ELECTION EDITION
There are seven candidates running for five seats on the Barton Hills Village Board of Trustees for four-year terms. The nine-member Board of Trustees is the governing body of the Village. Following are the statements the candidates submitted about who they are and why they would like to serve on the Board.
RIAD AL-AWAR (Incumbent) – 1075 Country Club Road. Mr. Al-Awar has been a resident of Barton Hills since 1986, with his wife Madeleine and their four children. Mr. Al-Awar holds a BSE and MSE in Civil Engineering, both from the University of Michigan. He worked for ten years in Saudi Arabia, where he was a managing partner of a construction company, and is currently working in engineering development and consulting. He has served six terms as Trustee of Barton Hills Village and is currently the Street Administrator, Chairperson of the Roads Committee, Chairperson of the Vehicle and Equipment Committee, a member of the Zoning Committee and recently appointed by the Board to be the Chairperson of the Joint Roads Committee, recently formed by BHV and BHMC as a result of the road transfer. Positions previously held in the Village include President Pro Tem, Chairperson of the Village Administration Building Committee, Zoning Administrator and Chairperson of the Personnel Committee. Mr. Al-Awar enjoys the country atmosphere, the privacy and security that Barton Hills has to offer and hopes to continue working to maintain and preserve the quality of services, environment and the ambiance of the Village.
CHRIS CONLIN – 315 Corrie Road. I have been a resident of Barton Hills Village for several years and a member of Barton Hills Country Club since 1992. My wife, Dr. Dana Sachs, a former longtime resident on Oakdale Road, and I have a combined three children, two grown and one living at home with us. As a native Ann Arborite, I have spent my entire life observing and appreciating the wonderful characteristics of the Village.
As a Trustee it would be paramount to me to listen to residents of the Village and to make sure all voices are heard and acknowledged. I want to ensure transparency in board activities, increase communications to residents, and confirm that fiscally responsible decisions are being made. The safety and security of our roads and Village along with the restoration and beautification of our land are also important issues to me.
I believe we can improve the overall community aspect of the Village. Many new families have moved into Barton Hills. I know there is a great interest in neighborly gatherings so there should be opportunities for these to happen. We have an underutilized waterfront recreation area with great potential for community gatherings. I will make certain these issues are part of a board agenda.
I am the second-generation owner of Conlin Travel and a firm believer in community service. My experience with boards has been extensive, having served and chaired several local community boards including the Washtenaw County Chapter of the American Red Cross, University Musical Society, Barton Hills Country Club, and others.
Barton Hills is a special place with a quality of life unmatched in Ann Arbor. We are blessed with beautiful outdoor resources for walks and activities. My goal is to preserve and improve what we have and to build on our wonderful community and Village strengths.
MOSTAFA HAITAM – 100 Barton North Drive. My wife, Laura Weingartner, and I have lived in Barton Hills for 20 years and were City of Ann Arbor residents for about 20 years before that. I am fortunate to have met many of you on daily walks with my dogs and at Barton Hills Country Club where we are golfing members.
Taking morning walks in the Village brings back memories of my strolls in the Parc de L’Orangerie in Strasbourg, France, where I studied at the university before coming to Ann Arbor. The Village is a place of unique beauty, and I would endeavor to keep it that way as your trustee.
Early in my career, I worked as a computer programmer, systems analyst, and project leader with teams that built computer applications to solve business and engineering problems to reduce cost, improve performance, drive growth and business transformations. More recently, I have built and managed companies as an investor/entrepreneur, learning many lessons along the way. In the course of my work, I have developed strategic alliances with leading multinational companies in several industries, while dealing with turnkey projects and technologies that spanned solar infrastructure, power storage, control systems, satellite communications, remote sensing, fiber optic backbone, broadcast infrastructures, cable, imaging and collaboration, security, and analytics. On the Village board, I would apply this background to develop smart solutions for managing our community.
As your representative, I will work to preserve and improve the characteristics that first attracted us to this unique community: security for our homes and safety on our private roads; improved quality of services for the community; fiscal prudence so that you will see real value for your tax dollars; preservation and enhancement of the beauty of Barton Hills Village; transparency in Village governance; and increased resident participation in Barton Hills Village affairs.
My fellow neighbors, I ask for your vote and the opportunity to serve as your representative on the Village Board of Trustees.
HOWARD S. HOLMES II – 248 Barton Shore Drive. Barton Hills Village has been a special place to me for my entire life. Not only was I born in the Village in 1988, my father and his family have lived here since 1951. I have a long history with Barton Hills. Now as a resident of the Village, I find myself wanting to enact change. Our Village deserves sound decision-making, enforceable privacy and security as well as clear communication to the residents on where the Village is heading. We have all seen the increase in car and foot traffic that at times has been extremely invasive. If elected as a Trustee, it is my plan to grow our security footprint and preserve the privacy of our beloved Village, along with increasing the integrity of the board. We deserve better!
In my professional career, I experience high-impact, collaborative decision-making every day. I plan to bring that type of decision-making to the board, understanding that our decisions impact everyone. Being on for-profit, non-profit, and community impact boards, I understand what is needed to weigh risk and assess all options. Our privacy, security and communication, from the Village to the residents, should never have weaknesses.
