Landers gets set to take Ward 7 seat
By Doug Grindle Community Reporter

Marlborough - Don Landers, the councilor-elect for Ward 7 in Marlborough, who will take over from outgoing Councilor Richard Towle in January 2008, said the city needs more business development, but without more housing downtown, the center of the city will continue in its present condition.

"Right now downtown Marl- borough is not a ghost town," Landers said. "There are very few vacant [storefront] properties."

But he added that without new housing, activity at night in the downtown area will continue to be limited.

"If you had something else downtown, you'd have that 24-7 feeling," he said. "The only way downtown is going to become a busy place is to have some housing there."

Landers pointed to renovations of the Dennison building and the old fire station as moves that will help reinvigorate nighttime life in the downtown area. But he noted there is only so much a city can do, because many developers prefer to build new housing near highways, rather than in downtown areas.

"The trend is to build along the highways," Landers said.

Landers won the November election in Ward 7 in his third attempt at a seat on the council. He was formerly assistant superintendent of the Marlborough School District, and a former chair of the board of the Marlborough Chamber of Commerce.

Landers said business development needs to continue in the city, with the priority being biotech and high-tech companies, and sports facilities.

"I think one of the only ways we are going to get additional revenue is by having increased building in Marlborough," Landers said.

He will take his seat along with the other elected officials Monday Jan. 7, 2008, at the official swearing-in ceremony.

He said as a ward councilor, he will encourage the city to begin refurbishing surfaces in the real estate developments that were built in the 1960s, which are now getting older.

"As these developments get older and older, there's going to have to be a plan to fix some of the sidewalks and resurface some of the roads," Landers noted.

But he said the city is doing a good job generally with resurfacing roads.

"I saw an awful lot of resurfacing in Marlborough last year," he said.

As some city officials make a renewed eff ort to integrate immigrants into the community, Landers said he is opposed to the idea of bringing an office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency to Marlborough, which gained support among some councilors in the spring and summer.

"That isn't the solution," Landers said. "The only way you are going to resolve this whole immigration question is at the federal level."

But Landers also said he is not in favor of undocumented workers being in Marlborough.

"The illegal part, we've got to take a look at that," he said. "I don't like people driving without a license. I don't like anyone driving without insurance. That's what I care about."

Landers also said he supports creating a citywide chief financial officer, an idea being promoted by fellow councilor-elect Joseph Delano.

The Dec. 17 City Council meeting was the last meeting for Towle.

Also leaving the council is the Ward 1 incumbent, Robert Katz. Katz said he was grateful for his 10 years of service on the council.

"I will never forget and remain forever thankful that you elected me time and again to serve you," he wrote in an open letter to constituents.

Katz said he has advocated expanding youth sports during his tenure in city government, and is helping start a new organization called the Marlborough Youth Sports Partnership.

"It has the goal of making Marlborough the youth sports capital of New England," he said.

He noted that the number of sports facilities is increasing in Marlborough and the trend would likely continue.