WATCH: West Plains City Council Candidate Q&A
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Candidates for West Plains City Council answered questions on March 6 at Ostermeir Brewing Company. See the March 12 print edition for full coverage of this event, and see below for a partial transcript that begins 10 minutes into the event.
Jarryd Alsup (00:00):
So if you're looking for my opinion, I think that you contribute to the town. If you own property here and you're a business owner, you should have a vote. And who is on city council?
Moderator Amanda Mendez (00:10):
Okay, Mr. Grennan, one minute.
Ron Grennan (00:13):
I'm going to mostly parrot that answer. Yes, it's my understanding that you have to live in West Plains to vote for city council, but I do think that city council also should represent, especially the small businesses that are inside city limits, paying sales tax, contributing to our general fund.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (00:32):
Okay, thank you Mr. Grennan. You have the first answer of our next question, which is again from someone here tonight from West Plains. Could each of you explain your values as in how they align with conservatism?
Ron Grennan (00:48):
Okay. I'm definitely a conservative. I sometimes am willing to move just a hair to the center to accomplish something. Okay. I realize nobody's going to get their way every time. I'll put it this way, Tuesday night was such a fun night. I don't know about anybody else in the room or not. I had a really good time Tuesday night. Okay. So yes, I am a conservative. I'm fiscally conservative, but when it comes to spending other people's money, taxpayer's money and will remain that way.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (01:24):
Mr. Alsup, you have one minute.
Jarryd Alsup (01:27):
I am a conservative. I voted Republican in the last, I don't know, a million elections. I tend to be more conservative when it comes to morality and finances. I find that that is where I am much more drawn when it comes to economics. I'm a little more libertarian. I like people to have more freedom and more opportunity, and I tend to believe that more laws tend to equate to less freedom. And so I prefer smaller governments as a result. And so economically more libertarian morally, and the rest more conservative.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (02:04):
Okay, thank you. Alright, our next question is from a newsroom employee of Howell County News, who is a resident of the city of West Plains. I'll take this opportunity to remind you that we are taking questions throughout the event, so if you have more questions here, you may turn them in at any time. And we're also taking questions for our folks on the livestream. If you have any questions you'd like to submit, we'll be taking those continuously as well. But here's this question, Mr. Alsup, you have the first answer. In January, the residents of West Plains received a utility bill for 15 days, followed by a bill in the following month for 40 days. How will you address the inconsistent billing cycles? One minute, sir.
Jarryd Alsup (02:47):
It's an excellent question. I've actually recently been visiting with Shane, who's our utilities director. I would like to say that I visited with all of the directors of the city over the last two weeks just to get a sense of the town and what's going on in it. And most of them are humble and practical people. And when I talked to 'em about the town, they had sort of simple requests that they thought would move our town forward in positive ways. Those bills were an error. I know they were frustration. I had my grandmother call me and say, is this right? I felt the same when I got my bill, but I actually believe this is part of the process of ironing those things out. I know they've worked on utilities, I know they're converting over systems and reporting. I actually don't know that there will be much for me to do when I get to office and I'm pretty grateful for that.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (03:38):
Is that all? You had your 10 seconds left. Okay, Mr. Grennan, one minute.
Ron Grennan (03:42):
I too have talked to the city about this and kind of understand it was a software issue. They're not completely happy with the software. They figured it can be worked out though. And again, I think that problem is right now anyway at city administration level, not city council level. Okay. That's something we have to give our people that work in the city the opportunity to fix.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (04:09):
Okay, thank you. Alright, this is a question from a reader in West Plains. It was submitted in advance of tonight's event. And Mr. Grennan, you have the first answer. Why does the city prevent franchises and other big businesses from coming to West Plains? What can be done to promote our town to these companies? One minute, sir.
Ron Grennan (04:31):
I feel that the city, absolutely 100% does not prevent any business or franchise from coming to West Plains. When a business or franchise or big box store wants to look at locating here, they come here with a checklist. Okay? West Plains checks most of those boxes. One that we fall short in every single category is medium income per household. Okay. Now when you look at that at the surface, oh, we don't make enough money, our employers aren't paying enough, that is not the problem. So like I said, when I was on the chamber board for nine years, I was privy to city sales tax reports, city reports, economic development reports, and the most appalling statistic I heard is people that are able to work, they're not disabled or anything else. From age 16 to 64 in our area, 50% of 'em choose not to work. And I question that math and talk to what that does to our median income household. You can imagine if you apply simple math to that, that is the biggest problem.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (05:37):
Thank you, Mr. Grennan, that is your time. Mr. Alsup, you have the same One minute. Go ahead sir.
