Voters in Poplar Bluff’s Ward 4 have two city council candidates to pick from in Tuesday’s election.
Incumbent Shane Cornman faces Robert Durbin, who tried unsuccessfully in 2020 for an at-large seat.
Former at-large city council member Jerrica Fox is running unopposed for the Ward 2 seat currently held by Ed DeGaris. DeGaris chose not to run for re-election.
The individuals elected Tuesday will serve a three-year term and will likely see the completion of a police department on Shelby Road and the start of a new city hall project.
Both candidates say they want to support a growing Poplar Bluff and its residents, but have been on opposite sides of recent matters relating to the police department location on Shelby Road and an upcoming city funding matters.
The candidates for Ward 4 were asked the same series of questions and are listed in ballot order.
Cornman won the Ward 4 seat in 2018 from then-council member Philip Crocker.
The deciding factor in the 2018 election, Cornman said at the time, was the council’s pursuit at the time of Northwest Medical Center for a city hall and police department location.
A contract has since been awarded to construct the police department on Shelby Road.
The council has also voted to keep the city hall downtown, said Cornman.
“We’re going to look at all our options down there,” Cornman said. “It could possibly be tearing down the old police station and utilizing that land, or we may look at an existing building down there. It’s whatever will be the most financially responsible decision going into city hall, that’s the one that we’re going to make.”
The council will work with the city manager to make tearing down the former Second Street police department and city hall a priority, Cornman said.
Other steps that need to be taken in the downtown area, he said, include better utilizing the Black River Coliseum.
“That’s the lifeline to getting people downtown,” Cornman said. “You know that’s an expensive building sitting there and we have to take full advantage of that.”
The Coliseum staff is working more closely with the Poplar Bluff Parks and Recreation Department on upcoming events, Cornman said, including hosting tournaments for basketball, volleyball and other events.
Cornman feels other efforts, like cleaning up derelict properties, will be possible if the city can pass the use tax measure on Tuesday’s ballot.
The use tax would allow the city to charge a sales tax on certain internet purchases at the same rate that people are taxed when buying goods from brick and mortar stores in the community.
City officials have long said this would help support more general fund operations and level the playing field for local businesses as purchasing shifts online. The city has made at least three previous attempts to pass the tax, but has been unsuccessful.
“That’s going to be an area that’s going to be a focus is getting rid of these derelict buildings and doing a lot of demo, and trying to clean up the city. That’s why I support the use tax,” Cornman said. “It’s really going to come down to funding at the end of the day. It seems like that’s always the answer.”
The city has made personnel cuts in the past year to help balance the budget, another area where Cornman believes the use tax will be a benefit.
“You know that money could be used to restore the budget. It would definitely help the situation,” he said.
Cornman said successes the city has seen in the last three years include the relocation of Empire Comfort Systems to the city, with a planned $12 million investment and 200 new jobs over five years, as well as grants to fund the replacement of a bridge on South 11th Street. The council also saw additional investments and jobs from Briggs & Stratton during that time.
Durbin first became interested in a position on the Poplar Bluff City Council when the debate started over the location of a new city complex on Shelby Road, and the hiring of a consultant to assist with the project.
“It was like they were hiring a company to decide where to put the police station in order to avoid making that decision,” he said.
He feels like those matters have divided residents and he would like to help unify the city.
“My reason for wanting to be on the council is to represent the people that I feel like are being disenfranchised, getting left out of the process,” he said.
Durbin is concerned about issues like whether or not police officers will be required to live in the city limits after they’re hired and making progress on a city hall project.
“I don’t have a problem with recruiting outside the boundary, but I think I would be more inclined to make sure that they (police officers) live within the city boundary after they were hired,” he said, referencing recent decisions by the council.
That structure Second Street city complex also needs to be dealt with and the council needs to commit to moving forward with a new city hall, he said.
“We started different projects along the way with different councils and different city managers,” he said. “We bought the Firestone building and then abandoned that idea.
“It’s just been one thing after another. It seems like they’ve got ADHD. They can’t keep their mind on one thing at a time.”
When it comes to cleaning up the city, Durbin believes this is a problem that can be solved like many others the city has, through the involvement of residents.
He suggests extending efforts like Buff up the Bluff and offering permanent dumpsters for residents to dispose of trash.
He also cited both the old Second Street city complex and the former Doctor’s Hospital building as examples of derelict structures that have become a problem for the city.
Derelict buildings are issues that could be taken care of by the city, he believes, utilizing street department crews for demolition, as they have on other properties.
Durbin believes the city should look at cutting the salaries of upper management to help with its budget needs.
“I think we could take 10% off the top (salaries),” Durbin said. “I don’t believe we need to tax more. I think we just need to be more responsible for the funds that we have entrusted to us by the citizens already.”
While Durbin isn’t against the purpose of a use tax, he does not support passing it at this time.
“I do not support it (now). I do if the council becomes more responsible, then I would be very vocal about the use tax,” he said.