By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Three candidates running the Bronson Town Council appeared at a town-sponsored candidate’s forum Thursday and all seemed to have a solid grasp on issues facing the town.
Seat 4 candidates Julie Stalnaker and Jordan Jabbar participated in the forum along with Seat 2 candidate Mark Kjeseth.
An audience member asked why Seat 4 candidate Franklin Schuler was absent and why Seat 2 candidate Virginia Phillips also missed the forum on the eve of the election.
Town Manager Susan Beaudet, who organized and acted as moderator of the forum at the Levy County Government Center, responded on behalf of the two candidates.
Schuler Hospitalized, Phillips Cites Notice
“Mr. Schuler has been in the hospital for the better half of the last couple of weeks. He couldn’t make it. His daughters called me right before the start of the forum and said he just got out of the hospital, and Virginia told me this morning she did not have enough time to come to the forum. She didn’t have enough notice to come to the forum,” Beaudet said.
“Not enough notice?” said Elijah Williams, political watchdog of the town.
“I’m telling you what she told me,” Beaudet responded.
Attending Meetings on Time
Williams asked the first question of the forum, focusing on whether the candidates would come to town council meetings and be punctual about coming on time. Williams said he prides himself on being punctual. He arrived at the forum well before it started.
“Do you have a problem with coming to meetings on time?” he said.
The issue of failing to attend council meetings surfaced when Sherrie Schuler, daughter of Franklin Schuler, missed a number of meetings due to conflicts with her schedule as a Bronson Middle High School teacher and sports administrator. Councilman Jason Hunt, who isn’t running for re-election, has an out-of-town job now and missed many of the meetings this year.
Jabbar was the first to answer.
“I do not…if stuff happens in life, and emergencies do happen, but yes, I would never miss more than a meeting. In my view you should show up on time,” Jabbar said.
Kjeseth said he would be there on time.
“I would say if you get there at 6 o’clock you’re late,” Kjeseth said.
Stalnaker went a step further.
“I was always told if you arrive 15 minutes early, you’re late. That’s the way I was raised,” she said.
Unwelcome Feeling
A woman in the audience said when she attended Bronson Town Council meetings a while back, she didn’t feel like she was welcome. She wondered if the candidates had ever experienced that feeling and would they be more welcoming if they were elected to the council.
Stalnaker said she had talked to someone on the day of the forum about the same issue.
“Everyone that sits up here today and that’s running for office, it’s not about us, it’s about the town people, and it’s not about the color of your skin, it’s about doing what’s best for this town,” Stalnaker said. “We are elected officials; we work for the town. We don’t work for ourselves, we’re not there for a paycheck. We’re there to make sure anything that needs to, is brought to us so we can address it. It shouldn’t have anything to do with ulterior motives. It should have everything to do with the residents of the town.”
Kjeseth said he and Williams attend every town council meeting. He said Williams brings anything he thinks needs to be addressed.
“We are pretty aggressive with a hear-my-voice attitude. If we have something to say we’ll say it. I never felt I have not been welcomed there,” Kjeseth said.
Jabbar said he would listen to anyone’s concerns.
“I feel like if we’re not there to listen to any concerns that anyone has that lives in the town, we shouldn’t be there at all,” Jabbar said. “That’s our number one goal as a public servant is to serve our citizens.”
Kjeseth came back with a second comment, clarifying that there have been times when he felt “people were addressed inappropriately.”
“If you’re sitting on this side you don’t need to be disrespected for sure, but I’m not going to disrespect somebody either,” he added. “If somebody has an elevated emotion about something my emotion needs to stay level because the council should be held to a higher standard.”
Level of Commitment
The same audience member asked if this run for public office in Bronson was a one-shot deal or if it was going to be a long-term engagement for them.
Jabbar says he’s expanding his home for his family.
“I plan on being here. I’m trying real hard to build onto my house now to make it big enough for my growing family, so I’m staying,” Jabbar said.
Kjeseth said he’s not leaving.
“My answer is I’m not leaving ever again. I moved to Bronson as my final place. I’m not moving. If my house burns down, I’ll pitch a tent. I am not moving. I will run every time. I’ll run every time until the Good Lord takes me from the earth,” he said.
Stalnaker said she is here for the long term.
“I have a long-term commitment where I’m at, so I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. I don’t know ever. I actually never leave the town of Bronson unless I have a doctor’s appointment. I don’t do anything. I would like to take a vacation but I’m coming right back to Bronson, and like Mark said, if he doesn’t win, he’ll be running again and I’ll be right beside him and this is a long-term commitment for me,” Stalnaker said.
Addressing Public Safety
Spotlight Founder Linda Cooper asked the candidates how they would improve public safety in Bronson, noting that a business she previously managed in Bronson was burglarized three times. She acknowledged the city couldn’t afford a police department and the sheriff’s office handles all they can. How would they improve public safety?
