Eldon has two contested Board of Aldermen races for the April 3 election.
Ward 1 incumbent Larry LaDuke is facing off against Jeanelle Carrol, and Ward 2 incumbent Sharon Cole is opposed on the ballot by David Fair.
Retired banker and former Eldon R-1 Board of Education member LaDuke said he enjoys being on the Board of Aldermen and wants to be re-elected.
“I enjoy the financial challenge of a budget and how you make everything work and still be able to provide services to the community,” he said.
LaDuke said deteriorating infrastructure is Eldon’s biggest challenge moving forward.
“The streets basically don’t have enough funds to keep them maintained, and that’s just part of an issue we need to work on,” LaDuke said.
He said another major issue is repairing and updating the city’s sewer and wastewater treatment systems. Eldon has three more years of a decade-long agreement with the Missouri Department of Natural Resource to update the inadequate system, which has operated a half-million gallons beyond its recommended capacity.
“That meant we had a lot of water coming into our sewer system, which meant we had leaks within our sewer system,” LaDuke said.
Carrol could not be reached for comment.
Cole, an eight-year board veteran, said she enjoys working with a younger group of board members who are helping promote growth in Eldon.
“I’m the oldest person on the board, but I enjoy working with the younger people and helping shape fresh ideas,” Cole said.
Her biggest goals are improving the quality of life in Eldon. Among her efforts are seeing the Rock Island Trail project come to fruition, tearing down dilapidated and abandoned houses, and completing a housing study to encourage new housing development.
“We’ve already cleaned up the town quite a bit in the past eight years,” she said. “We are a small town with a big heart.”
Cole would like to establish a property tax to help fund these efforts and more. She also would like to obtain more grants to help pay for the projects because “it is important citizens shouldn’t have to shoulder all of the burden,” she said.
Fair could not be reached for comment.