Michael Todd, 33, is running for mayor of Grain Valley. He is a special education teacher in the Blue Springs School District. He and his wife, Tosha, have a daughter Harper, and he has two stepsons, Noah and Jonah. Todd has served in Ward 2 of the Grain Valley Board of Aldermen for six years.
1 Why are you running for mayor? I’m running for mayor because I am a lifelong resident of Grain Valley and love this town. I want Noah, Jonah, and Harper to experience the great things Grain Valley has to offer just like a I did. I can’t think of a better way to do my part to keep Grain Valley the great place I know.
2 What can the city do to increase its revenue stream and what will you do as mayor to help that process? In the six years I have been on the Board of Aldermen our focus has been on economic development and bringing new business to town to increase our revenue stream. Unfortunately with the economy the way it is right now new development is hard to come by. That is why we need to make a strong shift to improve our business retention and expansion efforts. We need to work on keeping the businesses we have while at the same time helping those business who are ready to expand their current business in Grain Valley…
3 What do you see as the mayor’s role in the community, and how do you plan to work with city staff to fulfill that role? I see the mayor as the one who guides the city in the direction that “we” want to go. When I say “we” I mean Grain Valley. It’s the mayor’s job to take the ideas from the Alderman and from what they hear from the residents along with recommendations from city staff and mold it all into a direction for the city. Not everyone is always going to happy along the way, but making sure people are listened to and respected are the biggest things. Working with city staff involves the same demeanor.
4 What is your opinion about citywide trash service? My opinion on citywide trash service hasn’t changed from what it was two years ago. Personally I do not like giving up my choice of trash hauler. I do, however, understand the pros of going to citywide service and have heard from a few people who like the idea. I do have to say that I have heard from more people who do not like the idea though … There are also tons of questions that need to be answered concerning the issue, and maybe those will be answered shortly, but again personally I do not like the idea.
5 If there are not enough new sewer connection fees, what will you propose the city do to meet its financial obligation for the new waste water treatment facility? … This is one of those issues where you are really caught in between a rock and a hard place. We were required by DNR to make improvements to the plant so we had to do something. We were also had the capacity level so again eventually something had to be done. It’s a lot cheaper to do it at once than it is to do it twice … If in a few years if we see that we aren’t meeting the new taps that we need to make the payments then we will have to make a decision…
– Stephanie L. Boothe
Grain Valley, MO —
