Robert H. Seminary: 2025 candidate for Round Lake Park mayor

Bio

Office sought: Round Lake Park mayor

City: Round Lake Park

Age: 71

Occupation: Business owner

Previous offices held: Police Pension Board 2002-03, Police Commission Board 2003-04, and village trustee 2004-13

Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? Also, what makes you the best candidate for the position?

I plan on putting Round Lake Park on the map to progress.

What is the most serious issue your community will face in coming years and how should leaders respond to it?

Finish projects left incomplete and attract businesses to our town even though we have limited commercial growth potential.

How would you describe the state of your community's finances? What should be the top priorities for spending during the next few years? Are there areas of spending that need to be curtailed?

I believe our financial status is unstable. Having a mayor's assistant with a town population of 7,600?

What do you see as the most important infrastructure project you must address? Why and how should it be paid for? Conversely, during these uncertain economic times, what project(s) can be put on the back burner?

Clean up our main street corridor, stop putting band aids on structures that need to be rebuilt. We need to apply for federal grants to install speed cameras at the entrances of our town, not red light cameras, speed cameras.

Round Lake Park needs a new police station located in town. Mano a Mano Family Resource Center needs a larger facility, a federal grant could make that happen. I have a vision for Main Street that has been left on the back burner for more than 20 years with no vision of growth.

Describe your leadership style and explain how you think it will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board or city council.

I am a hands-on business owner. You must run this village like a business, not a social club. I'm not easily swayed in making decisions.

Round Lake Park has always been a can-do town, but the mayors never got involved with the people to do so. It's easy to waste money when it’s not your own.

As I go through town there's people today who still don't know who the mayor is after 12-plus years in this position. That’s unacceptable! First of all to have a strong village board.

What’s one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?

Merge our North and South corridors together (Saddlebrook and the town of Round Lake Park) develop the southwest corridor of Saddlebrook Farms to bring in commercial business. Right now many Saddlebrook residents have never been in the our main town since moving into the private community and yet they write the town’s destiny when it comes to voting.