By Sun Staff
Part one in two-part coverage
Ned Burns is one of two candidates running for mayor of Bellevue. The longtime Bellevue homeowner currently serves on both the Bellevue City Council and on the board of the Sun Valley Board of Realtors, work that he believes helped sculpt him to helm the city.
Burns has known the area intimately for all of his life. His father grew up in a house on Main Street (now the site of Silver Creek Hotel) where his siblings brought their families to spend rambunctious country-style summers together.
“After graduating from the University of Montana,” Burns said, “I moved right into that house, on the north edge of town. I lived there for six years until I married Sara in 2006, and we bought a house.”
Burns became a realtor five years ago and is today associated with Coldwell Banker Distinctive Properties. Four years ago, he was asked to join the Sun Valley Board of Realtors. He ran for a spot on the board and won.
“The board wanted a fresh, younger perspective,” Burns said. “I found my voice. My time on the board is about decision-making; a decision that’s best for the majority of the 330 members that we work for.
“The key thing is trustworthiness,” he said. “I’m helping people make the biggest financial decision of their lives. If I’m not trustworthy, I’m nothing.”
Burns said he would approach the mayor’s job the same way.
“I’ll make decisions for Bellevue’s present, and its future.”
As he has matured in public service, Burns has learned that being himself is the most important thing he can bring to the table.
“This is nonpartisan election,” he said. “I’m running as Ned Burns and what I can do.”
Current Bellevue Mayor Chris Koch has been good at a lot of things, Burns said, but he wants to take a slightly different path.
“I am willing to address difficult decisions head on,” he said. “I will be proactive and long-term focused. On the council, I make my opinion very well known. I’m not afraid to voice my concerns.”
Among his plans are to have all the streets paved within the Bellevue town site; Pine and Second streets are his priorities.
Burns said the city council’s work on the budget over the summer was revealing.
“The City of Bellevue doesn’t have a credit card; we can only spend what we’ve got in the bank that’s been allocated from the hardworking citizens,” Burns said.
“We’ve got a tiny budget so we’ll try to get grants from the Idaho Transportation Department, federal money and matching grants,” Burns said. “I would like to help loosen up some zoning, and get some more multi-family areas with higher density within keeping of the neighborhood. I don’t want to change the feel of the town.”
Burns wants a more robust downtown, with more consistent activity on Main Street, and more housing opportunities throughout the city.
Burns also wants to expand community involvement.
“I would love more engagement from the Hispanic community. I want all agendas posted in Spanish.”
Some of his other desires for Bellevue are to facilitate town gatherings where citizens can express what they need and want, talk directly to their representatives and discuss issues openly, away from the structure of city council meetings.
“I want to work with business developers to spur development that would support living wages, so people could actually live and work in Bellevue. We are recreation adjacent and we have the space and ability to bring in light industrial, retail and service jobs.”
Burns said it is his institutional memory as well as time in the saddle working in development-oriented positions that make him the candidate of choice.
“I have lived in Bellevue long enough to know: a) how the town works; b) where our problems are; and c) how to go about accomplishing growth within the constraints of small-town government and how to work within our budgetary constraints. The mayor doesn’t have executive order. We have to work together.”
“What I really want to do is grow Bellevue in a positive way while maintaining our small-town feel,” he said. “In 30 years, when I look back, if Bellevue looks like Blue Lakes Boulevard (in Twin Falls), I will have failed. I don’t want to take away from existing Main Street businesses, or create traffic. I still want Bellevue dogs to lay in the streets, kids to be safe and for Bellevue to have a strong sense of community.’