Leaders hope to improve Emporia's self-image
By Bobbi Mlynar
Originally published 02:44 p.m., October 22, 2007
Updated 02:44 p.m., October 22, 2007
If Emporians looked at their city like Matt Zimmerman does, there might be no need for an image campaign.
Zimmerman, who came to Emporia to be city manager in April, was struck by Emporians’ perception of their city.
“There was a very negative self-perception of the community, and I really don’t understand why,” Zimmerman said. “And I’m not just saying that. We ... have it better.”
As an outsider looking over the city before he was hired, Zimmerman saw pluses that townspeople may take for granted. He and his wife, Hope, get out more in Emporia than they ever did in Prospect Heights, a Chicago suburb with enough distance between home and events and enough traffic in between to make it challenging to go out for entertainment.
The city has cultural events, dining, a “great university,” shows, classical music, jazz, art, and other attractions that may be overlooked.
“There’s just about any kind of food you want here in this community,” he said. “Would everyone like a nice steak house like Grand Central ...? Do we have a good sit-down Italian restaurant, no.”
But there are other benefits.
“It’s easy to drive, easy to park, not expensive. ... Our movie theater gets all first-run movies,” he continued naming positives he found inherent in Emporia. “We have a lot of opportunities here that are really good. My wife and I were glad to come here, and we did our research.”
At the end of the month, professionals will begin looking into the causes of the community’s low self-image. They will work with local officials to find out what can be done to turn that perception around.
Zimmerman had thought such a study would be beneficial for the city and was happy to find that the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce and the Convention & Visitors Bureau members were thinking the same way.
After interviews of a number of consultants, leaders chose Nye and Associates of Wichita to head the effort.
“They toured the community,” said Jeanine McKenna, Chamber president and chief executive officer. “And they brought us back a proposal that we liked.”
Leaders representing a cross-section of Emporia met with Nye consultants last week and a community meeting is planned from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 30, in the Little Theater in the Civic Building.
Sponsors are hoping to draw a large crowd ready to talk about strengths and weaknesses, and bring in ideas and a “fresh perspective” of what could be done to make changes and improvements, Zimmerman said.
“I’m really excited about it; I really am,” McKenna said. “... We do want to keep things on the positive. But at the same time we need to know what the concerns are for the community.”
The Chamber had been discussing a similar campaign for several years, she said.
Outsiders, like Zimmerman was, tend to see Emporia in a different, more positive, light — one that he and McKenna would like reflected in Emporians.
“We have a good image,” she said, referring to those outside the city.
Emporia State University always is a plus, as is economic development, which recently has accelerated.
“We do have a lot going on for us, but we tend not to see it,” she said. “We take it for granted, maybe.”
That’s one reason why she was heartened when Zimmerman, too, brought up image as a concern.
“People asked him questions. From that, it really spread and we said, ‘OK. We’re going to do this,’” McKenna said.
The city and the chamber are going into the long-term project knowing that there are obstacles to overcome and problems to remedy as they seek to change Emporians’ perceptions.
“That’s not to say we don’t know that there aren’t areas that need improvement, but maybe through this whole campaign, it will start spurring that pride and that accountability,” McKenna said. “It just sort of grows upon itself. When a neighbor fixes up a house, the other neighbors start fixing up their houses. Hopefully, we’ll have some of those (side effects) spinning off to others.”
Phase Two of the campaign is planned around the first of the year.
“And it’s not going to be an advertising campaign, per se,” she said. It will be more of “an internal campaign within the community that hopefully will increase the pride and generate a more positive attitude.”
Phase Three will focus more on external growth and a development plan, once Emporians “feel better about our home town,” she said.
That will involve retail, industrial, and residential prospects and the overall work force.
“One thing with the good news of REG and Hill’s coming,” McKenna said, “there is a concern for work force out there. So Phase Three might be geared toward bringing more work force to our area.”
railroadhorn (anonymous) says...
Good idea. My concern is that the city doesn't have enough good jobs for its young people. Most of what you see in the paper are job ads for truck drivers - no offense to that profession - but we need a more diverse base. The housing stock also is pretty run down. I love it here but it's not the easiest place to make a living.
October 22, 2007 at 4:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
joetraveler (anonymous) says...
One of Emporia's "problems" is its proximity to Topeka, Wichita, and Kansas City. I've heard many out-of-towners comment on Emporia's lack of shopping choices, and that is an image locals have accepted, so they immediately drive elsewhere to do their shopping.
