This is the second story in a series examining the past, present and future of Eudora as the city drafts its next comprehensive plan that will serve as a guide for development for the next 20 years.
By LUCIE KRISMAN
When Mayor Tim Reazin thinks about the City Commission’s members and the demographics they represent, he thinks of the five Olympic rings.
"Our circles sometimes interconnect," Reazin said. "But all I'm getting information from is my circle, plus whatever I might hear through my interconnection with the other commissioners, and that's not a big enough demographic. "
This limitation is why Reazin thinks community input is so important as Eudora forms its new comprehensive plan that will help guide the city’s growth in the next two decades.
"We get input from the city manager and assistant city manager and department heads, but they're kind of the same way," Reazin said. "They only have these small areas of influence. This comprehensive plan, we hope, if people do it the correct way, will give us a bigger picture and open our eyes to those circles that we don't see."
As the City Commission waits to receive an official report from the community survey that asked residents what they want for the future of Eudora, city officials told The Eudora Times some of their initial thoughts of what they think will be important in the next 20 years.
“The sense of community”
City officials broadly agree that Eudora’s small-town charm is one of its best assets and needs to be kept in mind when thinking about the city’s future.
"The sense of community for me is one of the positive things," Reazin said.
Assistant City Manager Leslie Herring said the small town feel of Eudora is not only charming, but it helps city government access the community and do their jobs better when residents are willing to step up to give their feedback and help.
Still, officials also believe Eudora needs to consider growth for its future. Reazin said he wants Eudora to continue to thrive and make a name for itself.
"I want my kids who are born and raised here to be able to say, 'I'm from Eudora,' and for people to know on a map where Eudora is," Reazin said. "I want to be a proper town with a community that's thriving."
Eudora’s previous comprehensive plan noted the city’s population was 4,300 at the time of the 2000 Census, with 30.7% of the population under 18 and 10.5% ages 65 and older.
Now, Eudora’s population is about 6,400, according to the most recent Census data from 2018, with 34.4% of the population under 18 and 8.1% ages 65 and older.
When it comes to population growth, Reazin said the danger in continuing to be a bedroom community is that property taxes will continue to rise.
“That's kind of the detriment is that our small-town community will out-tax itself,” Reazin said.
Herring said she wants a more balanced distribution of tax costs for the residents of Eudora in the future.
“The scale is tipped a lot more with the residents carrying a lot of the burden for the cost of our utilities, the cost of our services, our delivery services, whereas in other communities there is this striving intentionally for more of a balance between businesses also carrying some of that," Herring said. "I would love to see more businesses here, not only for residents to access but also to not have that cost of carrying all of our utility costs and our infrastructure costs on just their shoulders."
City Commissioner Tim Bruce also said a priority he wants to make central for Eudora’s future is figuring out a way to grow the city’s tax base and get more industry into the city. “For me, it’s trying to figure out a way to grow our tax base from a business standpoint and trying to relieve taxes on our homeowners,” Bruce said. “Those are my ambitions.”
The previous comprehensive plan cited a limit to retail options near Church Street because of where Nottingham Elementary was located at the time. Now, Vice Mayor Ruth Hughs thinks the demolition and redevelopment of Nottingham into a new retail center will contribute to retail growth in Eudora.
“I think we will want to encourage them to grow and be sustainable,” Hughs said. “As soon as Nottingham opens, things are going to pop over there. I can’t wait for it to open.”
Reazin also wants to see more transitional and affordable housing, especially for the senior population. He said senior-driven housing and independent-living projects should be prioritized in forming the new comprehensive plan.
Hughs said the new activity of the Eudora Senior Foundation will make a difference for the senior population in Eudora.
"I think the seniors and advocates for seniors are making a huge difference and that's a community effort," Hughs said. "It's getting up and running and will be very active."
Overall, Hughs said the city needs to “grow responsibly.”
“I think it's probably really critical that we grow knowing what our citizens want and how they want us to grow,” she said. “That's why this plan is really important.”
The Eudora Times requested interviews with commissioners Jolene Born and Roberta Lehmann for their thoughts on Eudora’s future but neither provided comments for this story.
Improving infrastructure
Leaders of city departments have their own wish lists of what they would like to see in Eudora’s future.
Police Chief Wes Lovett said one change he wants to see is the hiring of one more officer, which would allow for better coverage and more safety for the community.
“Right now, we’re at an odd number per shift,” Lovett said. “Our goal is two at a time. It’s safer for the community if we have two officers working at a time.”
Public Works Director Branden Boyd said replacing aging infrastructure is a big part of what he wants for Eudora’s future. This goal has been assisted by the various studies of utilities, like water and electric, that the city has conducted in the past year.
“I would say the biggest thing I want is for the city to be more proactive in replacing infrastructure that is nearing its life expectancy,” Boyd said. “That’s what we’re working on and trying to get moving forward. That was kind of the reason for our studies that we’ve had in the past year. We’ve got a good grip on it now.”
Parks and Recreation Director Sally Pennington said maximizing safety in parks is a priority in planning the department’s future. She said the directional lights recently added behind the Rec Center were a step in the right direction.
“Something we’re passionate about is adding more lighting to infrastructures,” Pennington said. “We want it to be a safe place no matter the time of day.”
Pennington said trails connecting the city are a priority as well, and she wants to see safe ways for all Eudora residents to stay active, such as the paved sidewalk trail that is pending grant approval that will be built around Lucy Kaegi Park.
“We want all citizens to be active, regardless of age,” Pennington said. “It might not always be a shiny new playground, but I just want there to keep being something for everybody.”
Developing a vision
City Manager Barack Matite said the demographics of the community and the City Commission members are significantly different from two decades ago when the last comprehensive plan was created.
The increase in diversity in perspectives will influence how the new plan is formed, he said.
Matite also said the commission’s emphasis on seeking community input is different from what was done in the past.
"Right now, you have a commission that is inviting the community to work with them and tell them where they want the community to grow," Matite said. "They want the residents and the community members to help them develop that vision because they represent them at the end of the day."
Although this plan is a requirement of Kansas law, Herring said ultimately forming this new comprehensive plan is about much more than that – it’s about not losing the community's vision for the future.
"The point of the plan outside of that is to ensure that regardless of how much staff turns over or the City Commission turns over or the Planning Commission turns over, that the community has spoken and that it's on paper and that we're using that guide to kind of go back to," Herring said. "There really is this home base to be able to say that this is the most recent thing that the community has said and has been professionally put together. This is where we're going."
In our upcoming stories, The Eudora Times visits with business owners and residents to hear their thoughts on the future of the city. Check back next Sunday for the latest story in our series.
Miss our first story in the series? Find it here.
Reach reporter Lucie Krisman at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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