Handley
Editor’s Note: This is the third story in an 11-part series focusing on local candidates running for election. The City Commission candidates will run Thursday. The School Board candidates will run Friday and Saturday.
If you would like a PDF of our entire Voters Guide, email us at [email protected]. Printed copies of the Voters Guide will be available to read at Zeb’s next week.
Name: Lance Handley
Race: City Commission
Current job: Store director at Gene’s Grocery Store
Current community involvement:
Part of the Eudora Amateur Baseball and Softball Association
Why are you running for election?
I’m one of those people that I don’t like to complain about how things are done, and I am more of a “I’m not going to complain about it. I’m going to be one that tries to fix it.” I’m not a complainer. I would rather be a part of the solution than be a part of the problem.
There are varying perspectives on what the future of Eudora should be, with some favoring the city keep its small-town feel while others want to see growth. What is your vision for the future of the city?
Definitely growth. I come from Nebraska where there are lots and lots of small towns, and they are all dying because everybody is moving away. My hometown (Indianola) has 800 people, and it’s pretty much dead because there is nobody in town. You can’t keep the graduating high school students in town because there is nothing to do. No businesses for them to work at or anything, so we definitely need to grow. If you don’t grow, you die.
Residents have expressed concerns about utilities and about infrastructure needs, including improved access to the schools. What do you think are the biggest infrastructure priorities for the city?
Probably No. 1 is the electrical grid. A lot of people have issues with losing their electricity numerous times throughout the year. I live on this side of town where a lot of electrical lines are underground.
In nine years here, I have rarely had my electricity go off, but I know it is an issue here in town. I believe from what I understand from all the meetings I have gone to and listened to that the former City Commission from years ago didn’t build the infrastructure for the city to grow, so that is part of the issue. Now the city has to fix all of that stuff that wasn’t done ahead of time.
The road from the middle school to high school is an issue, but from what I understand it is a county road so there’s a lot more hoops to jump through. I mean I have kids in school and it is a nightmare to drive over there so I understand that issue, but it’s just not something that the city can fix. You need to work with the county to get that done.
The city has seen business growth in recent years with downtown revitalization and the Nottingham development. What businesses would you like to see added to the city, and what do you see as the city’s role in economic development?
I guess honestly I’m not for adding a whole bunch of retail businesses. I know a lot of people want a hardware store. I really think that is a waste of time and money. You’ve got Home Depot and Menards 10 minutes away, and I’m the same way: if I need a screwdriver, I would like to not have to drive to Lawrence if I don’t have to, but that’s also not feasible for a hardware store to survive in this town with the amount people spend.
Same thing with auto parts. We used to have an auto parts store. There’s just so many auto parts chains in Lawrence that it’s hard for the guy in Eudora to survive on a quart of oil here and there and a gas can.
I really like that the City Commission thought outside the box for trying to bring in a bowling alley. You know, that’s something outside the box that we don’t have. I’m totally not for bringing in another pizza joint. We already have one that does a lot for the community.
I’m also not into bringing in another grocery store, obviously. I’m not in favor of bringing in another fast food restaurant. I’m more in favor of bringing in some industrial type of businesses, something that can give good paying jobs to people of Eudora rather than cheap retail minimum-wage jobs.
Our proximity to K-10 and to the interstate there has got to be something that we can bring in. I mean, they just built a pretzel factory seven minutes from here in Lawrence. Why couldn’t we have worked together to get that built in Eudora? I’m more into the higher paying jobs for people in Eudora instead of more retail and fast food.
Key needs for senior citizens in the community include transportation and housing. What do you see as the city’s role in enhancing senior support services?
Definitely something that we need to do because obviously we need to take care of our senior citizens. Our grandparents took care of us. We need to take care of them.
If we’re talking about transportation, things like that, the only thing that worries me about the city providing transportation is that it’s another expense put on the city’s line that the taxpayers’ money is paying for, so we have to be really creative finding other ways to fund that.
I am definitely not for raising property taxes or anything in town to fund more things because people in Eudora are already taxed enough. So, we have to get really creative and find a way to partner with some other people to accomplish that.
Taking into consideration various city services, including fire, police and Parks & Recreation, what do you see as needing additional funding or support right now?
Right now, I think the Park and Rec needs the extra funding. We have kind of outgrown our Park and Rec Department. I know this summer there were big issues with the swimming pool not being open as much as people wanted.
Being in the business of someone who hires and schedules people, I’m pretty sure that was probably most of the issue is that it’s hard to get people to work. Get the pool open more. We just need a bigger Park and Rec Department. Bigger gym, bigger weight room.
I think our police and fire departments do a great job.
The library is hoping that voters will approve a bond issue in the spring to begin construction of a new library. What is your stance on this?
Kind of on the fence, I do think we need a new library in Eudora. I think we need a much nicer library. Ours is really old right now.
That’s another thing where I think the library can help with our senior citizen programs. We can filter those in there, too, but you’re on a thin edge there because a bond issue for the public to vote on is another thing that I think people in Eudora are really going to fight about because they don’t want to pay more taxes.
I’m not sure how much money they have raised privately because they have been doing that for a couple years. I know I saw that they were planning on the library being around $4 million, so maybe we can find a way to scale it back some and compromise to meet in the middle.
What do you think are the biggest strengths of Eudora?
Location is a huge strength with K-10 and the interstate being right there. For the most part, I think the community itself is a big strength for Eudora. I mean there are a lot of really friendly people constantly trying to help others, much more than any other town that I have lived in. The school is a big strength for the community, big school system and the community supports them very well.
What do you think are the biggest challenges?
Self serving, but the biggest challenge is getting people to support their local businesses. I think that is the biggest challenge in this town. Don’t get me wrong, you can drive nine miles and get anything and more that you want, but spending your money at Checkers or Dillons doesn’t do your city any good. And then you complain on the other end that your taxes are too high.
City has to get money to run somewhere. If you don’t support your local community, I’ve been doing this for 30 years and I understand that there are things here that are more expensive than if you drove over to Lawrence. I spent almost two years at a Price Chopper. My prices here are just as good if not better than Price Chopper. Their front page is extremely hot on ads so people assume that they are cheaper on everything, but it’s just not the way it is.
Supporting your community is the biggest thing. That goes along with the hardware store and the auto part store. We need to shop locally first and that is the only way that the city is going to get better.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
You asked earlier why I am running, and I am also a big believer in term limits. I don’t think we should have people in Congress for 48 years or whatever. We’ve had some people on City Commission that have been there awhile, and I think it is time for some other people to step up and do their duty.