Two In Race For Langford Trustee Seat

    Area voters in two towns will go to the polls on Tuesday to decide city positions. Both Langford and Hecla are scheduled to have elections.
    Langford voters will decide on a three-year board of trustee position. Jordan Hupke is currently occupying that seat but did not file a petition this time around. The two challengers competing for the seat are Todd Sell and Matt Fries. 
    On Tuesday, Langford residents will vote at the Langford Community Center, 306 Main Street. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Polls in Hecla will also be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. with voters heading to the Hecla Community Center. 
    Ahead of Tuesday’s election, the Journal sent questionnaires to the candidates running for the city positions and their answers follow. 
    Background information: 
    Todd Sell: My family has lived in the Langford area for five generations. I have lived in Langford for 53 years and am a 1983 graduate of Langford High School.
    I graduated from LATVI with a Building Trades degree in 1985. I have been a carpenter for 16 years and ten of those years worked in the Langford area as a contractor. My current job for the past 23 years has been at Precision Wall Systems where I do architectural design for building five story buildings in the Minneapolis Metro area. 
    I also was a Langford board member for 14 years with 13 years as the board president/mayor. As board president, we updated our sewer and water systems. We also repaved all the streets on the south side of town.
    Matt Fries: I have been a resident of Langford for 23 years and am employed at Horton in Britton. My wife Brandi Fries is an elementary teacher at Langford School. We have two children, Bo who works at Dacotah Bank in Webster/Groton and Zac who works at  Dacotah Bank in Aberdeen. 
    What is your reason for running for the board? What unique qualifications will you bring to the table?
    Sell: My main reason for running to be a board member is to make sure that all board and board members-to-be in the future of Langford have read the South Dakota Municipal League Handbook so that all the rules and regulations of running the town effectively are followed to ensure the town of Langford moves forward in the proper direction. This means protecting the town assets.
     My experience as a board member for 14 years has given me a good understanding on how things are to be done in the right positive manner and that things are done efficiently.
    Fries: I felt like this would be a good opportunity to try to give back to a community that has given so much to my family.  I have been involved individually and as a member of cross functional teams for 30+ years in regards to budgeting, equipment expenditures and capital justifications in the manufacturing field.  I hope some of that experience will help the community with policy decisions.
    What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing Langford, and how do you think the city should deal with that challenge?
    Sell: Infrastructure is the main issue for Langford moving forward. The electrical grid is in major need of updates to meet the higher demands that are upon us now. Our substation is maxed out and needs to be updated soon to ensure all the constituents have electricity and there are no power outages in the future.
     The street project is two-thirds done and needs to be finished since for every year that goes by, the costs continue to go up and will cost us all more if it is not finished in the next three years. Twelve years ago, to pave one city block cost $25,000. Now that number is $40,000, so the time to act is now.
    Fries: As with most small communities, I feel that infrastructure funding and how to pay for needed improvements inside the current budget is always a struggle.  I think prioritization of projects and flexibility with the budget are keys to ensuring funding is properly appropriated.
    Aside from the biggest challenge facing Langford, what would be your next priority for the city and how would you address it?
    Sell: My next priority would be to educate the public about spending public money. In our regular lives, we try to save money, but with municipality money, you need to spend efficiently to keep improving and to keep infrastructure up to date so that we have a stable community to live in and that those that come after us have a good place to live in the future.
    Fries: I think economic development and infrastructure are very important priorities for our community.  I believe programs, services, policies, and processes have to be continually improved and always with a goal to improve quality of life for residents, attract customers to businesses, and provide a family feel that will attract homeowners and renters to our town.
    What do you think is Langford’s biggest asset and how can it be used to the town’s advantage?
    Sell: The town of Langford’s people have a strong work ethic, so if we work together, we can achieve anything and the future is bright.
    Fries: Our people are far and away our greatest asset.  They understand the meaning of community, giving, and helping one another.  With an asset like that, community projects and policies along with cooperation among businesses become a much easier task.