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Age
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Demographics / Personal Info )
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Marge is 54. |
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Family
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Demographics / Personal Info )
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She and her husband Tom have been married for 33 years. They have 2 sons, Tommy who lives in Olathe with his wife, Mel, and Robert, a 1st Lieutenant in the Air Force. |
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Occupation/place of employment
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Demographics / Personal Info )
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Marge is a nurse practitioner at Reproductive Resource Center of Greater Kansas City.
marge.vogt@gmail.com |
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Number of years you have been a resident of the city
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Demographics / Personal Info )
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The Vogt Family moved to Olathe in 1993 during Tom’s last assignment as a Lt. Colonel in the US Army. |
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Education
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Demographics / Personal Info )
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1976 Bachelor of Science in Nursing – University of Colorado, Denver
1980 Master of Science in Nursing – University of Texas, Austin
1987 Women’s Health Care Advanced Nurse Practitioner Training Program –
University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
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Political experience
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Demographics / Personal Info )
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Olathe City Council Member 1997 to present
Mid-America Regional Council (MARC), 2nd Vice Chairperson (current)
MARC Total Transportation Policy Committee, Kansas Co-Chair (current)
MARC Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Kansas Co-Chair (2004-2008)
Kansas T-LINK, currently appointed by the Governor as a task force member
Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, Commissioner (current)
National League of Cities Transportation Steering Committee
Kansas State Board of Nurse Examiner and Committee for Advance Nurse Practice, 1996-98
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Civic involvement
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Demographics / Personal Info )
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Olathe Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee, Chairperson
Mahaffie Stagecoach and Farmstead Foundation, Trustee
Ridgeview Village Senior Housing, Board Member
Johnson County Transportation Coordination Council, Member
American Red Cross, volunteer
Special Olympics, volunteer
Health Partnership Clinics, past Board Member
Fort Leavenworth Post Chapel
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Are you in basic agreement with the direction the City is currently taking to promote expansion and growth?
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General )
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Yes, I believe that the City is moving in the right direction in promoting expansion and growth. However, it may be more correctly stated that the City is “managing” expansion and growth. The 2008 DirectionFinder survey found that 73% of citizens surveyed were satisfied with how well the City is managing residential development and 69% were satisfied with how well the City is managing commercial development.
As a member of the current Council, quality economic development has been recruited to our community as evidenced by many of the projects being built throughout Olathe. In Ward 4, at K10 and Ridgeview, a quality office complex is being developed with nationally and internationally known corporations such as Garmin, Terracon, Farmers Insurance, and John Deere to name a few. These corporate citizens are important not only for the jobs they bring but also the tax dollars that helps balance the tax base thereby lessening the tax burden on our homeowners. Tax incentives have prudently been used to attract quality economic development. When considering the approval of tax incentives, it is important to carefully weigh the investment of the City with benefits realized to the City.
One of the most novel approaches to economic development was the pursuit of the K-State Olathe Innovation Campus and the Kansas Bioscience Park. What better way to support the fiscal stability of a city than to invest in education and business in an emerging market such as the biosciences. This is a project that continues to progressively evolve and will require further attention to ensure the desired outcomes.
Ward 4 continues to experience dynamic growth with retail investments being made in the 119th and Ridgeview corridors. The economic challenges currently being felt by the nation will require us to carefully gauge the needs of our small businesses and encourage our citizen support to shop and do business in Olathe.
In regard to residential growth, it is increasingly important that the Council support diverse and affordable housing. Increased density, where appropriate, will assist in providing greater affordability, preservation of green space and allowing for the feasibility of public transit.
The update of the Comprehensive Plan is being undertaken in 2009. The input from our residents and businesses will be critical to ensure that the City continues to move in the “right” direction now and in the future. We can do better!
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What suggestions, if any, would you have as a member of the City Council to promote collaboration between members of the Council, city staff, and the community in achieving strategic directions established for the City of Olathe?
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General )
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Communication is crucial to understanding the needs of the community and promoting those initiatives to meet those needs. I believe that an adequate effort is made to reach out to residents and businesses in forums, task forces, boards, advisory committees and surveys. However, one should always look for more effective avenues to keep citizens engaged.
The Olathe Link continues to be an important source of information to our citizens. The 2008 DirectionFinder survey found that 81% percent of residents use the Olathe Link as a primary source of information.
Over the past 8 years great strides have been made in using the internet and the City website as a communication tool. I believe that we can make this method of communication more robust and effective by making it more interactive.
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What do you see as the major role of the City Council?
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General )
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The major role of the City Council is policy-making. Policy sets the course of action for the community, reflecting the needs and values of its citizens. Decisions critical to the success of the City requires formulating and adopting policies, programs, budgets, establishing policy direction while balancing individual interests with what is “best” for the entire city. Obviously, policy is not made in a vacuum. The City Council must rely on input from citizen groups, city staff, advisory committees, the Chamber of Commerce and other community stakeholders.
