WHITEHALL, MI – Voters in Whitehall will choose at lease one newcomer to the city council in November from among six candidates.
The candidates include incumbents Keith Heidelberg and Richard Connell, but council member Sean Mullally is not seeking re-election on Nov. 7.
Others running for three open four-year seats on the seven-member board are Tanya Cabala, Debra Hillebrand, Mark Nienhouse and Tom Ziemer.
Chris Billie’s name will be on the ballot, but has dropped out of the race, according to an email Billie sent to MLive/Muskegon Chronicle.
Cabala, 63, has lived most of her life in Whitehall. She has a bachelor’s degree and works as a Lakeshore Outreach organizer and for the West Michigan Environmental Council.
Cabala served on the Whitehall City Council from 2005-17 and also served 10 years on the city’s planning commission. She was appointed to the White Lake Area Solid Waste Authority and the Fire Authority and led the city’s 150th anniversary celebration.
Cabala helped start the community pride program, initiated the citywide garage sale and served on master plan, ordinance review and downtown development committees. She also was part of a community group that pushed for cleanup of White Lake and worked for “several decades” to remove the lake from the Great Lakes Areas of Concern.
Connell, 73, is a lifelong resident of Whitehall and has served on the city council for six years. He is a graduate of Whitehall High School and worked 39 years for Howmet Corp. before retiring in 2011.
He is a board member for the White Lake Solid Waste Authority and is an active member of the Sons of the American Legion, for which he served as commander for 11 years and is the current vice commander.
Heidelberg, 41, has lived in the city of Whitehall for 19 years and has served on the city council since 2021. He works as fire marshal/deputy chief for the White Lake Fire Authority and has his paramedic certification from Baker College as well as fire code official and EMT-B certifications.
Heidelberg served on the White Lake Community Center millage committee.
Hillebrand, 54, has lived in the city for 11 years. She has a master’s degree in chemistry and is the owner/operator of The Lewis House Bed & Breakfast.
Hillebrand served on the Whitehall City Council from 2015-21 and was the city’s mayor from 2017-21.
She is a member of Montague-Whitehall Rotary and the Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee for Muskegon County.
Nienhouse, 71, attended Grand Haven High School and studied elementary education at Grand Valley State University, according to his Facebook page.
Ziemer, 71, has lived in Whitehall for more than three years and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Western Michigan University. He is a retired security business owner.
Ziemer has volunteered for the Boys & Girls Club of Grand Rapids, the Muskegon County Correctional Facility, Junior Achievement and various church ministries.
MLive sent each of the candidates a questionnaire seeking their views on issues facing the city, and their unedited responses follow. They were asked to limit their answers to 250 words. Nienhouse did not complete a questionnaire.
Why should voters elect you?
Cabala:
I love Whitehall, as many might guess, because I have lived in my current home, the home I grew up in, for 50 years! I love the small town feel of our city, its charm, the fantastic quality of life it offers, our welcoming businesses, parks, our proximity to White Lake and Lake Michigan, and I love the countless daily connections I get to make with the people who live here. I would be honored to be elected and to serve additional terms, to put my years of experience to work, alongside other councilmembers, to maintain all these good things, and to make it even better.
Connell:
I believe serving on the city council for 6 years has given me the experience to do the right job for the community.
Heidelberg:
The issues that face our city are issues that are personal to me. My roots are in this community, and I plan to live in the City of Whitehall long term. If re-elected, I will continue to listen to concerns, suggestions an opinions of community members and work hard to ensure that I represent residents and their values. I feel I bring a younger vision to this office along with a drive to get things done. I appreciate having the opportunity to utilize my experience and skills to help improve our beautiful city. I’ve had the honor of serving this community for two decades with White Lake Fire Authority, as well as two years on City Council. I would be proud to continue to serve as a councilperson.
Hillebrand:
I bring a balanced perspective and strategic thought process to City Council. I would push to prioritize projects based on the master plan and greater good, not push pet projects forward. New projects should be in alignment with the master plan, be widely publicized and have strong input from community members. The city has a limited budget and we need to prioritize projects that maximize impact. We have opportunities to improve infrastructure, like roads and sidewalks, while maintaining the great assets we have, like our parks, and I’d like to help make this a focus.
Ziemer:
I want to make sure that with every dollar the city spends we maximize the positive impact for residents as well as tourists that visit us.
Having been a successful business owner I know how to spend money wisely. My businesses have both consistently outperformed other same-type companies. I know how to plan financial requirements into the future. The condition of Whitehall’s roads testifies to poor planning in the past.
In my opinion Whitehall has spent big money on several projects with minimal benefit, or with benefit to only a few people. We could do some nice projects that would not cost much; examples would be a dog park, a community garden, several fishing platforms and another kayak launch site. Assets that we do have should not be allowed to deteriorate like our tennis courts and basketball courts have. We should end the “art wall”, which has been a graffiti eyesore, in favor of something pleasing to residents and visitors. I also think that all businesses should be treated equally and fairly.
What are the top three issues facing city leadership during the next two years?
Cabala:
There is much in our city that is going well, but there is always room for improvement, particularly the need to step up and meet the challenges of today and tomorrow in the areas of infrastructure, downtown development, and environmental protection.
We must up our commitment to maintaining our city’s roads and infrastructure. It is disheartening and embarrassing that several of our major roads have remained in a state of disrepair for an extended period. I firmly believe we can and should do better. We also need to prioritize opportunities for walking and biking and ensure accessibility for the handicapped.
