Todd Kuhns on City Council

With the current discussions regarding the city’s fuel bid, some people are wondering why our policy today does not consider MFA Oil a “local business,” even though they employ local people and have a plant in Kirksville.

The point of a local preference policy is to keep dollars circulating within our community. One way we can keep money from leaving town is to support businesses that distribute all or most of their profits back into people and businesses that are within our community. Corporate chains, although they may be locally owned and employ people from the community, often end up sending a good deal of their profits to corporate offices, or buying their products from non-local suppliers, for example. 

While the exact numbers change from study to study, the research appears to agree that the local economy gets a bigger bang for its buck from “local businesses” than “corporate chains.” For example: 

• A Chicago study found that locally owned businesses generate 70% more local economic impact per square foot than chain stores.
• A study in Maine found that every $100 spent at a local business generated about $45 of additional economic activity in the local area, versus $14 from a big-box store.

So the definition of “local business” in our local preference policy needs to include to the businesses that keep the most money WITHIN our community, while remaining relatively straightforward for city staff to research. Our current definition – that a “local business” is one whose corporate office is within 30 miles of the Kirksville city limits – keeps the chain stores – such as Wal-Mart – from getting a competitive advantage. We love those places and we’re glad they’re here, but if we’re going to give a bidding advantage to one group over another, we need to get the biggest economic bang for our buck.

The council realizes that our definition may not be perfect, so we’re always open to examining it. This meeting with MFA Oil on Monday will give us a good opportunity to consider whether it needs refining (no pun intended).

Hello Neighbors,

I just returned from a meeting in the city’s emergency management center in
the basement of the police department. More than 40 folks from every state,
city, county, local, and volunteer agency you could think of was
represented there, including Governor Nixon, State Representative Rebecca
McClanahan, and a representative from Wes Shoemeyer’s office.

Here is what was reported to the governor regarding Kirksville:

* Currently, we have estimated about 65 structures damaged from the storm.
10 would be described as total losses, while about 15 sustained “major”
damage. These are primarily residential structures.

* AmerenUE says 2,364 customers are without electricity today. They
estimate 1,400 will be restored by the end of the day, and the remaining by
noon tomorrow. 90 utility poles were damaged. More than 300 AmerenUE
employees and contractors are working.

* Water service appears to be functioning normally. Six sewer lift stations
were damaged in the storm – one of those is back up now and another is
functioning on generator power.

* The water tower on Brewington Ave was in the direct path of the storm and
damage to that is unknown. A professional is arriving in town today to
inspect it.

* A shelter was opened last night at Rehoboth Baptist Church (100 Pfeiffer
Ave). Families began showing up there this morning. Other affected
residents are staying with family and friends or in local hotels.

* The governor signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency,
and another executive order waiving DNR debris disposal regulations for the
cleanup.

* Two fatalities confirmed in Adair County, north of the Kirksville city
limits. The governor said there have been 7 deaths statewide from these
storms.

* The governor and our state legislators are out surveying the damage now.

You’ve never seen a more organized, cohesive group of officials, volunteers
and public servants working together to coordinate the disaster recovery
effort. Thank you to all who are working tirelessly to help our neighbors
in this time of difficulty and loss. Our hearts and prayers go out to you.