Councilor Bill Limoges | At Large candidate

Age: 63

Address: 86 Old Newport Road

Years lived in Claremont: 46

Community organizations you belong to: City Council, Policy Committee

Employment: Self Employed Professional Heating Contractor

Incumbent? If so, how many terms? Yes, 1 term

What do you believe are the top 3 issues facing Claremont?

Fair market housing. Crime and drugs. Repairing roads.

What do you propose to address them?

Encourage the city government to promote Claremont to developers and property owners to build new fair market housing. As Claremont continues to become more desirable, I believe that we will attract responsible landlords.

While it’s hard to hire new officers at the police department, we could encourage organizing neighborhood watch groups, make use of cameras in higher crime areas and make sure that the streets are well lit. The police are doing the best they can and I believe that, if citizens started neighborhood watch programs, it would improve safety.

Roads are going to improve soon. We’ve started a comprehensive sealing program for our roads, which will help protect the investment we make in paving. I believe the payback on sealing will take a few years but the roads that we do pave now will last longer, helping us to catch up with the roads that need paving the most.

Is Claremont headed in the right direction or the wrong direction? Please explain your answer.

Claremont has turned a corner and is progressing in the right direction. We’ve tackled issues that have been around for years and rethought some of our assets to the benefit of the citizens. Examples are:

• Restructuring the operation of Arrowhead, preserving what’s there now and opening it to being fully utilized;

• privatized the management of the landfill, saving over $100,000;

• after two engineering studies, we voted, reluctantly, to remove the dangerous Sullivan smokestack, paving the way for the plot, which goes from Broad Street to Elm Street, to become an area with many possibilities;

• honored our wounded warriors by proclaiming Claremont a Purple Heart City (I was honored to be able to facilitate that and proud of the council for voting for it);

• demolished hazardous buildings, ending years of foot-dragging;

• voted, also after years of waiting, to improve the North and Main intersection and re-do the traffic lights on Washington Street and the Elm & Main intersection.

How do you plan to engage the public, get its input on city matters and address those issues with the council?

I do my best to publish events, council matters and public interest information on two Facebook pages, one of which I consider the de facto Claremont public site.

I have contacted several citizens who posted concerns and worked with them to help them find what they needed. My door is always open and I encourage people to contact me with their concerns.

I feel that contact with the citizens is a privilege and honor.

How could city government be more transparent to the public it serves?

Answer 91-a requests promptly, post meetings and events promptly and make sure that meeting minutes and recordings are easily available to the public.

Do emergency responders need mental health training? If so, how should it be provided?

Emergency services should have some training in dealing with mental health issues. Because of the emergency nature of the job, I don’t think that exhaustive training would be of benefit, though. I know police receive blocks of mental health/crisis management training at police academy.

Businesses on Pleasant St. have not only had to contend with the COVID shutdown but also Pleasant Street’s construction shutdown. What, if anything, should Claremont do to assist businesses struggling to recover from these events?

The city has a low interest microloan program for the downtown area, which can help. We just spent millions on Pleasant Street to help improve its image and be more business friendly.

What do you like about Claremont?

I love Claremont! It’s one of the most beautiful places around. We’ve got great parks and a state-of-the-art rec center with excellent equipment. There are tons of trails for walking, biking and off-road vehicles. We’ve gained great business and I expect more to follow.

When my wife came to live here from China, Claremont was the only place I considered to raise our family.

If you could wave a magic wand, what would you change about it?

We’d have the best roads anywhere. All our neighborhoods would be safer, with dilapidated buildings cleaned up.

What would you like voters to know about you?

I was born and raised in Claremont. I run a successful heating business, sit on the council and policy committee. I enjoy getting outdoors and into nature.