The Wilson Post
LEBANON WEATHER

Mayoral candidates continue outlining plans




Bernie Ash

Bernie Ash

Three of the four Lebanon mayor candidates in the November election continued to discuss their visions and plans for the city as early voting approaches.

Candidate Rob Cesternino appeared on Coleman Walker’s “Coleman and Company” show on WANT/WCOR 98.9, where he discussed several topics related to his run for office.

Cesternino, who served on the Lebanon City Council from 2010 to 2018, said the city is at a crossroads where the right leadership is critical to take the city to the next level.

“We are no longer in the position where you can elect a local guy that everybody likes or everybody knows the family name. We need experienced, results-oriented, credentialed leadership to take Lebanon to the next level,” Cesternino said.

Cesternino pointed to the city’s reserve account, which he said he worked to booster as a councilman, as an example of the city’s need for proper planning.

“We have a substantial amount of money sitting in there. We have no plan on how to use this money, and yet, we’re going to raise property taxes 41 percent in the best economy we’ve ever had. To me, that meets President Reagan’s definition of ‘We don’t have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem,’” said Cesternino, who said he would work to provide $1 of service for every $1 of tax revenue as mayor.

John DeMoor

John DeMoor

Cesternino also said he believed city leaders should place more focus on established residents and businesses.

“Let’s clean our streets. Let’s get the grass out of our sidewalks. Let’s get a community center and park for our kids to play. Let’s take care of the people that are already here today,” he said.

Cesternino also participated in a virtual mayoral forum held by the Lebanon-Wilson County Chamber of Commerce that featured candidates Rick Bell and John DeMoor.

Lebanon Mayor Bernie Ash was unable to participate in the forum after testing positive for COVID-19.

The trio answered questions related to their vision for the city, flooding and growth management.

Bell

Bell

Bell, current Cumberland University professor and former city councilor, said his vision for the city starts with proper planning.

“Our comprehensive plan is decades old, and we need to be looking to the future, we can’t continue to look into the past and do things we way we used to,” Bell said.

He added the city should focus on enhancing quality of life and retail options for residents.

“What we also need is a way to make sure we get locally-owned businesses and enhance them, as well,” he said. “Some of the best places to eat are locally owned. The best places to shop are locally owned. That’s what gives the city its identity – those places that people here have invested in.”

Bell highlighted more than 8,000 homes that are set to be constructed in Lebanon, and said he would work on a plan to properly manage the incoming growth. He noted that most of the single-family homes in the city are rentals.

Rob Cesternino

Rob Cesternino

“That’s a huge thing that we really need to look at and really deal with because there are a lot of people in those homes in the rental market, and we need to get them in the ownership market. We need to figure out a way to change that,” he said.

Bell also said the city needs to make sure growth is handled on its own terms and through a long-term vision.

He also discussed the sidelined flood risk management plans with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that would address flooding issues in downtown Lebanon.

“I don’t know what happened to that plan. It kind of went away for a while. I noticed that since the last big rain we had, the city council is looking at it again, but that’s just really a case in sense of urgency – letting plans sit to the side, letting them sit on the shelf and not really taking action,” he said. “We have to take action before the next flood comes.”

DeMoor said as mayor, he would analyze the cost of the Corps of Engineers flood risk management plan, and consider plans to divert water from the downtown area. He said flooding focus should also be placed on other areas of the city, as well.

DeMoor also said the city could construct a multi-level parking garage in the downtown area, which he said could promote new housing developments, which, in turn, would raise property values and allow for more funding to repair flooding issues.

DeMoor said he believed growing the city’s tax base instead of raising the tax rate is a better approach to the city’s finances.

“Planning, pragmatic growth in business and housing, keeping a sharp eye on infrastructure needs and more investors wanting to work with us will provide a growing tax return of money into our city treasury,” he said. “In the recent past, there have been a number of expenditures on large, non-essential items, such as the Mitchell House and the land purchase for a sports complex.

“While these two items have their merits, I would have instead directed the money toward essentials.”

Other economic plans highlighted by DeMoor include refinancing current bonds, reviewing Highway 231 sports complex plans and expanding services at the Lebanon Municipal Airport to compete with the Nashville International Airport as a satellite freight hub.

Early voting for the Nov. 3 election will take place from Oct. 14 to Oct. 29, with voter registration deadline set for Oct. 5.

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