Sewer conversions, public safety among top issues in Sewall's Point Town Commission race

SEWALL'S POINT — Five people are seeking three seats on the Sewall's Point Town Commission in the Nov. 5 general election.

Incumbents John Tompeck, the mayor; Vice Mayor Frank Fender III; and Commissioner Kaija Mayfield are facing candidates Johnny Colson and Frank Tidikis to lead Sewall's Point for another four years.

Colson did not respond to requests to be interviewed for this story.

John Tompeck

"I have a pretty good idea of some of the problems that we have," said Tompeck, a licensed engineer and former director of the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, "especially the infrastructure, flooding, storm water problems we have along South Sewall's Point Road."

With a strong desire to serve following his previous four years of service, Tompeck emphasized his background on infrastructure.

"I thought this was a chance to do a good thing for the town," said Tompeck, who is retired and has lived in Sewall's Point since 1987 and has owned a home here since 1988.

The top three issues in the town, Tompeck said, are the storm water problems, the conversion of septic tanks to sewer systems and the hiring and retaining police officers.

Sewall's Point is making good progress on all three, he said.

Frank Tidikis

"I think we're on the wrong trajectory," said Tidikis, a retiree who plans to serve only one term if elected. He would look for a younger person with similar ideas to replace him.

The top three issues for him are town finances, citizen involvement and government transparency. Town commissioners are failing to spend funds wisely, for example, by hiring someone outside rather than creating a planning board of residents to revise the comprehensive plan.

The town also hired an attorney to hear code-enforcement cases when, according to Tidikis, a resident-led board could have handled them. Commissioners wanted to keep residents from uncomfortable situations, Tidikis said.

When it comes to transparency, residents should have the opportunity to review grant applications before they are filed, he said. Some grants have been inaccurate and sent to the state that way, he said.

Creating resident-led code enforcement and planning boards rather than hiring from outside the town to do that work would improve resident involvement, he argued.

Kaija Mayfield

Like Tompeck, Mayfield believes the top three issues are raising South Sewall's Point Road, public safety and septic-to-sewer conversions.

"I believe this resiliency project (raising South Sewall's Point Road) is essential and vital to the town's long-term safety, beauty, environmental stewardship and economic health," Mayfield said.

Sewall's Point police officers will continue to have her support, though she offered no specifics on how. Fire protection is provided by Martin County Fire-Rescue.

Another priority, Mayfield said, is the pursuit of "sensible septic-to-sewer conversion in South Sewall’s Point for the approximately half of properties that have not been approved yet.

For Mayfield, "sensible" means "no mandatory assessments for property owners and the potential ability to connect once the homeowner's septic tank is no longer operable," she said.

Frank Fender III

Financial stewardship, public safety and environmental stewardship are the top three issues — in that order — on the minds of voters' in Sewall's Point, said Fender, who is completing his second term on the commission.

He set his priorities on a questionnaire he sent out with his campaign material and a study the Town Commission completes each year.

"Are we working efficiently with the tax dollars we have at our disposal, and are we trying to protect the pocketbooks of the property owners who live on the peninsula?" Fender asked in explaining what he meant by "financial stewardship."

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As for public safety, Fender asked if the town is "funding and (does it) have a police force that is both emergency responders and service-oriented and also keeps our peninsula safe?"

With respect to environmental stewardship, Fender said, "We want to make sure that we're protecting the environment and the aesthetics of the community where everybody lives and grows. ... We care about the water quality around us. We care about the tree canopy over us."

Keith Burbank is TCPalm's watchdog reporter covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com and at 720-288-6882.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Sewer conversions, public safety among top issues in Sewall's Point Town Commission race