By Deborah Guziak
Record-Courier staff writer
BRIMFIELD " Incumbent Township Trustee Sue Fields will face newcomers Pam Jeanneret, Ronn Franczkowski, Gary Rodd and write-in candidate Clifford Porter on the Nov. 6 ballot for her seat.
Fields, who has lived in the township for 21 years, has served two terms as a trustee. After serving one term in the mid-1990s, she was appointed to the board to finish a term vacated by former trustee Steve Moore. She then was elected in 2004.
Jeanneret, a full-time Realtor with Coldwell Banker Hunter in Streetboro, has served on the township's board of zoning appeals for 10 years. She has lived in the township for 23 years.
Franczkowski, who is an 18-year resident of the township, works in insurance sales at Banker's Life and Casualty and as a Realtor for Realty One. Rodd, who has lived in the township for 20 years, is self-employed with his trucking company. Porter did not return calls seeking information.
Each candidate has different reasons for seeking the job.
"On my sign, it says "to serve you,'" Fields said. "When you are a trustee, you're a servant to the people of the township, and you work to make their life better. I think my voice is a softer voice than the men's voice, and sometimes you have to approach something on a gentler plane. My background in business and my background in living has a lot to offer the community. I have old traditional values, and my age helps to support the traditional values. A trustee represents everyone, and I want to do things to benefit the people."
"I know I can make a difference," Jeanneret said. "I have a great desire to help improve communications between the township and the residents. I am familiar with the works of the township, but best of all, I love my township. I have been a proud resident for 23 years. I am a country girl, and I still can hear the cows moo. I want to work to keep it that way."
"Between my parents and my scouting experience, I was taught you only get out life what you put into it," Franczkowski said. "Being a trustee will be a way for me to share my education, skills and experiences with the community. Another way of showing gratitude for the things I've been blessed with."
"I believe that I can help the township in ways that a business looks at things," Rodd said. "I have had my own business for over 30 years, and you have to cut where you need to and add where it is needed and know the reasons why."
Just as each has a different reason for seeking a position on the board, so, too, are their thoughts about the biggest issue facing the township.
"Our biggest issue is our fast-paced growth," said Fields, who said she would continue to work to slow. "I'm very proud of our schools, and I know we're going to have growth because of the district excellent programs. I want to maintain greenspace and the rural look of things. I don't wanna be like I'm living in NYC."
"There really are two of them," Jeanneret said. "First, exploding growth. The influx of new housing developments and unregulated commercial development has made us appear to be bursting at the seams. We must have managed growth. We need to come together with a community approved master plan."
The second biggest issue is the township's ongoing financial crisis, she said.
"Our new fiscal officer has done a wonderful job in restructuring accounts for the township," she said. "There must be accountability whether it is department head or employee for monies spent in the township. The trustees are accountable to the residents and thus must be transparent in all transactions."
The preservation of the township's heritage is the big issue, Franczkowski said.
"With all the current expansion going on in the community, I feel the most important thing I would like to accomplish is preserve and maintain Brimfield's heritage as a rural community," Franczkowski said. "The most effective way to preserve Brimfield's heritage as a rural community is by beefing up the zoning restrictions to reflect the citizen's wishes. Ensure that we, the Brimfield community, maintain our heritage as a rural community, and not some hodge-podge business/shopping center Mecca."
Rodd feels that growth is the biggest issue.
"We have to make some serious choices as to how the township is going to handle this growth and figure out projections so we don't have to ask the tax payers for more tax money to provide services," he said.
Brimfield Township Board of Trustees
Term of the seat: Four years
Salary: $11,000
Name: Sue Fields
Occupation: Retired as a third party administrator for employer benefits; Worker's Compensation specialist.
Previous elected office: Trustee for 8.5 years.
Question: What can you offer as a trustee?
Answer: I can offer to the residents 8 1/2 years of prior experience as a Brimfield Township trustee, coupled with 30 years experience of administrative corporate experience in personnel, Ohio Workers' Compensation and safety. I have networked with local, city and state officials to become more proficient in my job responsibilities. I have no personal agendas; only continued concern for all residents of the community as a whole.
Name: Ronn Franczkowski
Occupation: Insurance sales at Banker's Life and Casualty and Realtor at Realty One.
Previous elected office: None
Question: What can you offer as a trustee?
Answer: We need someone in public office to say it like it is, and that person is me. No more beating around the bush. Like I tell all my clients "you may not like what hear, but you need to hear what I have to say, because I'm going to lay the cards on the table and say it like it is."
Name: Pam Jeanneret
Occupation: Full-time Realtor with Coldwell Banker Hunter in Streetsboro
Previous elected office: None
Question: What can you offer as a trustee?
Answer: I can offer my 10 years experience as a member of the Brimfield Board of Zoning Appeals, as a full-time Realtor I am in touch with what is happening not only in the real estate market but also the local construction and financial markets. This gives me a better insight of what is happening in other local communities that we could benefit in using in our township. As a member of the Brimfield Park Advisory Board I have worked with our Parks Director and realize the value providing activities for not only our youth but all our residents in Brimfield.
Name: Gary Rodd
Occupation: Self-employed at his trucking company
Previous elected office: None
Question: What can you offer as a trustee?
Answer: I am someone who will find out answers to questions that residents have even if they don't like the answer I find. I also will work to save money in the township so we can spend it on the more necessary items.
Write-in candidate Clifford Porter did not return calls seeking information.