With Jul 17th coming up quickly, can you share some of your ideas with the Patch group ? I do agree, this is a good place to live, but I also believe, somehow, we need to get our residential property taxes lowered. And lowered considerably. We are way out of line with other communities in America and one of the highest, if not THE highest, in Iowa.

It would be helpful if candidates for the special election in Ankeny would publicize what their vision, goals and objectives are if they were to be elected to the City Council. The days of tax and spend are over and if there are candidates with that vision the public deserves to know in advance.

Kurt and Joe, be patient. We still have a few weeks before the election and I plan to cover this election the same way I have the ones before. There will be questionnaires where the council candidates talk about their priorities and goals. Also, at least two of the candidates (and one that already has) plan to utilize our Local Voices platform to speak candidly and one-on-one with our readers.

With that being said, are there any specific questions you'd like to see me ask candidates?

Good Morning - Been out doing a little door to door work while it was still cool and am just catching up. I will be waiting for the questions from Megan but would also like to have individual questions - some I can answer and some I may have to research. I am putting up a blog on Patch so that too should be a good way to communicate.

Charlotte, your comments are very thought provoking. I talked with a life-long Ankenyite this week and he expressed the same concerns. He said, "Ankeny has lost that "small town" feeling. He missed people waving at each other and knowing everyone in church. Guess that can be expected with 45,000+ people but there is still something about the community that is fascinating. I too moved here 20 years ago and my husband was working out of town weekly. One night he came home (and this was several years ago) and asked if we moved – there had been so many new homes built around Northwest Elementary he had trouble finding our place and we still laugh about that. I do have a question for you - what was your vision when you moved here? What should the vision be now?

Mona, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner with my vision. I was busy, plus intermittent (but too frequent) power outages-including tonight, cut off my internet. It is obvious my 2 visions have changed in my years here. Moving here, I didn't care about any "vision" this town had, I only cared about my kids' education. I didn't care about city and school taxes back then. I didn't know if these taxes were low or high as compared to other towns/cities growing here in the metro. It was a given I'd pay them, without question. Most of us, then, did not even consider the tax rates, if we'd even bothered to look at them at all in deciding to move here. Now, these tax rates are so in our face with all the press- too high-schools, city, and commercial. For anyone to move here now and not consider them, well, they are either clueless, AND/or they are those who don't have to worry about money. Residentially-speaking mostly, since their workplaces may be elsewhere in the metro, and they pay much less.

My saying "-too high-schools," well, I forgot the rules of punctuation, not well-learned. I meant to group school taxes as too high, along with the others. Never to imply I'm not in favor of two high schools here. I'd never set us that far back-it will happen, and should. My vision still, while I never had a true one moving here, concerns what should matter most-education. This course is not secure, even now.

Mona, not much time before this city election, and I admire you greatly for running. This election, though, was forced on us. Most people here probably don't care why, how, what, etc., but this is the story of the voting pattern here- and not just here. Setting the path with those we vote for is jaded, since too many can't be bothered to do just that-vote. Ok, fine. I'd like to think at least a majority of us commenting here on patch, on whatever issue, at least find the time to vote.

Commercially, oh I know the unfairness of businesses who are actually doing that-doing business, while helping to build our commercial tax base here. New ones are coming in-restaurants we are happy to see here, for example. But, then we have the glaring, too many empty storefronts, namely in the strip malls. And, more are ever possible, what with developers signs still being seen on empty strip land.

But, my question is this, is a moratorium in order here for further building of potentially empty fronts? We know when these developers build these strips, they are paying the city for just being there, right? Doesn't matter the occupancy rate-if built, taxes paid to the city. It seems too many of these taxes are being paid as such. Hard to see a city with so many empty storefronts, while just driving around in daily life. Not even close to visionary.

Mona, lastly, really, I don't think many here are paying attention to this latest election. They are confused as to why it is needed at all, and that confusion is easy to understand. I'm not sure there is enough time left with such a short window until election time to vote, except blindly, with apathy. If we choose to vote. Thanks for putting your stance(s) so out here, and good luck. For me and mine, trying to be informed in the past, and now, well, easy to just not consider voting at all. Good luck to all, though!