This is the second story in an 11-part series featuring the candidates for City Commission and School Board. One story will be featured each day between Oct. 8 and Oct. 18.
Alex Curnes
Candidate for City Commission
Current Job
Manager at a retail store in Kansas City
Why are you running for this election?
I live here, I have kids that are growing up here and I want this to remain a great place to raise a family. I really feel like Eudora is something special, and I don’t want us to become eastern Lawrence. I don’t want us to become western Olathe. I want us to be something unique.
I think that there’s, you know, there’s a ton of change that’s going to happen in Eudora, and I want to make sure it’s done responsibly. I don’t want it to just explode and have a million homes, million businesses, no plan. I really want it to be methodical and thought out. I think that the plans that are in place right now are excellent, but I think that we need to continue to keep that focus.
The opening of Panasonic will have a big impact on the region. What steps do you think the city should be taking right now to prepare for that?
It’s really important that we don’t get too big for our britches, so to speak, we don’t go too quickly. I think that we need to stop and examine what’s going on and not rush to any decisions. I think it’s a really exciting time to be here, and I think we are very blessed to have something this large occurring nearby us, but it’s not something that means that we need to jump every time someone snaps. I think that we need to be methodical about it and really focus on what’s best for the community.
As a sidebar to that, but a very important one, we can’t forget the folks that already live in Eudora. Even if there’s a bunch of new homes or new businesses, we already have excellent businesses here in downtown. We already have folks that live in this community. We don’t want to forget the basic necessities of living in the city, infrastructure, roads, the things that people don’t want to talk about – sewer and water and things like that – we need to make sure that we’re still supporting those causes, too.
Residents in town have expressed concerns both about how much taxes are and about the need to keep the small town feel for Eudora. How do you think the city should address these concerns?
So it’s a difficult balance, but it’s an important balance. I’ve seen through my career the impact that sales taxes can have on the community, and Eudora doesn’t have a very large sales tax base right now. I would like to have the burden that’s shared mostly by the citizens be shared into sales tax, into transient tax from hotels, into industrial organizations, and then what they’re selling, so on, and so I think if we look at that and we say, ‘Here’s what the Eudora resident is paying today,’ I think that we can make it so that the city services that they’re requesting – police presence, fire presence, Parks and Rec, all these other services – can be increased without burdening the Eudora taxpayer.
There have been talks about road improvements with the RAISE grant, other needs for wastewater treatment renovations, etc. What do you see as the biggest infrastructure needs for the city right now?
There are several and I think over the next decade or so, I think there’s going to be a lot of different projects that will need to be discussed. Again, nobody likes to talk about when you turn on the faucet, you want water to come out, but that’s going to be one of the most important things. We can’t grow if we don’t have the wastewater and water treatment plants within the next 10 to 15 years. Now, the city has already planned for that. There’s land that’s already been acquired for the water treatment plants and so on, but these are the types of situations that need focus, and they need someone watching for them [so] it doesn’t just sneak up on you. This is something that’s going to take again, you know, five to 10 years worth of planning to get us there.
The RAISE grant is a perfect example, though, of what I think Eudora is doing right. This is a tremendous investment in our community. It’s your tax dollars, it’s my tax dollars coming back to our community, and so this improvement is going to be just mind altering for the community. I think it will really improve things south of town and when you’re talking about whether it’s road transportation or other infrastructure projects, I think the key is, again, just the focus, keeping the focus.
What departments in the city do you see as needing more support, funding or additional services?
I’ve had the privilege of working with these folks. You know, whether it’s the Parks and Rec or police and fire, I can convey to the citizens of Eudora we’ve got some good teammates. There are great leaders and great staff, and I think you will see a natural increase in those departments. Obviously, as we gain more housing, we may need to increase police or public safety. You are going to need to increase Parks and Recreation as you’d add parks and recreation facilities.
I think probably one of the biggest things that we need to look at over the next few years is whether or not the fire department needs to become a full-time fire department as opposed to a volunteer fire department as it is right now. Obviously, there’s funding for that as a requirement, but I think it’s important to this community, and I think that’s something that should be discussed.
What are your hopes for the future of the Nottingham development?
I mean, I think there’s a lot of excitement there right now.
I think that, as Eudora grows, that space has traditionally been seen as this kind of centralized hub. I think it’s a different space, perhaps, than what it was maybe 10 years ago, whenever it was originally envisioned. I wasn’t a part of that, but I think as the project south tends to grow, as our downtown continues to be revitalized, I think you see that space becoming a little bit more of a different space than what it was originally designed for.
I think there’s great opportunity there. I think there’s a ton of traffic that goes by every day. I think there’s a lot of momentum with the new Mid-America Bank and Scooter’s are getting ready to open, so I think it’s an exciting spot. I think that if I could ask the community for something, it would be patience. I think it’s really easy to look at it and see that it’s just a field, and I don’t like that any more than everybody else does, but I think it’s more important that we get the right things there, as opposed to just something there.
The city is exploring a STAR Bond and bringing a sports arena/entertainment district to town. What are your views on this proposed project?
So again, I fully support diversifying the tax base. Right now, it’s way too high of a burden on the taxpayer, the homeowner, the business owner. I think if we can draw in visitors from surrounding communities, or from out of state to come into Eudora to visit our shops, or restaurants, to stay at our hotels and then leave, that is a great way for us to increase the services that are provided to our citizens.
Be that Parks and Rec services, senior services, all the way to police and fire and medical and so on, so forth. There’s a variety of ways to do that. I’ve visited communities on vacations where the community supports a bond issue or they increase taxes. I don’t want to do that. I think that there are plenty of opportunities for us to do that through economic development.
The senior citizen population is important to Eudora residents. How will you support them and are there services you want to see increased for them?
I fully support the Senior Foundation of Eudora, I think it’s one of the best ones that I’ve run into whether it’s Lawrence, Douglas County, etc. I think that the group that they have there is outstanding. I think they have a vision, and they want what’s best for the seniors in this community.
What I see as missing is that communication piece, the back and forth between the seniors here in Eudora, and I think we forget sometimes that not everyone can make it to a City Commission meeting or not everyone wants to send an email or check the Facebook account. One of the things I’m really working on is trying to engage people more whether that’s the Eudora Senior Foundation, or the business community through the Chamber events, which I also have attended.
There’s ways that we can engage with the community, where we’re going to them, we’re meeting them where they are, as opposed to expecting people to show up and so I think that’s something that’s missing right now that I can certainly help with.
Overall, what is your vision for Eudora’s future?
I mean, the signs outside the door here say, ‘A place to grow,’ and I really see that as a fact. I think this is a community for families. I think it’s a community that my kids and your kids and everybody’s kids can grow up in and you don’t go to college and move away. This is a place where you come back to, you can grow your own family. You can start a business here. You can take your kids to the park, you can have ice cream at Main Street Scoops and Sweets, you can do all of the fun things right here in this community as opposed to leaving. I think that’s the vision I have for Eudora, is to make this a bit of a destination, you know, not just a tourist destination, but a destination to live and grow and enjoy your life.
Anything else you would like to add?
I just want our citizens to know that this is a really special place and, you know, I alluded to it earlier, but we’re not western Johnson County and we’re not eastern Lawrence. We’re a unique place and it’s important to me that we stay a unique place. Will there be growth? Yes, there will be growth. It’s my goal to make sure that that growth is done with some forethought and meticulously and planned out and that the community can know that it wasn’t just kind of haphazardly thrown together.
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