The Kenmore Reporter newspaper conducted a Q&A with all the city council candidates for a story that ran in the newspaper published July 5. Here is the Q&A with Mark Prince in its entirety:

What do you see as the top three issues facing the city of Kenmore?

1. Operating costs within the city: For example, our city’s current salary structure needs to be in line with that of our city, not that of our neighboring cities of Bothell and Woodinville and their larger business tax base, which includes a number of medical research, technology, manufacturing, large stores and wineries.

2. Bringing new business into the city: The question that has to be answered is why do the residents of Kenmore have to travel to a neighboring city to shop and do business, why is that business not here in our city? A problem is in Kenmore’s business development plan that has put restrictions on the type and location of new businesses within our business districts and this is sending our residents elsewhere to do business.

3. Transportation: The tolling of State Route 520 has already increased traffic on Bothell Way and has moved more traffic onto our neighborhood and residential streets and with the plans to add tolling to Interstate 90, this will only add to the current problem.

How do you feel the city handled the acquisition and sale of the Kenmore Village property and what would you have done differently?

The city of Kenmore had an idea that looked good only in their minds, but the reality is they should have never purchased Kenmore Village and they need to be accountable for their actions and apologize to all Kenmore citizens for their miserable handling of the project

And as for the current sale, I wish I was a shareholder with the new buyers of the property because they just made a great buy. It’s a great property location and “pennies on the dollar” for the value of the remaining property of Kenmore Village.

A city our size should not be landlords and the city did a poor job at that with only Kenmore Village (repair jobs for the tenants were on par with that of the snail’s pace of state government).

When a city purchases property for the good of the city, you should see a city building at a fair market price or a park for the benefit of the residents; this did not meet that criteria. The city has placed blame away from them and is now throwing around a lot of numbers that makes this deal sound really good, but the reality of this sale is very simple. The city in 2003 paid 45 percent more for the property than the assessed value – $5.2 million/$3.56 million assessed value. And today the value of the remaining Kenmore Village property has an assessed value of $4.7 million and the city accepted $1.8 million for that remainder of Kenmore Village.

How can the city say with a straight face that this was good for the city and the tax payers? They act like our money comes from a bag that has no bottom and they just keep reaching in with no hesitation. This is something I might expect from a learning child but not from our $100,000-plus salaried managers and directors.

The city should have reexamined the criteria (a strict set of objectives brought few bidders) on how the property could potentially be developed to allow the opportunity to attract more bidders. I also expect the same results of pennies on the dollar for the sale of the old park and ride lot that has a current assessed value of $3.9 million and that sale is now pending.

In your opinion, what is the best way to spur growth in the city and build a sense of community between businesses and the local government?

We need to reexamine Kenmore’s business development plan on the type of business within the business districts. Kenmore is a potential gold mine for attracting consumer businesses; we have up to 50,000 vehicles and consumers traveling through Kenmore on any given day and lose out on these potential sales each day for not having the right business.

The city currently does not allow or encourage the types of business that do not fit the mold or idea of the current council and that would allow the consumer to stop and shop, now leaving neighboring communities to take advantage of our passive approach.

Kenmore is a bedroom community with potential business opportunities within, but when we shop our choice is limited or unavailable, leaving us to look to Bothell, Woodinville, Lynnwood, or elsewhere. The current mold is broken and we need to allow the businesses we use into our city to create a better balance between manufacturing and consumer purchasing.

The city needs to support new businesses and increase consumer purchasing for its larger sales and manufacturing tax base, rather then the current format of relying strongly on property tax and service fees for revenue.

If you have an issue that is important to you please tell our readers about it and what you would like to do about it as a council member?

The cleanup and removal of graffiti within the city of Kenmore and its neighborhoods and the full prosecution of all individuals involved. Graffiti is a growing problem in our larger nearby cities and it has made it to our city too, and the best deterrent is the prompt removal of such markings. The current policy seems to be wait until someone complains before the city acts; one may notice a marking while driving by, but in our busy lives it’s a fading memory when you get home. I would make several point changes to the current policy:

• As part of employment for any city of Kenmore personnel, it is your reasonability to report any graffiti within the city for removal.

• Contractors doing work within the city must keep all their equipment free of graffiti.

• Utility boxes, vaults and polls would have ID tags to identify owner and location.

• The city’s website would have a link where residents could easily report graffiti.

• Graffiti would be removed within 72 hours of reporting.

What is your campaign website address for residents to learn more about you?

I have no website. My campaign email where I may answer your questions is: princeforkenmore@outlook.com