Run-off election candidates go head-to-head

The following candidate profiles were submitted by Alan Chamberlin and Jean Moncreiff.

Alan Chamberlin is running for a seat on the Springville Village Board during a run-off election scheduled for May 1.

The candidate said he believes that the trustees should work together to make downtown a “livable, pedestrian-friendly place where you can work, shop and play.” He said he plans to fight for accountability and transparency in village government and will begin by incorporating “better elections procedures. During the past 24 years, downtown has crumbled,” he said, adding that he will aim to bring a “new vision” to the Springville Village Board of Trustees.

A village resident for more than 20 years, Chamberlin and his wife Mary have a daughter enrolled at St. Aloysius School and another at Springville-Griffith High School. A former BOCES career technology teacher, Chamberlin said he cares about expanded funding for youth and family programs. He has his own design and contracting business and is a volunteer at the Springville Center for the Arts.

Chamberlin is a board member of the Downtown Springville Economic Development Group, the stated goal of which is to bring grant opportunities to downtown, facilitate coordination with businesses and develop programs to support local businesses. Chamberlin said he will work to make downtown the central hub for the area through community development and the beautification of Main Street. He is a founding member of Revitalize Springville.

He said that, “for too long, our policies have favored big-box sprawl. It’s time to help the little guy.” He said he will work on an active master plan for the village and will use that plan to evaluate key staff positions.

He is an original member of the Rails To Trails Steering Committee and the Historic Preservation Commission. “The village created a Distressed Properties Taskforce, but they don’t meet,” he said, adding that he will push for an investigation into abandoned and distressed properties around town. He said he believes something needs to be done about the “out-of-town absentee owners who are bringing down our neighborhoods.

“Village government has done good things, but we haven’t even begun to reach our potential,” he said. He added that he is “willing to take risks and develop innovative programs [and] believes we can do more and we can do better.”

Jean Moncreiff will be seeking re-election to the Springville Village Board during the May 1 run-off election.

Moncreiff has been involved in village government for 24 years, first serving on the zoning board of appeals for eight years. Since becoming a trustee, she has served as deputy mayor for 16 years, liaison to the code enforcement officer, the zoning and planning boards, Springville Control Center, Southtowns Planning and Development Group, Association of Erie County Governments and Erie County Village Officials Association. She was disaster coordinator for 10 years and attends monthly chamber of commerce meetings. She is a liaison to the Trust and Agency and Erie/Cattaraugus Rail to Trails and helped to activate the steering committee for the proposed Pop Warner Rail to Trail, ADA Committee and Discrimination/Harassment Committee for the village. She attends Southern Tier West Local Governments annual conferences and any Erie County meeting at which the mayor requests her presence. She also served on a committee to write the local law to create the position of village administrator and hire that individual.

Moncreiff has lived in Springville for 46 years and has three grown children, who all graduated from Springville-GI. Her oldest, Cynthia, has a Ph.D. in biology with an emphasis in aquaculture. She is currently a consultant. Moncreiff’s son Steven has a degree in geology and is currently employed as a life support technician for offshore deep diving. Her daughter Pamela has a finance degree and a commercial pilot’s degree in instructed ground, air and instruments. She currently homeschools her youngest child.

Moncreiff has three grandchildren in college and one in high school.

She has been active in various community groups, including the Springville Elementary School PTA as president and secretary, and vice president and president of the Springville Youth Inc. Board for 15 years. She spent 29 years with the American Red Cross and several years with the Bertrand Chaffee Hospital Women’s Association and East Concord Home Bureau. She is a past member of the Cordelian Club and 20th Century Club. She served as village, town and school district election inspector and, for 15 years, was on the Bertrand Chaffee Hospital Board of Directors. She is a volunteer for Meals on Wheels, co-director of coordinators for the Springville-Concord Community Food Pantry and was a 12-year member of the Kiwanis Club, for which she now serves on the board of directors. She has been a member of the First Presbyterian Church for 45 years, serving as moderator of the board of deacons. She retired from Springville-GI as school tax collector after 19 years.

Moncreiff said she is interested in continuing the progress of the Historic Preservation Commission, Springville Area Chamber of Commerce and Springville Downtown Economic Development Group, distressed properties initiatives, public safety concerns, keeping village electric rates low and other ongoing concerns of the community. She said she enjoys the challenges and service she provides as a trustee of the village of Springville.