(Editor's note: Candidate Doug Hoiland declined to be interviewed and David B. Szplett could not be reached for this article.)

Richard Cardoza, who has lived in Kuna for 37 years, said he's never seen a City Council race like the one now unfolding in that southwest Ada County community.

Eight challengers are running for the two at-large seats held by Cardoza and Trina Stroebel, both of whom seek second terms. Their opponents say that the sheer number of challengers in the race indicates that Kuna voters are unhappy about the council's performance.

They say voters have approached them with a laundry list of complaints, including:

® A local improvement district that left more than 20 landowners on the hook for repaying the $30 million cost of building a new wastewater treatment plant. Kuna officials fear that the controversy will result in the landowners suing to force the city to repay the debt.

® A $325,0000 deficit discovered earlier this year that required significant cuts in the 2008-09 budget.

® A new 75-cent monthly charge for street light service paid by both residential and commercial customers, and a $5.50 increase in the annual fee for pressurized irrigation.

® A perception of conflicts of interests involving the incumbents.

® A continuing lack of recreational opportunities.

"People are tired of the status quo," said candidate Warren Christensen, who grew up in Kuna. "The number of candidates tells you that."

POCKETBOOK ISSUES

The issue of how much law enforcement Kuna can afford surfaced at a candidates' forum this week at Kuna High School.

Cardoza said he had proposed a budget that eliminated one of the eight Ada County Sheriff's deputies assigned to Kuna under a contract between the city and county. That would have saved the city more than $80,000, and he would have put that money toward youth programs.

Candidates Kelly Driesel, Douglas Hoiland, Warren Christensen Corinna Stiles and Briana Buban Vonder-Haar all said the city was paying too much for police protection. Stroebel was the lone holdout, arguing that "safety is worth a lot."

Perhaps the biggest issue worrying voters is the outcome of the local improvement district.

In an earlier interview, Carl Trautman, a 10-year resident of Kuna who works as a civil engineer and sits on the Planning and Zoning Commission, said voters are concerned about potential higher taxes if the city is found to be liable.

Cardoza, who said he and Stroebel had just been elected when the district was being put together, said the entire local improvement district process "was handled shoddily."

"There is some truth in that," he said about the possibility of higher taxes. "I have a bad feeling about this one. I'm afraid we may end up in litigation."

Trautman said voters also are wondering about the new street light fee. The City Council promised to drop the fee once it reached a new, 2-percent franchise agreement with Idaho Power. But that franchise is in question now because the utility objects to the city's plans to create "presentation corridors" on Kuna/Meridian Road and parts of Kuna Mora Road. The proposal would require that Idaho Power built any future power facilities 660 feet away from the streets.

"Meanwhile, people are starting to notice that their fees are creeping up," Trautman said.

Cardoza said he is more concerned about the growing number of Kuna homes in foreclosure. Each home means a temporary loss of tax revenues to the city's general fund until the lender or a new buyer makes good on the back taxes.

"If you have enough of these 'walk aways,' we could find ourself in (budget) trouble again next year," he said.

A PERCEPTION PROBLEM

Cardoza was the first to raise concerns about allegations of potential conflicts of interests being raised by some of the challengers. They say that council members should not own businesses in Kuna.

Cardoza is a local insurance broker. Stroebel, with her husband, Sean, co-owns Confetti Productions, a mobile DJ and audio video business and Confetti's, a scrapbook and party store in Kuna.

Driesel said voters are telling him they believe that the businesses owned by the incumbents create a conflict of interest when voting on issues that might impact their business, or entities that they do business with.

"The council needs people who can make decisions not based on friendships or business dealings," he said.

Cardoza says there is no conflict because they don't vote on issues affecting their businesses.

"Both Trina and I have been very careful to abstain from voting on issues impacting our businesses," he said. "It's ironic that people run for office, but I don't see them at council meetings until they announce they're running. I think if people came to council meetings there wouldn't be voter unrest."

Stroebel said the City Council must consider the business community's point of view.

"I think you need that diversity on the City Council if you're going to see all sides," she said.

But Stiles, the advocacy director for DisAbility Rights Idaho, a Boise non-profit that provides services to Idahoans with disabilities, said it's not enough for Cardoza and Stroebel to abstain from voting on some issues.

"When you have just four City Council members, and a mayor, removing even one person from a vote means that you have fewer people making decisions for the benefit of everybody," she said.

Driesel and local businessman Richard Scott said they are running to end discord on the council.

"I've seen a lot of division on the City Council," Scott said."How can you run a city when everybody is fighting?"

Stroebel said the challengers are "confusing division with differences of opinion."

"You need those different opinions if you're going to hear all sides of an issue," Stroebel said.

'THERE'S NOTHING TO DO IN KUNA'

Christensen and Driesel say that recreational opportunities in Kuna have failed to keep pace with population growth.

"We're spending $46,000 on animal control and zero on youth programs. That's unacceptable," said Driesel, who works as a carpenter.

Christensen agrees: "There's nothing to do in Kuna. We have to travel outside of the city for recreation and entertainment. That's frustrating now, and it was frustrating for me growing up here."

SMALLER IS NOT BETTER

Buban-Vonder Haar, an attorney with the federal government who has lived in Kuna for almost two years, said the city has been shortsighted in rushing to approve residential housing projects that concentrate on building small "starter homes."

"It's important to keep Kuna's small-town feel, because that's what has attracted people," she said. "But I don't want to become a starter community, either. What happens in a few years when those homeowners want to upgrade and there is nothing for them in Kuna? They're going to move away."

Also running is former city councilman David B. Szplett.

Writing in the Kuna Melba News, Szplett said he was running again because the $500,000 deficit announced by the council in January showed a "lack of concern or ability" on the council's part. He also called for re-examining the city's $1.3-million-a-year contract with the Ada County Sheriff's Office for police protection.

Joe Estrella: 377-6465