Editor’s Note: this is part two, of a two-part series covering the recent candidate forum hosted by the Parsons Chamber of Commerce. To read part one of this story about the candidates for the USD 506 Board of Education, see the Oct. 21 edition of the Parsons Sun.
A pair of incumbent commissioners discussed issues such as housing and the water supply during the recent candidate forum.
In the first part of this story, we heard from several candidates running for a seat on the USD 506 Board of Education. Three district seats are up for election this year. In District 2, position 5, Julie Sale and Jyssica Lahey are running. For District 3, Position 6, incumbent Rich Falkenstien is running against challenger Kris Graves. Jessica Rush is running unopposed for the District 1, Position 4 seat. Lahey and Rush were not present during the forum.
USD 503 Board of Education has three seats open: incumbents Julie Legler and Jeffrey Quirin, and challenger Dennis Dodd are running. Mike Hentzen’s name will be on the ballot, but he has removed himself from the running. The other candidates in this race chose not to participate in a full forum, but were introduced by Economic Development Director Jim Zaleski.
Two candidates filed for re-election for the Labette Community College Board of Trustees: Rebecca Dantic and Rod Landrum. There are also two candidates making a write-in campaign: Dawn “Shelly” Martin and John Keene. Due to the candidates on the ballot technically running unopposed, no forum was held.
“We hope that all four of the potential candidates are supported, as you will see two names on the ballot and will have the option of writing in, if you would like,” Zaleski said.
Verlyn Bolinger currently serves as the Mayor; he has been on the commission for six years alongside Leland Crooks. Both were elected in the same year. Incumbent commissioner Eric Strait and another candidate, Ryan Robertson, did not attend the forum.
After the previous forums and announcements, Parsons City Commission candidates made introductory statements. AJ Kohler of KLKC radio
See FORUM, Page 3.
LELAND CROOKS
then began presenting questions to the candidates.
“What do you see as the number one challenge in the community right now?” Kohler asked.
Crooks said the biggest challenge is a lack of housing. “We don’t have any middle-income housing. We don’t have any upper-end housing,” Crooks said. “We just don’t have any housing. Our industries have all indicated to us that they would hire more people if we had more people. The problem is we don’t have any place to put anybody, and getting middle-income housing is very difficult to get built because there is no profit in it.”
Crooks said he hopes the city can work on building upper-income housing, as that will open up existing middle-income housing.
Bolinger agreed that housing was the biggest concern for Parsons. Bolinger noted that somewhere between 40-50% of those working in Parsons are commuting from outside of the community due to a lack of housing.
“We’ve had several opportunities to score a couple of restaurants, but we don’t have the number of people to work them because they can’t find anywhere to live.”
Bolinder said the city is currently working on a housing project that has been developed through grants.
The second question was also housing-related: Do you think that there could be ways to help people… build homes through programs and cooperatives that utilize financial investment in your work equity?
Bolinger said funds were set aside for enticing individuals to move to Parsons and build. Bolinger also mentioned the land bank, where two homes have already been renovated.
“If we could get a little help with the county, and get a tax sale going, we could probably do more of that.”
Crooks said the land bank takes houses that people don’t want anymore.
“With the land bank, all the past fees and taxes disappear. We take it over, we give it away or sell it to somebody for a real discounted cost, and they rehabilitate the house.”
Crooks also mentioned a land trust, which hasn’t been done yet in Parsons. He said it was something he was still exploring and learning about.
“It provides income and ability for people to build their own houses with sweat equity, with smaller down payments. It’s a fairly complicated process to set it up,” Crooks said. “But, once you get it rolling, it revolves on its own, it generates itself. It doesn’t generate income; it doesn’t ever lose money.”
Kohler asked: With recent issues securing the City’s water supply, do you think the City of Parsons is prepared to continue to meet safe and adequate water needs?
Crooks said Parsons has an excellent water treatment facility that is maintained and run well.
Crooks also highlighted that Parsons has grandfathered-in water rights to the Neosho River. He said a project to bring in water from the river is in the planning stages.
“If we do that, Parsons will have two really stable water supplies,” Crooks said.
Bolinger added that the water treatment plant could support a city up to twice the size of Parsons and that the water plant is state-of-the-art.
“Do you favor proceeding with plans to build a public safety center?” Kohler asked.
Bolinger said it was a tough issue, noting several structural needs of police and fire department buildings.
“If we could get enough grants and the city people support is with a second public safety sales tax, I would be all for it,” Bolinger said.
Crooks said it would be needed sooner or later, and described the conditions of one of the fire stations as appalling.
“This is going to be a no-option that we have to do one way or another, sooner or later. I would just assume we do it sooner, if we get all the grant money we can get a hold of and pass the sales tax to help pay for it. We have to do this,” Crooks said.
The fifth question was: What do you think of the current state of downtown and of Main Street as a whole?
Crooks said downtown is attractive, though he wishes for more retail businesses. He noted that the dead trees should be removed. He said there is a grant program in the works to possibly widen the sidewalks and change how parking is done downtown.
Bolinger agreed that downtown buildings were well utilized and also that he would like to see more retail businesses.
“Would you like to see more recreational activities for young people in the community?” Kohler asked.
Bolinger said that the city has to cater to young people. He highlighted improvements such as the splash pad, the pool, and baseball facilities, as well as working to build a new workout center.
Crooks said part of the problem is that Parsons does not have the population to support the type of businesses or facilities some might want.
“Yes, I am all for finding more for the kids to do; finding more for the kids to do is hard.”
The seventh question asked the candidates their thoughts on East Main.
Both candidates agreed that there was room for improvement.
Lastly, the candidates were asked to detail what accomplishment they were most proud of during their time on the commission.
Bolinger highlighted getting a movie theatre back in town and improvements to the pool. He said his biggest accomplishment was restoring the miniature train in the park, which he volunteers to drive during Katy Days.
Crooks said he was also proud of the train restoration, but that he felt most proud of establishing the land bank.
To view the entire forum for yourself, visit the City of Parsons, Kansas Vimeo channel: https://vimeo.com/parsonskansas.
