The pending Community Realty Partners purchase (~$10M) at Hurley Industrial Park is a once-only revenue event. Sooy argues the proceeds must be reinvested into infrastructure that unlocks future growth (roads/utilities/site readiness), not used for one-time outlays that don’t compound. CRP’s plan includes warehousing, a hotel, and professional office space—projects that can lift ratables and employment near the airport.

Keep momentum on recent and in-flight projects: La Vony (high-end meat cutting/packing) is up and running; Buckshutem Rd warehousing is in due diligence; continue progress on the long-running Wheaton demolition despite evolving state directives (e.g., wet-demolition and air-monitoring requirements).

Use the UEZ program more aggressively for visible improvements and business viability: apply UEZ funding to pave Columbia Ave (Mission Spirits/library node), expand the UEZ map, and offer increased façade grants (up to $20,000) to catalyze private upgrades along High Street and adjacent corridors.

With the ordinance passed, Millville will accept applications for three retail dispensaries. Though Sooy opposed legalization at the time, he argues the city should now capture its fair share of revenue (2% local tax on sales) to fund policing and road work—rather than ceding that revenue to neighboring towns.

After a decade-plus of fits and starts, the city master plan and zoning map have been overhauled. Sooy credits the planning board and staff for the heavy lift and wants to ensure new rules guide growth coherently, avoiding ad-hoc reversals that waste time and investor confidence.

Sooy distinguishes between financial-distress cases (most solvable locally) and mental-health/substance-use cases (require state-level systems that currently fall short). He argues bail reform and enforcement limits blunt the impact of local ordinances (e.g., park camping), and calls for pressing state leaders on practical fixes that give cities tools that actually work.

Post-COVID work norms and uneven expectations required a reset. Sooy emphasizes resident-first accountability, insisting on policy/law citations for “can’t do that” answers and addressing persistent under-performance so the burden doesn’t fall on high-performing staff.

Sooy is not convinced a county-run fiber ring would deliver value for Millville relative to cost; he favors targeted, city-level investments with measurable returns and questions whether government should compete where private providers already operate.

Highlights a “multi-variable” financing approach (revenue-allocation bond structure) to advance design without a direct taxpayer hit—an example of structuring deals so progress continues while balancing risk, cost, and timing.

Air Force communications/crypto (Staff Sgt.); Wheaton Glass CNC/NC maintenance; B.A. in Mathematics completed while working full-time—used to frame city challenges as multi-variable systems.

Rose to Captain in corrections; served as Secretary-Treasurer, Vice President, and Executive Vice President in the NJ Superiors Officers Association and later in the NJ Commanding Officers Association; chaired a PAC; testified before committees; extensive grievance/PERC experience.

Resident-first accountability; “show me the rule” rigor; comfort debating policy in public; preference for compounding, infrastructure-first reinvestment over one-time spends; skepticism of initiatives without clear ROI.