I plan to encourage our residents to attend meetings and provide their opinions and feedback. We all share our Village and our residents should have an ability to contribute to our decision-making. More than ever we need to hear from our residents on ways to make Barton Hills a safer place to live. I often have conversations with other residents at Barton Hills Country Club on ways to improve our Village. If you see me either running through the Village with my dog or up at the Country Club, please don’t hesitate to stop and have a conversation.
I look forward to having the privilege of serving our residents if elected as a Trustee in November.
SHARON POPP (Incumbent) – 1035 Country Club Rd. My husband, Bob Frank, and I moved to BHV 12 years ago. We enjoy the feeling of country living while being minutes from Ann Arbor and are also very appreciative of the high caliber of service provided by the BHV staff. My academic background includes an MSW (Community Organization) and a Doctorate in Medical Anthropology. I value the environment and in 1970, while in the School of Social Work, I was the co-chair of the first Earth Day at Wayne State University. I’ve carried my concern for the environment to my current tenure on the BHV Board of Trustees. I am the chair of the Water Committee and promoted the recent push for water conservation, which included reduction in outside watering as well as raising our water rates to preserve our aquifer water source. I’m also involved in Hazard Remediation issues that may be associated with climate change. In terms of recent concerns about security, I encourage making a distinction between safety and security. I’m very concerned about road safety for our walkers and bicyclists and would like to see more discussion about how to make our roads safer. In terms of security, I agree with the police recommendations that homeowners adequately secure their homes and inform Jeff Hnatow and neighbors when homes will be unoccupied. BHV has a long history of being a pleasant and welcoming community. I look forward to serving on the Board to continue this tradition.
CARLA SMITH (Incumbent) – 767 Oakdale Road. Carla, husband Jeff David, and their daughter have lived in Barton Hills for 5.5 years, and in Ann Arbor for 13 years prior. Carla has a 30+ year career in healthcare and digital health leadership; today, she heads a strategic growth consultancy to positively transform health and healthcare. As a current member of the Village Trustees, Carla has welcomed the opportunity to put her experience in managerial, fiscal and board management to use on a local level to help better our community. For example, this spring Carla was appointed Chair of the Special Roads Committee, working collaboratively with Trustees and leaders of the BHMC to address numerous disparate voices and achieve a successful ownership transfer of our community’s private roads to the Maintenance Corporation.
Recently, she was honored to partner with fellow Trustee, Sharon Popp, on an anti-discrimination statement for the Village. This statement was adopted by the Trustees this summer and serves as a marker of our community’s open and welcoming culture. Carla supports the Village’s deer management program, as well as attending to the ecological health of our common areas. For example, Carla supported the recent partnering of the Village, Maintenance Corporation and Boat Club on a new initiative to restore the health and beauty of Barton Pond. Carla believes residents are best-served by maintaining Village infrastructure, increasing the sense of community among residents, and providing support and appreciation for our dedicated and hard-working Village employees. Carla has consistently encouraged measures aimed at ensuring sensible security measures in our Village and supports the collaboration between our Village staff, the Sheriff’s department and residents; aiming for a balanced approach to maintaining security without creating isolation. She believes her strong management skills, fresh outlook, and spirit of volunteerism have added value to the Trustees and the Village as a whole, and welcomes the opportunity to serve a second term as a Trustee.
DENTON WOLF – 80 Underdown Road. Except for a two-year expatriate stint in India, Linda and I have lived in Barton Hills Village for over 15 years. We appreciate the beautiful community in which we are fortunate to live, and I am ready to work to make it even better as a member of the Village Board of Trustees.
I am a retired tax partner with the international accounting and advisory firm Deloitte, having worked in the Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Hyderabad, India offices. Prior to Deloitte, I practiced law with a firm in Birmingham, Michigan and served as an assistant prosecuting attorney in St. Clair County. My work also involved service with a number of non-profit organizations with an international focus, including as treasurer of the Japanese Business Society Foundation of Detroit, board member of the French American Chamber of Commerce, member of the Michigan Task Force on International Trade, and member of the Detroit Regional Economic Partnership.
My first priority as your representative will be to address your concerns. Your concerns should be the Board’s concerns. That is vital to preserving the unique character of our community that we all value. Specific areas that I want to address on the Village Board of Trustees include: measures to enhance the privacy and security of our homes and our roads, including improved traffic management and road safety; final satisfactory resolution of the ownership and maintenance of our roads; more transparency of Board processes and decisions; and establishing and maintaining fiscal policies that enable the Village to operate efficiently while preserving our quality of life and keeping our taxes as low as possible. In addition, like many of you, I am a member of the Barton Hills Country Club. As neighbors, we have many shared interests that we need to consider in the future planning for the Village.
I look forward to the opportunity to serve as your representative on the Village Board of Trustees and would appreciate your support in the upcoming election.
For all election information, contact Ann Arbor Township at 734-663-3418; aatwp.org.
Voter information and a sample ballot are available at mi.gov/vote. BHV is in Precinct 1.
Election Day is November 3, 2020. Polls are open on that day from 7 AM -8PM. The polling location for in-person voting is Solid Rock Church, 3823 N. Dixboro Road. Absentee ballots must still be returned to the Ann Arbor Township office or drop box at 3792 Pontiac Trail. There is no drop box at the Solid Rock Church and no absentee ballots will be accepted there.