Additionally, our focus should remain on bolstering downtown improvements, finding ways to support our local restaurants, increasing the downtown district’s curb appeal, and exploring innovative strategies to attract and incentivize new retail businesses. We should work to make our small downtown area not only attractive but also free of vacant buildings, to attract visitors and residents alike.
We need to continue to protect the environment, to keep the gains our community has made in cleaning up White Lake, including protecting sensitive natural systems, maintaining our parks, doing what we can to reduce trash going to landfills, using clean energy solutions, and ensuring a safe and hospitable environment going into the future to protect against more frequent floods and extreme heat.
Connell:
The most frequent complaint I hear from people is the condition of our streets. The city is continuously working on repairing streets but with the money available we can only do a major street repair every two years.
I would like to see the city make better use of public property. the city has several parks that are not being used because there is nothing for people to do there. We need to find out what type of facilities people would like to have and try to add them to our parks.
Our downtown business district is the heart of our city, and we need to make it more family friendly by encouraging more retail stores and activities that everyone can enjoy.
Heidelberg:
· Infrastructure and proactive repairs
· City beautification
· Promote our area to attract businesses and young families
Hillebrand:
The top challenges we face are working within a limited budget to repair, maintain and improve the assets we already have, to enhance the quality of life for our year-round residents and to increase the transparency of city government.
Ziemer:
Almost every person I speak with criticizes the condition of two things – our roads and sidewalks. So these are my top two issues. We MUST start aggressively fixing them. Driving in Whitehall is a negative experience because our roads are awful! In addition, it seems to me that our broken and crumbling sidewalks expose the city to trip and fall injury lawsuits. They really are that bad. In many places it is difficult to walk, run or push strollers.
My third issue would be to bring out more of the potential beauty of this community for residents and visitors. It would not cost much to improve the appearance for people as they drive from the freeway to down town along Colby Road. Property owners (not just along Colby, but everywhere) should also be encouraged to do their part by keeping grass, trees and shrubs trimmed along streets, sidewalks and alleys. Our waterfront is probably our most important feature. We need to treat it that way! Make it our shining jewel. Keep it clean, accessible and inviting. I know there are restrictions, but we need to push state and federal agencies to help us improve the shoreline. When visitors leave Whitehall I suspect they often say “It’s a nice place, except . . .” I want them to say “Wow! You should spend some time in Whitehall!”
How do you plan to address those top issues?
Cabala:
Residents must participate in decisions made to address these challenges. I will work to prioritize transparency in our decision-making processes and look at additional avenues such as town hall meetings and citizen study groups to better inform Council. Local government is the most accessible level of governance for our residents, where they can have the most impact, provided we offer meaningful opportunities for engagement.
For roads/infrastructure, I would advocate for the most comprehensive assessment possible, a schedule to address current issues while preventing future deterioration, and budget/ funding appropriate to our needs, prioritize the repair and maintenance of major roads, explore best practices for cost effective maintenance, and advocate for more dedicated bike lanes and well-maintained sidewalks and pathways, accessible for people with disabilities.
To enhance downtown, I will push for a thorough assessment/comprehensive downtown revitalization strategy with input from local businesses and residents, partnering with local organizations to promote our restaurants better, push to identify possible retailers to complement the downtown and offer incentives such as marketing support, and look to other communities for models for highlighting the unique features, history, and charm of our downtown area to better attract visitors and residents.
To maintain local environmental protection, I would ensure mapping sensitive natural systems and protecting them as appropriate, maintaining our parks, partnering with other entities to protect White Lake from threats like e. coli and toxic algae, and doing our part to keep recyclables from landfills, reduce pollution, and keep residents safe from weather related impacts.
Connell:
Did not respond.
Heidelberg:
· Infrastructure and proactive repairs – Continue to rebuild our deteriorating infrastructure, this includes our roads, sidewalks, and underground systems (water, sewer, storm water, etc.). Investing this money now will help save our tax dollars in the future.
· City Beautification – Our city has nine public parks available; we need to work to protect and develop these green spaces. We need to continue to bring new amenities to these parks to help increase their value to the community, as well as repairing/improving the existing facilities.
· Promote our Area – To do this we need to start with actively seeking to fill the industrial park. We also need to work to draw more storefronts downtown. We need to continue our efforts in making the downtown area a destination where our community can gather as well as encourage visitors to explore what our city has to offer.
Hillebrand:
We can take on these challenges by having robust discussions that include residents, developing a set of actionable goals, prioritizing funding and executing the plan. The City has a Master Plan that serves as a good guide but there is always room for improvements/changes/additions. I will push to gather more input from our residents around each challenge and work to help put together holistic plans that serve the greater good.
Ziemer:
I will encourage the council to be laser focused on roads first, then sidewalks. We need to re-assess where we spend money. When considering any project we need to honestly determine what value it would bring. I am an analytical person by nature, and I can help evaluate the positive and negative aspects of issues. Common sense will then usually suggest the very best options. I don’t have any personal problems with any council member, no ax to grind with anyone. Concern for the entire community will be my unbiased guideline.
Perhaps most importantly, I will listen to input from the community. Almost everyone complains about our roads. It is no secret. So why has city government not acted accordingly? The habit of neglecting our roads apparently began many years ago but the longer we wait the more painful the solution becomes. Likewise, many residents and visitors have expressed their hatred of the “art wall” to city officials, so why is it still there? The people who live here and pay taxes need to be heard and respected. I will make the tax payers’ preferences the highest priorities. I will also promote real transparency concerning spending.
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