division.
“What Johnstown needs now to survive the rapid change that is coming is unity. This will provide a stronger city, which can plan and prepare in a more proactive manner to avoid any more surprises.”
Johnstown’s biggest surprise to date has been the arrival of Intel. Now, the city and its residents are reactively planning for the growth that will inevitably come its way. Johnstown is torn between people who want Johnstown to stay the same and people who are aggressively pushing for the massive development of Johnstown and its surrounding areas. City council members will have a tough job on their hands navigating these two camps.
Also running for city council are Kyle Cook, Ryan Green (incumbent), Nick Hubbell, Matthew Huggins, and Wesley Kobel (incumbent). The general election is Tuesday, November 4th.
