Eureka Mayoral Candidates Participate in Forum

Both Eureka mayoral candidates attended Monday evening's forum hosted by the Eureka Chamber of Commerce at the Holiday Inn-Six Flags. Moderator Jeff Burton, a Eureka resident and radio broadcaster for The Point 105.7, pointed out that the event was not a debate, but was an opportunity for local business leaders to hear more about the "hearts and minds" of the candidates.

For introductions, each candidate was given two minutes to share their background and overview.

Mayoral candidate Lee Kropp said he was running for the city's lead position because he cared about the community. He said he especially wanted to get involved with city planning due to the lack of things for youth to do locally. He suggested establishing a "teen zone" in one of old town Eureka's building as a temporary fix until the new recreational facility is available.

He said it was important to draw larger numbers of visitors to old town Eureka in an effort to avoid so many parents spending their tax dollars in other cities, such as Chesterfield.

"I have sat down with the marketing executives at to discuss the packages they could offer. They have 1.4 million people who visit them on average. They are willing to do fliers with coupons on Saturdays, and to open a store within the park as as a tourism center," said Kropp. "We aren't really a tourism town, except for Six Flags and ."

He recommended that Eureka could take advantage of the 40 minutes during which people typically wait in lines at Six Flags with signage, radio and other forms of advertising spots that "has been refused in the past."

"We've got to think outside of the box," he said.

Kropp also said he would use technology to better communicate with residents, if he were mayor. "I've received quite a few complaints about being only able to pay bills by mail or by going to city hall," he said. "We can do a lot more with what we have."

Incumbent mayoral candidate Kevin Coffey said Eureka can "continue to grow" through parks, tourism, and street concerts. He pointed out the new gathering space being developed behind the Eureka Wine House for future farmers' markets, concerts, and art shows.

"We've been concentrating on daytime traffic," he said. "An example is getting the 200 employees of Cenveo here every day. Several of their officers have now moved to Eureka, too."

He mentioned success in the city's new industrial park, and a spark of renewed businesses in old town Eureka regarding a future new pub, an insurance company, a beauty salon, a new artist, and Spiro's returning to reopen the vacant restaurant building they once operated.

"There's really only going to be a few other buildings available in that part of Eureka," he said.

When Coffey first took office, he said there was "no Schnucks retail center, just a rock bluffs, no Bread Co., no interchange at Six Flags, no Eureka Music store, and no Patients First to take SSM's place."

He said he and other city officials have a strong collaborative relationship with St. Louis County officials. He highlighted his involvement with the finance committee, Times Beach situation, and Boys Scouts. "You need to be a community activist to truly understand the role of mayor," he said.

The Forum's Second Part Contained Directed Questions

Regarding qualifications, Kropp said he has lived in Eureka for the past 17  years.  As former president of the Eureka Chamber of Commerce, he said he was involved with trying to grow the city.

Due to his involvement with BNI (Business Network International) and his personal employment, Kropp said he knew personally about the struggles that small business owners face. "All it takes is one catastrophe to lose it all when you are a small business owner," he said.

Kropp said he started the Eureka Merchants Council to try to give people more reasons to shop in Eureka. He said he also has taken time to be on radio and TV to promote the city. He hopes more Eureka residents try to spend their tax dollars locally. "Eureka has a lot of hidden treasures," he said.

The first question directed to Kropp by Burton was about business and his ability to manage the city's finances. Kropp said he personally had to file bankruptcy once his home theater business lost 10 major clients in 2008. "When it comes to the city, I will have six aldermen and a city administrator who has been there for years. It's not as if one person is going to offset all that (experience)," he said.

Kropp said a mayor's decisions affect many people, so he believes it would be a good requirement for those who hold public office to previously have been business owners.

The second question was about revitalizing downtown Eureka, much like Wildwood's Town Center. "We should have looked at rezoning old town when we had the chances due to vacant buildings, like St. Charles did. Hair salons, insurance companies and attorneys don't draw traffic," he said.

"Old Town is the heart of our town. I've been in conversations with St. Charles representatives, and we need to look at what they did, such as the temporary ice rink."

Kropp suggested running a shuttle to and from Six Flags to old town Eureka. "We've got to give visitors more reasons to come to our town," he said.

Regarding qualifications, Coffey said his main concerns were about Eureka's business owners and how to help bring consumer traffic to the city. "We've gone from good to great regarding our reputation in potential tourism," he said, referencing Eureka's new tourism center being the eighth one operating in Missouri.

Coffey said the city would be paying for some signs on Interstate 44 to grab the attention of drivers. "And I've talked to MoDOT (Missouri Department of Transportation) about placing more signage on the individual corners of our intersections," he said.

"Culver's is a destination place, and entices people to stop in Eureka, which is why we worked so hard to encourage them to come here. They said they were getting such a warm welcome from Eureka, they at first thought something must be wrong," he said.

Coffey referenced the city's concerts, which have never been conducted in Eureka before, but now are pulling in 1,500 attendees.

"With a population of 10,200 within our city limits, who knew we would get 2,000 people to Mardi Growl and sell 600 hot dogs at ?" said Coffey.

The first question directed to Coffey from Burton was about the power of the mayor's role to entice new business to open in Eureka.

"You have to get involved with attracting potential new businesses, and to gain the respect of other county-related associations so they support your local efforts," said Coffey.

"Eureka  is more involved at the state level than ever before. In fact, we are seeking alterations to annexation laws to make it easier," he said.

The second question to Coffey was about his 2011/2012 top priorities. "We will work to keep Eureka the strong neighborhood that it is, with great schools and churches. Our biggest challenge is retail," he said.

Coffey said Julie Wood, the city's new director of business development, was doing a good job in making headway in that area.

Coffey said he also wanted to continue focusing on expanding the city's parks and budget. "When most every other city is cutting back, Eureka, with its $10 million budget, was kept everything on a great path."