Leading up to the general election on Nov. 4, Sherwood's mayoral candidates are zoning in on problems surrounding former Gravel Ridge properties, as well as the continued effort to form a Sherwood public school system.
Virginia Hillman, Sherwood's mayor since 2007, faces two opponents -- Don Berry, 67, and Doris Anderson, 59.
Berry, a retired Air Force colonel, currently serves on the legislative task force for the Arkansas Veterans Coalition and owns a business, First Ridge Associates, which provides counsel to airlines and aircraft manufacturers. He said he wants to bring his military leadership style to the city's government, which includes "listening and responding to all citizens rather than to just a small minority."
Anderson is currently an information technology manager with the Arkansas Department of Labor. She has worked for the state and lived in Sherwood for 19 years. Anderson said she wants to create a more transparent city government and gain more input from Sherwood residents and business owners when making decisions.
Before being elected to her current position, Hillman, 51, served as city clerk and treasurer for six years. She began working for the city in 1986 in the finance department. Hillman points to her experience with city finances as an advantage over the other candidates, noting that the position would be "difficult for someone who does not understand government accounting."
Sherwood's mayor is elected to a four-year term. The current salary, which must be approved by the City Council, is $87,419, according to the city's human resources department.
Issues in Gravel Ridge
Days after early voting starts Monday, Sherwood's City Council will hear again about flooding problems in Hidden Lakes Estates, a subdivision that was once part of Gravel Ridge, which was annexed into Sherwood in 2008.
Homeowners in the subdivision told aldermen in September that they blamed the city for allowing an engineer to construct a flawed drainage system in their neighborhood, said Angel Allman, one of the homeowners who brought the issue to the City Council.
Allman said the flooding has caused structural damage to some homes over the past five years.
"It's a mess," she said. "We have blighted homes, homes with structural damage. Our home's property value is affected."
Aldermen toured the neighborhood earlier this month, Allman said. Aldermen told her they would vote at the Wednesday City Council meeting whether to allocate funds to another engineering firm to conduct a study of the drainage system.
Hillman said the city records show that the system was designed and completed to the city's specifications.
"We have no reason to believe it wasn't built to standards the city had in place at that time," Hillman said. "It's not uncommon to have areas with water when we have heavy rains."
Berry, who is running for elected office for the first time, said the drainage system did not abide by standards laid out in city ordinance.
He said he thinks the problem arose because Sherwood's ordinances are not arranged into a systematic code, making it difficult for developers to know and understand the city's standards.
"I want to fix the problem first and then figure out how it happened to make sure it doesn't happen again," Berry said. "One of the actions I would take is to codify our ordinances so it's clear."
Problems at these properties are also a talking point for Anderson, who ran against Hillman in a special election in 2007 after then-Mayor Bill Harmon retired.
Anderson said the drainage system was "substandard" and the response from the City Council was "woefully inadequate."
She blamed the city for not working with the homeowners, saying homeowners requested records regarding the development of the drainage system but were told the city did not have some of the documents.
As mayor, Anderson said, she would make public documents readily available.
"We will find those records," Anderson said. "If the engineers did what they were supposed to do, they would be made available to the public."
Separate school district
All candidates agreed on the continued effort to break away from the Pulaski County Special School District and form a separate public school system.
Last year, Hillman appointed the members of the Sherwood Public Education Foundation, an organization that is working toward that goal.
"Some people are trying to jump on the wagon," Hillman said. "I find it odd that they haven't been interested until now. There's a difference between being there when it starts and jumping on when it gets going. I've been to every meeting, and I'll continue supporting that."
Berry said Sherwood is "late to the game," noting the recent vote by Jacksonville to create a new district.
As mayor, he said he would push to form an interim school board that could be appointed "when the time comes." He said he would like that interim board to shadow Jacksonville's.
"I've strongly supported that -- longer than the mayor has," Berry said. "We waited, and there was no reason for that. We could have been leading the charge."
Anderson said she would support the Sherwood Public Education Foundation and lead the city in following Jacksonville's plan.
"We could take their plan, learn from it, build on it and build Sherwood schools," she said.
Metro on 10/18/2014