October 22, 2007 at 5:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Paccifier (anonymous) says...
Joe- what you see as a problem is seen by many as an advantage- a town this size cannot support the number of shopping sites that are available to us within an hour or two- and that also goes for concerts and other forms of art- No town this size could be in a better position on the map. Go to any larger City- Los Angeles for example, and you can still drive an hour to get to a restaurant you may want to try- I think that is what the problem is- How you see what we have - there is the positive side, and the negative of the same issue
October 22, 2007 at 6:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
According to McKenna: “It just sort of grows upon itself. When a neighbor fixes up a house, the other neighbors start fixing up their houses. Hopefully, we’ll have some of those (side effects) spinning off to others.”
I'm afraid this is a bit naive. Sometimes fixing your own house leads to frustration in others. Other "neighbors" don't start fixing their houses because they can't afford to. It's a money issue, not a pride issue.
Also, one of the problems in Emporia is economic diversity. There is a stark difference between the haves and the have-nots, and there are few in-betweens. People have had a tendency to separate themselves socio-economically. So now it's also a class issue.
As far as Italian sit-down restaurants are concerned, we can't even attract a franchise for Olive Gardens. Our per capita income isn't enough. In fact, there are many retailers that won't locate to an area unless the average household income is $67 thousand. On top of that, how many payday loan places do we have in town? What's the message there?
We did have one sit-down Italian place in town but it didn't last long. First of all the food wasn't very good, portions were quite small, and the prices were shockingly high.
Where do the Zimmerman's shop for clothing? Just curious.
I love Emporia for many reasons. In fact it is my choice to live here; I chose it 30 years ago, and I don't plan to leave. But we need to view it realistically too. In some areas, we are hurting. In others, we are stars.
October 22, 2007 at 8:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
slipandslide (anonymous) says...
the pits were great fun!dune buggies, motorcycles, campfires meals,,fishing the list goes on, no one got hurt no one complained about noise, just good ole fun.
October 22, 2007 at 8:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
Create
I agree with just about everything you said, with one exception. Development is almost always infectuous. When we moved here we bought a 1902 Prairie Victorian that had been abandoned and abused for years. We took our equity profit from the sale of our house in Memphis and sunk it in - very deep. We did so because we wanted to invest in our future here, to be good citizens and good neighbors. Once we did we began to notice neighbors doing little things with their property as well. It wasn't always something big, but it was always something that improved the neighborhood. The only exceptions have been the slum lords, who operate under the assumption that their job is to squeeze the maximum profit for the least amount of investment.
I recognize that there are cost issues, but there are programs availalable to help home owners and rental property owners fix their properties for their benefit as well as the benefit of their neighbors. For example, HUD has a program called 203K. Unlike traditional home improvement loans that take current value minus mortgage owed and loan the bridge amount, which in most cases around here is quite small. The 203K works in the reverse way. For example, the current value of the property may be only $15K. But with improvements it could be brought up to a value of $75K. If the home owner has $9K left on the current mortgage, the loan would be for $66K ($75K minus the $9K left on the mortage). The repairs and improvements need to be made withiin a specified time period, generally 18 to 24 months. The loan is low interest, with fixed rates, and federally insured..
There are other programs as well.
I really believe we can fix this community and I know you do too. We just need to dig in!
October 22, 2007 at 9:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
VerySpatial (anonymous) says...
“It’s easy to drive, easy to park, not expensive."....... ..Because people are leaving town.
October 22, 2007 at 9:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporiahelper (anonymous) says...
Well one thing that should happen in this town is maybe an ordinence on the color you paint your house. Houses are being painted purple, baby blue and the ugliest colors ever. This town is trash and we need to clean it up because no one is going to want to live here. Yes we do need some stores in this town because our mall is crap, not all at once because our town wont support it. If we bring in alittle more at a time then we will get more ppl interested in our town and a larger population.
Back to cleaning up the town... If you take a drive to t south side you will see what i mean because its pretty dirty down there and downtown.
October 22, 2007 at 10:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
VerySpatial (anonymous) says...
"........economic development, which recently has accelerated"
Hmmmm..........Am I missing something here ? I guess she means the new Hills Pet Food Plant. It seems to me in this paper I read more about loss of jobs in Emporia (Birch, Moline, Surgery Center......etc).
October 22, 2007 at 11:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
admireed (anonymous) says...
