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| Cannon, Karns run for re-election |
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| News | |||
| Written by Aaron Cedeño | |||
| Wednesday, 03 February 2010 09:00 | |||
As members of the Louisburg City Council, Carolyn Karns and Dave Cannon are anything but inexperienced.   Since 2001 and 2004 respectively, Karns and Cannon have served on the city’s governing body, helping to guide Louisburg through periods of dramatic growth and, more recently, economic upheaval. With their seats once again up for re-election in April, the two longtime council members watched the approach of Jan. 26 with great interest. As the deadline to file election paperwork approached, anyone interested in running against them in the spring would need to declare their intent to do so by noon on that day. The deadline came and went, with only the two incumbents filing for re-election, all but ensuring their spots on the city council for a further three years. For Cannon, it was an eventful second term, filled with several important municipal projects; including the new police and fire stations, as well as the construction of a new water plant southeast of Paola. The success of those projects played a significant role in his decision to run for re-election, he said, despite the challenges that may lie ahead. “Some of the things aren’t as bright as we have had in the past, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to decide we’ve had enough,” Cannon said. All of those projects were in response to the city’s rapid growth in recent years, Karns added, which presented unique issues with which the city council had to successfully deal if Louisburg was to return its small-town atmosphere. “Growth is a big problem, but it’s a good problem to have,” she said. Moving forward, though the growth may have slowed, the next three years will see no shortage of challenges. In response to ever-tightening budgets, the Louisburg City Council voted to put a quarter-cent sales tax increase on the ballot in April as well – right alongside Karns and Cannon. If implemented, the increase is expected to produce as much as $150,000 annually for its 10-year lifespan; funds which are already earmarked primarily for improvements to city infrastructure. It was a difficult choice to make, Karns said, which is the case any time they have to ask the community to dip further into their pockets for the good of the community. “And we don’t do anything lightly that way, because we do live here,” she said. “We research everything to death.” “We’re just trying to minimize the burden on the people in the city limits,” Cannon added.
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