The budget is one of the most important policy-making tools as it reflects policy decisions. The budget for 2009 reflects the needs of our community but was tempered by the challenging economic reality of declining revenues. It is critically important that we continue to plan for our financial sustainability during these turbulent economic times without putting additional burden on our taxpayers. It will mean being more efficient with our resources and seeking businesses who can contribute to our tax base by locating to our community. The 2010 budget process will be a tough one requiring careful deliberation.
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As a member of City Council, what would your major priorities be for the City for the next 10 to 15 years?
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General )
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1) Promote policies that support fiscal, environmental and cultural sustainability.
2) Maintain city assets (streets, buildings, water and sewer infrastructure, facilities, parks).
3) Provide for multi-modal transportation options that includes privately owned vehicles, public transit, bicycling and pedestrian options.
4) Meet the need for multi-generational indoor recreation which ideally would include an indoor aquatics center.
5) Increase the resources needed to be the safest city in the Metro area.
6) Recruit businesses that provide quality jobs and a diversified tax base.
7) Implement policies to promote the updated Comprehensive Plan.
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Would you support additional sources of revenues to meet high priority needs of public safety, transportation, and economic development?
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General )
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Yes, I would support additional sources of revenue in order to maintain what we have and to meet the ever increasing needs of our growing community. With that said, we must work smarter and more efficiently to meet any funding gaps before seeking additional revenue sources. The challenge will be to find additional resources and not raise the mill levy. Bond initiatives requiring the vote of the people will ensure support of the people for the allocation of additional resources if sales taxationis used to provide additional resources. If necessary, user fees could be considered for various transportation needs. Finally, we must ensure that we receive state and federal funding reflective of our citizens contributions to these taxing entities. |
What level of priority would you place on the following?
- Public safety
- Traffic and streets
- Consensus building and stability in leadership
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General )
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The 2008 DirectionFinder Survey reveals that residents continue to identify the flow of traffic and the management of congestion being of top priority to our citizens. With that said, the resources invested in Automated Transportation Management System, the 127th Street Overpass, College Boulevard improvements and the railroad grade separations in the past couple years has improved citizen satisfaction with transportation services. One area of decreased satisfaction in transportation services was the availability of public transportation. We need to do a better job in determining what public transportation services will best meet the needs of our citizens. It is obvious that our lone local route, the K route as currently routed and scheduled, is not meeting that need.
Public safety has been and continues to be of utmost importance for quality of life in our community. Citizens are generally pleased with local police protection and efforts to prevent crime. Behind the scenes, I understand the need for more safety personnel and adequate facilities for personnel to do their job. Additional personnel are being hired for crime prevention and the Safety Building is currently undergoing expansion. It is important that we continue to strive to be the safest city in the Metro area. Emphasis on crime prevention and increased visibility of police in our neighborhoods should take precedence. It is critical that we put more police on the streets.
Consensus building is an essential strategy in decision making that must be employed in order to be a high performance Council. It allows for openness and fairness in discussion. This does not mean that everyone must agree but rather all have been “heard”. It allows for a thorough analysis of issues and can support compromise. It prevents gridlock and allows once the decision has been made to act upon what was decided. It is essential for moving the City forward.
Stability of leadership is critical for a rapidly growing city. It ensures the implementation of goals associated with long term visioning. The stability of the Council over the last 10 years has allowed for follow through on major projects which have contributed to Olathe being recognized nationally for its quality of life. Today, with the fiscal challenges being faced by all governmental entities, proven leadership becomes even more critical in continuing the successes thus far achieved. Stability of leadership also allows for continuance in leadership positions achieved in the region (MARC), state, and federal level that provides Olathe a voice in those arenas.
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What are the three biggest challenges the City of Olathe faces and what should be done to address them?
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General )
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1) Ensuring economic sustainability as we plan the 2010 budget, without putting additional burden on taxpayers, during these turbulent economic times will be the top challenge for all municipalities. We will need to be smarter and more efficient in the use of our resources. It will require more than tightening our belts but may require reducing some secondary services. Additionally, we must think out of the box and consider leveraging our resources with others’ to collaboratively deliver better results for each taxpayer dollar.
2) Acquiring the resources needed to maintain aging City assets while planning for the infrastructure needed to support total build out of the City will be a short term and long term challenge. As Chairperson of the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee, the Comprehensive Plan will be one of my top priorities for 2009. It is that document that will act as the guide for establishing policies to achieve a sustainable vision for the future.
3) In the past few months, development projects related to the intermodal site in Gardner will necessitate infrastructure and safety improvements in southwest Olathe. A corridor plan for this area should be considered to manage this growth area.
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Do you support current policy on economic development tax incentives? If no, please specify recommended additions or deletions to the policy.
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General )
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Yes, I do support the current policy on economic development tax incentives. As previously stated, tax incentives have prudently been used to attract quality economic development. When considering the approval of tax incentives, it is important to carefully weigh the investment of the City with the proposed benefits to the City. It is a mechanism to gain benefits that add quality of life to our community by partnering with the private sector. I further support an annual review to ensure that it continues to achieve the intended outcomes of the policy – contributing to the tax base, providing jobs with a livable wage and adding to the quality of life in Olathe. |
