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Letter: Classen for Silt trustee

Note on town candidate letters: The Post Independent will accept candidate letters prior to the April 3 town board and mayoral elections in New Castle, Silt and Carbondale. Candidates are limited to one letter each of no more than 400 words. Letters are subject to editing for length and readability, and must be received before March 28. Email letters to letters@postindependent.com

My name is Chris Classen. I’m running for a trustee position on the Silt town board. I have worked for the town of Silt going on 11 years now, with the Public Works and Water/Wastewater departments. Currently, I only serve as a member of the Planning & Zoning Commission.

I volunteer for all of the town events that I can, as a way to give back to our community. You’ll also see me helping out at Heyday, and I have been involved with the Silt Historical Society for well over a decade.



I have the town’s best interests in mind. Not every day has been a walk in the park either, some days I wanted to give up, but I’m still here, no different than the simply irresistible little town we all call home.

Silt’s codes and ordinances aren’t onerous. Do some investigating and look at our neighboring towns codes. Silt has good, hard-working, intelligent people on its staff. Two individuals have brought $3.3 million of grant money into town that otherwise would have resulted in a tax increase for the citizens. Town staff is making Silt a better place to live.



If the citizens want something changed and it is for the good of the town and it fits within the town’s budget then I don’t see any reason not to make the change.

Running a town isn’t as easy as it appears, such as certain moneys can only be spent in certain ways and for specific things, and for good reason. If you take money away from making your town attractive, prospective/current businesses and residents aren’t going to want to move in or stay. That in turn will decrease sales/property taxes that the town needs for essential services like police officers.

We need to continue to market Silt for more businesses, like a grocery store. If you include the entire Silt area ZIP code there are enough rooftops for a grocery store. Someone needs to take the risk and do it. As far as growth, I believe that we need to fill in existing subdivisions and infill lots before we start adding more. We don’t want or need rapid growth; 3 to 4 percent a year is a good pace. I want to keep Silt moving forward in the direction we are going, not rework it.

Chris Classen

Candidate for Silt Trustee


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