Three candidates vie for Roseburg Council seat

A new grocery store downtown. Improving public transportation. Cleaner neighborhoods and smoother traffic. Attracting new businesses, like wineries, and even solar power-related light industry.

These are just some of the ideas being voiced by three candidates competing to replace incumbent Roseburg City Councilor Stacey Crowe, who has decided not to run for re-election to the Ward 4, Position 2 seat representing the southeast portion of the city.

The contenders are Mike Baker, Stephen Dickinson and Susan Onikama. Here’s how they responded to questions on issues ranging from how to jump-start the local economy to how to get traffic from Interstate 5 to Diamond Lake Boulevard:

Mike Baker

Mike Baker thinks the biggest city issues are getting a grocery store back downtown, creating jobs and making sure public transit continues to run.

To create jobs, he thinks the city should work to extend utilities to help develop vacant land, work with Umpqua Community College to improve the work force and partner with the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce.

A study is being done on how to get traffic from Interstate 5 to Diamond Lake Boulevard. Baker said he didn’t want to express a preference on the options presented so far as he thinks “it’s important to remain open to ideas and suggestions” that may come up.

He has definite opinions, however, on a proposed Urban Growth Boundary expansion, which the Planning Commission is considering. “It’s absolutely critical to the future of Roseburg,” he said. “It’s important the city grows in an orderly and logical fashion.”

Baker said he’s qualified to be a council member because of the four years he previously served on the council, the time he’s spent on various boards and commissions and because he “has a passion for volunteering.”

Stephen Dickinson

Stephen Dickinson would focus on issues important to his ward, such as neighborhood livability, alleviating traffic, improving storm drains and bringing a grocery store back to the downtown area.

His suggestions to boost the local economy also revolve around his ward. He thinks cleaning up its neighborhoods and making them more desirable might help entice people who work from home to move here and to “bring their own income” to the community.

Dickinson has other ideas to improve his ward. He thinks developing a Master Plan for the Mill-Pine neighborhood, a process now underway, will help improve neighborhood livability, including alleviating problems such as heavy truck traffic, excessive traffic speed and a lack of pedestrian crossings on Pine Street.

Asked how best to get traffic from Interstate 5 to Diamond Lake Boulevard, he said none of the options seem to have “excited anybody.” He hopes a current environmental assessment will provide more information.

Dickinson said he also needs more information before he can form an opinion on the proposed Urban Growth Boundary expansion.

He feels he’s qualified to be on the council because of his ability to listen and to pull people together to solve problems. He believes those traits have helped improve the Mill-Pine neighborhood he lives in and would help him do the same for the city as a council member.

Susan Onikama

Susan Onikama would focus on re-energizing the downtown, improving the city’s transportation system and helping transform the economy from one based on agriculture and forestry to one based on “wineries and new patterns of thinking of what we are and what we can offer.”

To jump-start the local economy, she thinks the city needs to actively pursue bringing new businesses here, especially light industry such as solar power-related businesses, and should continue to promote tourism. The city should focus on being a desirable place to come to by offering good parks, schools and housing options and should cultivate a willingness to be open to new ideas and innovations.

As for getting traffic from Interstate 5 to Diamond Lake Boulevard, Onikama understands making Diamond Lake and Odell Avenue one-way streets is the least expensive alternative.

But, in the long run, she thinks the city needs to build a bridge over the South Umpqua River. The sooner it is built, the less it will cost, she added.

Onikama supports expanding the city’s Urban Growth Boundary as she thinks it’s a good idea to plan for growth and not have it “just mushroom.”

She feels she is qualified to be a council member as she has a lot of experience as a manager and executive supervisor, as well as dealing with large budgets.

Having lived all over the world, Onikama thinks she can bring new ideas and ways of looking at things to the council.

• You can reach reporter Kathy Korengel at 957-4218 or by e-mail at kkorengel@nrtoday.com.