Four eye Greencastle council openings

GREENCASTLE, Pa. — Four candidates are vying for three seats on the Greencastle Borough Council in Tuesday's primary.

Incumbents H. Duane Kinzer and James (Jim) Farley along with newcomer Frank Webster, Jr. are running in the Republican primary.

While Wade G. Burkholder is running unopposed on Democratic ballots.

All four candidates are running for four-year terms and will advance to the general election on Nov. 8.

Farley, 70, of 79 Celestial Terrace, is running for re-election after being appointed in January to replace councilman Mark Singer, who resigned.

Farley said he wants to give back to Greencastle through continued service on the borough council.

After spending 30 years in the army, earning two associate degrees, a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, teaching and owning a medium size business, Farley said he wants to use those experiences to serve Greencastle.

"I feel that I've been very fortunate in my background. I want to contribute to maintaining that small town, historic atmosphere in Greencastle and be part of the decision-making process to look forward to growth and the challenges that come with it, such as infrastructure," Farley said.

Farley said he wants to maintain the quaint, homey atmosphere of Greencastle, while realizing that growth is inevitable in the Greencastle area.

"There is always going to be growth, and we have to attract industry and raise the level of the tax base. So, when doing that we're going to have to accommodate that with an expanded infrastructure, sewers, water, electric and try as best we can to anticipate that growth and be ready when it arrives," Farley said.

Kinzer, 67, 463 E. Baltimore St., Greencastle is running for a third term on the Greencastle Borough Council.

"I would hope that my past experience, financial background, and my interest shown in our community may help encourage our voters to consider me for re-election," said Kinzer, who is employed by Century Inc. of Greencastle.

He was asked to head a downtown community revitalization committee that has since become Greencastle Downtown Inc., along with the help of the Greencastle Chamber of Commerce.

Kinzer said a major issues facing Greencastle is maintaining and/or improving the borough's real estate tax base while keeping taxes affordable.

"To do this, we must work to find new commercial and industrial development to help increase this tax base," Kinzer said.

He would like to secure grant money, where available, to assist nonprofit organizations such as the town library, playground and train station to name a few for the betterment of the Greencastle community.

Webster, 59, of 155 Addison Ave., thinks new insight is needed on borough council.

He thinks all elected positions should have term limits.

"Several of the candidates have been on there for quite a while. And the other thing that concerns me is there are so many who are property owners or landlords on the present borough council and I'm not sure if these guys can legislate fairly when they have so many properties in the borough and in Antrim Township," Webster said.

This is his first run for an elected position.

"I've always been a people-oriented person and to be a borough council person I think you need to get out there and be sympathetic to what folks want and what they need and be able to correlate that to council and be able to act upon that," Webster said.

One of the biggest challenges he sees facing the borough is a limited tax base.

"We have a set tax base and the only thing you can do is try to increase taxes which becomes hard because you have so many folks, such as myself, who are retired and are on a set income," Webster said. "In short we need to find ways to save money as a borough and also keep our programs going such as the police department and everything else."

Burkholder, 64, of 235 E. Baltimore St., is the only Democrat running for a council seat.

He graduated from James Buchanan High School in 1965 and has worked in marketing for WJEJ radio in Hagerstown for more than 20 years.

"I grew up and spent a lot of my younger years around Greencastle. Actually my home was in the village of Upton. I want to give back to the community and try to help Greencastle maintain its nice, hometown atmosphere that it's had for so many years," Burkholder said.

He said he would bring professionalism, organization and cooperation to council, if elected.

"I don't see any real major problems on the horizon (for Greencastle). Greencastle operates very efficiently, but probably the main thing would be the planning and the growth and development," Burkholder said.