Need to start someplace and minimum housing codes with registration fees for landlords AND renters is a start?
October 22, 2007 at 11:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bdprotheroe (anonymous) says...
I think it would be beneficial for the city leaders to consider adding more to downtown, the center of the city. Obviously, Jones Aquatic Park needed vacant land for its development. But, future projects/developments need to be considered for downtown rather on the outskirts of the city. Neglect a city's core, and the city as a whole will be unable to sustain itself.
Just my opinion.
Brian Protheroe
San Francisco, CA
October 23, 2007 at 3:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bdprotheroe (anonymous) says...
Additionally...
Lawrence's downtown business district is worth studying. So much has been invested along Mass St., in those historic buildings. And, in those vacant lots, the city was able to attract new merchants/retailers with the development of new buildings (i.e. The GAP). And, all of this is so accessible (walking distance) for the students at KU.
BP
SF, CA
October 23, 2007 at 3:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Netloafer,
It sounds like your neighborhood has people willing to maintain. This is a good thing. I too bought an old Victorian many years ago when I first moved here, an1892 lady whom I love dearly. But only a few others around me have as much interest. Some are rentals and not maintained at all so it is frustrating. I guess that on the average, neighborhood upkeep is infectious as you suggest, just not in mine unfortunately. We've seen it happen in some areas downtown. And thanks for the info on the 203K. Maintenance does get expensive.
I agree with verySpatial on the economic development. I too wondered what the article meant by accelerated local development. I hope they aren't referring to the highway project. Surely it must be Hill's Pet Food. Still, as railroadhorn suggests, we need jobs for our people.
October 23, 2007 at 6:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
Kstrebuchet/Create
There's no doubt that there are single family dwellings that are in disrepair. The difficulty is that the legal standards for them are different than they are for rentals. Rentals are commercial enterprises and single family dwellings are considered unassailable. I agree partly with that. From English common law to the present the premise has been - "a man's home is his castle."
What the law cannot do, however, community pressure can. Those homes should be subject to public scrutiny. I'm getting contacts now from people who want to start reporting these properties to the Gazette and then get them to give these irresponsible owners negative public exposure. It's going to be long, hard, frustrating work, but it's needed. Things have got to change here or this city will not survive. It will just become a larger version of what Strong City was a few years ago (by the way, it now appears that Strong City is cleaning up its act).
There's going to be a meeting on October 30th at the Little Theatre to discuss some of these things. Those of us who want change for the better need to attend.
October 23, 2007 at 8:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tosie (anonymous) says...
In order to clean up the city we'd have to clean house on the kind of people living in Emporia, but that's not going to happen as long as Tyson is around. Just my opinion, take what you wish from it.
October 23, 2007 at 8:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
I'm talking about real blighted property. I'm not worried about the color of the paint or whether the garden hose needs to be rolled up. When we lived in New Jersey we had a neighbor from India who painted his house a bright blue. While it created amusement, no one in the neighborhood complained. They knew that Yogesh was a good neighbor and that his taste in colors was different than the average American's. And right now my garden hose isn't rolled up. I've been watering recently after re-seeding. Go to the corner of 10th and State. That's privately owned and I think the overwhelming majority of people can agree that it is blighted. That's what I'm talking about.
I'm certainly not going to be this city's home policeman.
October 23, 2007 at 9:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MelissaE (anonymous) says...
netloafer, it sounds to me like you are in favor of HOA's.....so I suggest going somewhere else, buying a home within an HOA and pay your monthly dues to have everything look pretty.
I prefer to be left alone. If I wanted to live in my home and be told how it "should" look, I'd have bought a home in an HOA and happily paid the dues.
How things "should" look is subjective to the looker, I might add.
M
October 23, 2007 at 12:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
What I was talking about wasn't matters of individual taste. What I was talking about was delapidated property, unsafe property, property with trash piled up on the porches, old rusted vehicles on the lawns, gutters falling off, bricks from chimneys falling off and landing on neighbors' cars, etc. the types of things that just about all of us can agree should be fixed. I'm not worried about color schemes or the type of grass, or the things that homeowners' associations typically write into their bylaws.
The things I'm talking about are already part of Emporia's housing code - the seventeen series. I think they're fair and agreeable to just about all of us.