Jarryd Alsup (05:45):
I would reflect Ron's answer really. I think our city encourages businesses to come here as much as possible. I remember before or Med Air one was there, they were actually trying to prepare that spot for hopes that maybe a Lowe's or Home Depot would come in. I know that right now they're working with a group called Pro Vallis hoping that they'll come in and bring in new jobs and new opportunities for the community. I know a number of people who are actually working on establishing their own franchises in the area, and frankly, as I look around, there are franchises everywhere. We've got two McDonald's at Burger King and Taco Bell, and I mean, we have lots of them that exist here and I think our city council and our team really wants to see businesses come and make West Plains thrive.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (06:27):
Okay. Alright, so we are back to questions submitted by my own newsroom by a resident of the City of West Plains. Mr. Allsup, you're going to have the first answer of this question. The city currently bans the installation of privacy fences within 15 feet of city streets. The majority of city lots do not offer that kind of space, and this could be considered a Fifth Amendment breach. Would you work to remove this mandate? Why or why not? One minute, sir.
Jarryd Alsup (07:01):
I would not work to remove that mandate. I am open to being convinced otherwise, but I know that our city has to operate and has to use part of the land on the edges. There are sidewalks and utilities and systems underneath the ground that all have to work appropriately and often we need access to 'em. So I would think that it is best for the city to maintain those guidelines. I'm sorry for the person that wants a privacy fence though. I understand you may want one there.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (07:30):
Okay. Thank you Mr. Grennan. One minute.
Ron Grennan (07:33):
I don't feel that any, I feel like as a community, we need a uniform set of rules that we all abide by and the privacy fence, especially in the front yard, there's regulations, it can only be so high. It has to be seen through everything else. I don't think we need to start allowing people to do stuff that lowers the property value of the houses on either side of it because of how it looks or anything else. I would not be in favor of removing that mandate, but I'm also on the full disclosure of City Board of Adjustments. So when problems like this come up that goes in front of that board, if there's any big questions on it, where if it makes sense, if it's not prohibitive and that the City Board of Adjustments can actually overrule something like that.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (08:22):
Okay. Perfect. Okay. We are still going with questions from our newsroom, albeit from a West Plains resident. Mr. Grennan, first answer of this question, do you believe that lead the metal is a neurotoxin and is bad to have in drinking water follow up? Do you support the effort to replace the lead water pipes in the West Plain City system?
Ron Grennan (08:46):
I do think that, I'm not sure who's going to answer no to lead and water, to be honest with you. Bad idea. Don't steal my answer. Yeah, don't do it. I do know that. In my opinion, that is probably one of the infrastructure upgrades with the highest price tag that the city of West Plains is facing and is going to face. We've got water towers that are several years old. We've got one water tower. The way I understand it, the last I heard, the tower is 60 feet tall, but we've got 12 usable feet in it. That is a problem that's going to have to be addressed and that needs to be addressed before it's a bigger problem. Okay. So that's something we need to keep in long range planning and make plans to take care of before all of a sudden we start having a Flint Michigan type issue.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (09:38):
Okay, perfect. Mr. Alsup, one minute.
Jarryd Alsup (09:43):
I'm opposed to lead in water. That feels controversial and yes, I would endorse our city working towards fixing that.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (09:55):
Okay. Thank you. Okay. Again, another question from our newsroom. Mr. Alsup, you have the first answer of this question. More than 50% of West Plains is comprised of rental properties and current properties often sit for more than a year before being sold. Would you encourage more people to move to West Plains or would you rather see renters become homeowners and how could you help encourage that second outcome one minute.
Jarryd Alsup (10:26):
That's a great question. I would always encourage people to come to West Plains. I do think that West Plains is a great place to live. I think there are strong families and an excellent community here. I'm trying to convince my sister and brother-in-law to move here right now. I hope they're listening, but as it comes to rentals and giving people more opportunity to buy houses, I'm not exactly sure how the city could make that happen for them. I think the city could offer more opportunities for homes to be developed, which might lower the price of current homes. I also think it might be possible to see a lower income tax. I think the city would be better served by higher sales taxes and lower income taxes, reducing the cost of living inside the city.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (11:13):
Okay. Mr. Grennan, one minute.
Ron Grennan (11:15):
Yes. I would love to see people move to West Plains and the second half of that question was how do you turn rental homes into home purchasing?
Moderator Amanda Mendez (11:25):
Yep. Let me pause your timer. Do you want me to read it again?
Ron Grennan (11:27):
The second part.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (11:27):
Yes, absolutely. Would you encourage more people to move to West Plains or would you rather see renters become homeowners and how would you help encourage that outcome?
Ron Grennan (11:38):
I'm going to say both. I'm not going to pick a side on that and to encourage that outcome, I would hand 'em all my real star rockstar wife's business card number one. Number two, obviously every community wants to build up a middle class and the first step in economic prosperity or staying out of debt is home ownership because your home appreciates over the years. So absolutely would encourage home ownership for anybody that can do that. And like I said, my plan would be to hand him Jim's car.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (12:14):
Got to love a man who stands by his wife. Good for you. Okay. Alright folks, so this is going to be our last question, unless there are more questions that are going to be submitted from the folks here tonight or anybody who's watching online. And this question comes from our newsroom and Mr. Grennan, you have the first answer. West Plains has lost multiple factory jobs over the last decade. While some new businesses have moved in, buying power of our citizens has remained lower due to lower paying jobs. How will you encourage the expansion of economic growth in the area?