Jabbar said better lighting in the town would help.
“I think we can start by putting more lights up to where things are more lit at night and try to get some type of better relationship with the sheriff’s department or even the Florida Highway Patrol for the main road. Eventually one day it would be nice if we could put together a small police department. The more we grow the easier it would be to accomplish. That would be part of the planning, to plan to get the funds and be able to build a police department one day,” Jabbar said. He added that James H. Cobb Park is a place he likes to take his small daughter, but he would never want his wife and daughter to go there alone. You go up there and you never know whose up there and you see shady stuff there all the time. “I’d like to work on that. I’m not sure how we could fix that, to make it feel more family-friendly.”
Kjeseth said, “That’s a good plan, more residents, more revenue so we can start to afford those things. Presently, security is never an easy thing.”
He said the town has had some success with security at the park using hidden security cameras. He said two people have been prosecuted for crimes at the park. He said he wanted to lock the bathrooms at night but he’s not sure what happened to that suggestion.
“Lights are always good. See something, say something is always good. Personal accountability is always good. So, if you have a business there are security measures you can take to secure that business,” he added. “The relationship with the sheriff’s office is key. They are literally down the road from my house.”
Stalnaker said addressing the drug issue is important.
“I’m going to start out with the drug issue. We generally have been cracking down really hard on the drug users and drug dealers around here. I personally have known several of them, not in that fashion, but when they get arrested, I say oh my goodness,” Stalnaker said. “The point is the Levy County Sheriff’s Office has the whole county to worry about but they still patrol the motel and the bar every night and at closing time they sit and make sure the girls get out. They are doing their part. I just think they are overwhelmed because we are a big county.”
She said neighborhood watch groups are fine but the town wouldn’t want someone thinking they are actual law enforcement. She said that would have to be regulated. She said people should be the ears and eyes of law enforcement – see something, say something, call. She doesn’t have a problem with that someone calling law enforcement if they see something.
“Don’t feel like you’re being nosy. Some people may be nosey but sometimes the nosey neighbor finds out who did what. I think there should be some neighborhood watch meeting, something to get people involved,” she said.
Fixing Park Flooding
Spotlight asked the candidates if they would work to relieve flooding at James H. Cobb Park in Bronson. A ditch runs along the north and east ends of the park but is blocked with two manmade earthen berms downstream. Those who are familiar with the park, blame the blockages for flooding at the park during heavy rains. The town’s spring and fall youth recreation programs are negatively impacted by the flooding. The children and their parents are often forced to travel to other cities or actually enroll their children in other municipal recreation programs due to the flooding problems at the Bronson town park. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says the ditch is not their responsibility and the Suwannee River Water Management District says the same thing. The ditch is listed on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood maps as a “regulatory floodway” that can’t be blocked, but the agency has ducked its responsibility to enforce the law.
Stalnaker said she would get right to work on the issue.
“I would immediately try to get this fixed,” she said. “The drainage definitely needs to be fixed. It’s something that definitely needs to be addressed because my grandchildren go down and play at the park and if you got water, you got moccasins,” she said, referring to a poisonous water snake.
She said she attended a Chris Young concert at the park many years ago and people came from everywhere to see him perform. She said the concert brought people to Bronson, some of whom patronized local businesses. She said the park can be used for more than just sports recreation.
Jabbar said park flooding is a big concern.
“I know it is a true concern because I have part of that creek (ditch) that goes through my property you are talking about. I’ve had to deal with that personally and with my pond overflowing and not draining properly, so I know that is an issue. I’d be more than happy to get something together, get the council together, and get with Sue (Town Manager Susan Beaudet) to get with FEMA to look into this and see what we can do to correct this – maybe create a new path. I’m not a drainage expert either. I’d be happy to look into it to get it solved,” Jabbar said.
Kjeseth said he would take the issue on to make the park more functional.
“I would if it would make the park more functional. I don’t know how much of the park floods when we have a heavy rain,” Kjeseth said.
“All of it,” said this reporter.
Kjeseth: “It’s the whole thing that floods?”
Reporter: “Just about.”
Kjeseth said that would be a significant deterrent to having high school track meets or soccer games at the park after heavy rains, unless, he said, they are playing water polo.
“I would assume there are ways to address that. I am not a civil engineer. I don’t work for the Army Corps of Engineers. I don’t know what that process looks like but I do know anything with a process takes time and money, so there has to be some type of way to address that issue and I would be willing to look into that with the help of Sue (Beaudet) and Town Hall to look and see what we could do to address the issue of flooding at the park,” Kjeseth said.
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Enterprise Reporting by Terry Witt March 30, 2023; Posted April 1, 2023