October 23, 2007 at 2:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporiahelper (anonymous) says...
kstrebuchet, Its not just a taste of color. It is peer ugly, when you buy your home in any area you, buy it for some reason and when we bought our home we bought it because of a nice neighborhood and house were nice and clean. These colors are not clean and these people do not care what is ourside or what color there house is. They should because when people come here and see these ugly houses they will turn heads and move. I know it doesnt seem like people do this but they do. Its not a racial matter and I hope i do not offend anyone, but it is mostly the newer hispanic group moving into the town.
thank you
October 23, 2007 at 3:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
I'm not in favor of HOA's, and I don't care about paint colors, but I do have a problem with surrounding properties that aren't maintained to the point of deterioration. Examples include porches falling off, broken windows, large chunks of missing siding, that sort of thing. It took my neighborhood almost a year to get one neighbor to stop piling up junk and old cars in his back yard. Rats became the problem so we finally got the health department involved. That's what I mean by unacceptable situations that affect property values.
By the way, some of those shades of bright blue paint on houses have a religious significance. Bright blue is supposed to ward off the evil eye.
October 23, 2007 at 5:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporiahelper (anonymous) says...
No im not racist and all i am saying is that if your going to move to the US then you should go by how Americans live. These are not just my standards. If you were to take a poll right now then you would see that over 98% of the population would agree. I here all the time that these nw coming hispanics hate it here, all im saying is if they hate it then move and dont bring those ugly colors to houses. We need ordinances on each street so that not only I but others in neighborhoods will agree on everything. There is already so much in this town to talk about and this is the least of most worries. If we start small then we can grow big. The reason its bad that ppl turn heads is that if we want a bigger population and more stores then make our town cleaner and more pretty, not drastic dumb colors.
October 23, 2007 at 5:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Good grief, can someone really take your user name? I'm not liking that. Wouldn't that someone have to be using your computer? Just wondering, because that would cause some grief in my house.
October 23, 2007 at 8:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MelissaE (anonymous) says...
"Examples include porches falling off, broken windows, large chunks of missing siding, that sort of thing."
create--what if you (or they) can't afford to upkeep a house due to the lack of jobs in Emporia? Yeah, broken windows or porches falling off are probably an eyesore to some, but otoh, unless you are writing the check, how can you dictate what that homeowner should do?
By netloafer: "What the law cannot do, however, community pressure can. Those homes should be subject to public scrutiny."
Yes, netloafer, let's hang every man/woman/child who cannot afford to "fix up" his/her residence to your standards (again, your standards are subjective). It is sooooooo completely obvious that you DO NOT think ""a man's home is his castle." (Oh--and I LOL thinking of your slight, but not overlooked, reference to ONLY men).....so again, go back to Boston with your equity and live in an HOA. OR START WRITING THE CHECKS TO THE FAMILIES WHO CANNOT FIX THEIR HOMES BECAUSE THEY HAVE BIGGER PRIORITIES.
Oh--and I seem to remember that Emporia passed some ordinance about rusted/junked vehicles being on yards, so that is a moot point. If the EPD isn't handing citations, start calling to complain (unless you have something better to do, which I do).
The less gov't interference, the better.
M
October 23, 2007 at 8:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporiahelper (anonymous) says...
Like I said before its not only me, Brown is not a dirty color its acually a very nice color on a house if you use the right shades. Why would anyone make there house baby blue or yellow or purple? Normal Americans dont go out and paint there houses stupid colors, get real this is a country thats is supposed to be the best. You can not honestly tell me that those colors are ugly and stupid. Hispanics who moved here along time ago dont go out and paint there houses yellow. They know the way of living in the US. People who came to America come here to be free of course but if they do come here to be an AMERICAN should they fly the US flag? Yes they should because thats what americans do, Americans do that because its our country. Right? Well then all im saying is be like everyone else and paint your houses normal colors. Get what i mean. Geez just clean up our town and stop defending the people who dont care.
October 23, 2007 at 8:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Weltha (anonymous) says...
