Two public forums planned Thursday

Poplar Bluff City Council members will hold two public forums Thursday evening.

Mayor Robert Smith invites all members of the public to a forum at 6 p.m., at the Northside Community Center, 1450 Garfield St., the former home of Northside Nutrition.

Mayor pro tem Steve Davis will also host a public forum from 4-6 p.m. that evening at the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce.

“We have a lot of people that don’t come to the meetings and I wanted to give them the opportunity to tell us what we need to do in the community,” Smith said Monday evening, following the regular council meeting. “It is open to all members of the public.”

Smith hopes to also have another council member in attendance, along with the city manager and city planner.

Davis read a statement at the beginning of the council meeting, explaining his forum was organized in response to statements that have been made against council members in recent weeks. Topics have heated up between some members of the public and council relating to the location of a new city complex.

This has resulted in threats of gun violence, Davis said, because of “ridiculous comments that have been made without merit.”

In at least one Facebook post regarding the topic of a city complex, a comment referenced “Second Amendment” rights and the council, city officials have said.

The following is the statement read Monday by Davis:

“Mr. Mayor, I would like to speak on a point of personal privilege.

Whenever I first decided to run for the city council nearly three years ago, I said I wanted to do my part to contribute to a community that means a lot to me. I graduated from high school here and I went to Three Rivers College. I’ve raised my family here and I spent my entire career working in the criminal justice system to try and better our community. I have always tried my best to be fair and do right by others.

However, I know that running for and holding any office results, sometimes, in unfair comments. I also know that when discussing something very important like a city hall and police station, emotions are heightened. However, some of the comments made by certain people have reached a point of ridiculousness.

Some of us have been accused of filling our pockets, catering to special interests, and showing disloyalty. I have yet to see any evidence come forward to support these ridiculous comments. Not to mention it has been said about me and others that we haven’t done anything for this city and we don’t care about Poplar Bluff. I believe my family has done a lot for this city. As I said earlier, I spent my entire working life serving our community in the criminal justice system, and my own father, as a highway patrolman, shed a lot of blood, when he was shot twice in the line of duty. Now, because of some of these ridiculous comments that have been made without merit, there are individuals threatening this council with gun violence. I think those responsible for making these baseless claims owe it to the community to stop.

I have nothing to hide. I have no interests to which I am catering. I’m a volunteer trying to do the best I can to serve a city I love. I have asked the Chamber to allow me the use of their meeting room on Thursday, Oct. 24, at 4 p.m., so I can be available to any citizen who would like to discuss city hall and police station locations. We have been told by city administration that citizen input is not to be a back and forth question and answer session. So I look forward to holding my own citizen input, where I can answer questions and explain why I support Chief Whitely’s recommendation for the police station to go on Shelby Road. Thank you.”