Ron Grennan (12:46):
One, love that question. Okay. American manufacturing is really stalled now. Something after listening to Tuesday night, I've got some optimism. But starting about 15 years ago, I was starting to watch this trend and decided with all these jobs going to Mexico, we need a replacement for American manufacturing in our area. I petitioned the city at that time who was building their own fiber ring around the city to deliver internet, to sell internet fiber, internet, get it to the businesses, get it to the homes to encourage economic development. I feel call centers can be the next American manufacturing. We are prime located here for that. As a matter of fact, at one point there was a call center looking at us in another town and we lost it because CenturyLink didn't want to run 300 feet of cable to get it there. Okay. That was part of the formation of the broadband fiber committee. And I will stop because standing up, but maybe wants talk about that later. Come holler.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (13:45):
Okay. Very good. Mr. Alsup, one minute.
Jarryd Alsup
Could you repeat the question?
Moderator Amanda Mendez
Oh, absolutely, yes. West Plains has lost multiple factory jobs over the last decade. While some new businesses have moved in, the buying power of our citizens has remained low due to lower paying jobs. How will you encourage the expansion of economic growth in the area?
Jarryd Alsup (14:05):
That's a wonderful question. Honestly, I don't know that we will see manufacturing jobs come back here in the way they've been before. They haven't just left West Plains, they've left many, many towns across the United States. And so I think our best efforts are to look into new opportunities. I'm certainly excited about the opportunity, the pro vallis that we've seen from the city council. I'm hoping to see more technology and information jobs come to town, and mostly I would love to see more opportunities for entrepreneurial people to start their own businesses. I think the answer is to activate and encourage our own population to see what the people can really do. I don't think that solutions, to be quite frank, I don't think the government is the answer to all of our problems. I think that the government getting out of the way and encouraging the people is the best thing you can do. I think the people in West Plains are wonderful and capable, and if we stay out of the way, they're going to make a powerful impact in our community.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (15:04):
Thank you so much. Thank you. So this is our last call for questions from both the live stream and from anyone who's present here tonight. I need one of the Sexton brothers here going once, going twice. Okay. So with that, we're going to move into closing statements for our two candidates. And Mr. Grin, you will have two minutes.
Ron Grennan (15:26):
Go ahead, sir. To close. I would like to say number one, I appreciate this opportunity. I also want to give some respect to Mr. Alsup who I didn't meet until an hour ago when we came in here. I've got a lot of respect for anybody who files for this thankless position that does not have an ax to grind and is just trying to make their community better. I feel like with my 25 years of public service that I've accumulated a pretty good knowledge base that I really want to apply to help the community out. Okay. I've got the Chamber of Commerce experience, emergency service experience with that. I own a business. I make payroll every week, et cetera, et cetera. The amount of knowledge I've accumulated in the last 15 years dwarfs what I learned before that, to be honest with you. So I want to be able to apply that knowledge to make West Plains or keep West Plains a vibrant and safe community. We've got a super low crime rate, we've got so many good things going for us, and I want to keep it going that
Moderator Amanda Mendez (16:34):
Direction. Okay, beautiful. Mr. Alsup? Two minutes, sir.
Jarryd Alsup (16:40):
West Plains is my home. It's where I've grown up. It's where my wife and I are raising our children, and that's where I've had the privilege to work and serve in the church community and here on the library board and well in other ways around the town. I'd like to see our town thrive and succeed, and frankly, I'm just here to serve. I'm trying to be here to help where I think I can. A good leadership isn't about necessarily pushing a personal agenda. It's about listening to the citizens problem solving and making decisions that reflect the values of our community. That's what I want to bring to City Council, whether it's improving infrastructure, supporting local businesses, or investing in the places that bring us together. I really want to support what makes West Plains special. I'm really grateful for the conversation we've had, and I thank you all of you who came and asked questions. We just have an excellent group of people in our town, and I'm so grateful to have met Ron. I feel like he's a nice guy and if I were to lose man, maybe it wouldn't be too bad. I appreciate all of you very much. Thank you.
Moderator Amanda Mendez (17:43):
Okay. Thank you so much. Okay, folks. So as I say, every election cycle I ever cover in Howell County, how blessed are we to just never have a bad choice, right? Let's give another round of applause to these gentlemen who are volunteering for this thankless job, the public scrutiny. Thank you guys for your willingness to serve and thank you for being here tonight. And that is all I have. Elaine, please take the floor.
Elaine MacGeee (18:13):
Thank you, Amanda, for doing this. Thank you gentlemen for coming and joining us and the community that comes out and because that's what we're all about and that's what these gentlemen are going to be all about. And again, we appreciate your being here and glad to have you join us for just a little bit. We're going to take a break and those of you who would like to stay for our business meeting are more than welcome to. If not, then we will in about 10 minutes break and then we will conduct our business meeting.