This comment is by NO means ment to be racist it is in reply to emporiahelpers racism. I'm a white American that was born and raised here. I have lived in a yellow house a blue house a burgandy/grey house (2 tone) hell I lived in a light green-(the color the house was painted in the 50's when it was built. For an American white family Yes, I know the family.) -house with a bright red door for a couple years. We were redoing the inside first and the landlords wife wanted a white house with a red door and trim (older white American lady) The house needed a new a door so instead of having to buy 2 differant doors they went ahead and got the red one. Color is all in personal taste. I agree if you want all the houses to be the same move to a HOA. "Come on over, mine is the big tan house on the left" Give me a break. No, two people have the same taste. if we all did we wouldn't have anything to bitch about. my .02
October 24, 2007 at 9:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
As I said before I have no problem with color schemes. What I referred to was the 17 series of city ordinances. They are, as far as the city is concerned, objective standards. There's nothing in them that covers For example, city ordinance 17-47 describes the types of properties I'm talking about - "structures or lands which are unfit for human use or habitation due to dilapidation, defects increasing the hazards of fire, accidents or other calamities, lack of ventilation, light or sanitary facilities, or due to such other conditions which render such structures or lands dangerous or injurious to health, safety, or general welfare of the occupants of such structures and lands or other residents of the city, or which have a blighting influence on the properties in the area. Such other conditions include the following, without limitation dilapdidation, disrepair, inadequate ingress and egress, unsightly stored or parked material, equipment, supplies, machinery, trucks, vermin infestation, inadequate drainage, buildings that constitute a blight to adjoining property, the neighborhood, or the city."
In terms of gender equity issues, I fully support a woman's right to equality in this society. The reference I made to a man's home being his castle was from English common law which is centuries old. I subscribe to the notion that both a man's and woman's home is his or her castle. I have spent my adult life supporting those goals. I supported my daughter's right to compete in "male only" sports far before it was fashionable. I have always supported my wife's right to be compensated based on the quality of her work, not her gender. I have always supported a woman's right to be a leader (pastor, prelate, teacher) in the Church. This morning my wife and I had a brief discussion with the young Vietnamese woman who is living with us and attending E.S.U. She was discouraged, wondering about her future. I told her that her success in life had nothing to do with her gender or race, that it had everything to do with the work she needs to do to make the dreams in her heart come true. I believe, and told her so, that she will succeed in life, not in spite of her being a woman, or because of it, but because of the content of her character. I believe that deeply!
October 24, 2007 at 10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
Something spliced out of my previous comment. Prior to the information about the city ordinance, it should read - there is nothing in the city ordinances about color schemes or color choice or matters of personal taste.
October 24, 2007 at 10:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
MelissaE,
I understand how someone who loses a job can't put money into home repairs; however, what I am talking about is the type of serious deterioration that comes from years of neglect. We've all seen those places that never get touched. For those who have lost their jobs and need help with home repairs, I think there is HUD. The people down the street from me got their entire porch rebuilt with help from SRS when the man couldn't work anymore because of advanced Diabetes and the removal of a leg. They even paid for a ramp to his back door and two replacement windows. Now I think, but I'm not sure, but I think that if the house sells, all that has to be paid back to SRS. I don't know how that works for sure.
October 24, 2007 at 12:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Wait just a minute, I have a bright red door. On a grey house it looks rather nice. I've even had compliments, not that they would sway me.
Tre, even your needed repairs on your house when you were experiencing hard times wouldn't qualify for the kind of deterioration described in the post from netloafer who quoted from the ordinance. That was a good description of true blight we are talking about. But one thing for sure, I'm glad I didn't tell you to fix your roof and pull back a bloody stump. LOL
October 24, 2007 at 1:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MelissaE (anonymous) says...
LOL, Tre.....
We all know who REALLY runs the castle, huh? ;)
M
October 24, 2007 at 2:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporiahelper (anonymous) says...
WEll for one i am not racist. 2 im sorry to offend anyone i guess i did not clearly state my point, my personal experiences are very diffent in this situation. I would like to show you what i mean but its pretty hard to explain. Im sorry
October 24, 2007 at 5:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cowtown (anonymous) says...
TO WHOME IT MAY CONCERN!!!!
Ok my house needs fixed. Yes I know. You can come and visit at any time? Ask how I’m duen but don’t TELL me to fix something as I said YES I KNOW. As an example of how I KNOW, 2 days ago some INCONSIDERATE driver ran in to my fence in MY back yard’ as if it ain’t hard enough to run into a WALL. HUM And as for my neighbors who are to INCONSIDERATE as to not tell there gests to QUIT parking in the ally blocking OUR drives. But to park on the street in FRONT of THERE house as any CONSIDERATE AMERICAN would do. As I don’t live on the south side of the tracks I live in the center of town. I move for a PETITION to close the ally that I NEED TO GET IN MY DRIVE’’’ So for that driver who needs to learn how to drive and or needs to learn how to back out of THERE DRIVE??????????
Please visit the DMV/
October 25, 2007 at 12:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )