ARNOLD, Mo. — It's been one week since Arnold residents turned out at Cty Hall to voice concerns about a new parkway project.
The 2-mile project would connect Richardson Road to Highway 141, an effort the city describes as connecting the northern and southern commercial districts.
"We have 38 homes, 38 families that might be displaced and several businesses that won't be in business anymore in Arnold," resident and community organizer Sarah Lurkins tells 5 On Your Side.
Lurkins is one of 2,600 residents in the Facebook Group, "Citizens Against the Construction of Arnold Parkway." Members of the group have started petitions to recall Arnold's mayor, treasurer and council members.
"We need any and all people that are willing to help collect signatures," Lurkins said. "It's been going really well."
The group will be at the Arnold Farmers Market Saturday working to get the 4,000 signatures needed to put a measure on the ballot to recall Mayor Ron Counts and Treasurer Dan Kroupa. Signature counts range from 850 to 1,000 to recall various council members.
The recall strategy is one eminent domain legal expert Dave Roland said works: "I think that I think the City of Arnold should keep in mind what happened the last time there was a major eminent domain controversy in that city."
Long-time Arnold residents will probably remember dentist Dr. Homer Tourkakis' eminent domain case in the early 2000s. Tourkakis lost the case in court defending his private property, but two years later, the mayor and council members who supported eminent domain were voted out of office.
Roland, who has studied eminent domain for most of his career, said the recall petition is an effective strategy.
"Focus on making the case to their fellow citizens that this is just a project that should not go forward," he said. "In other words, they can focus on public relations and trying to persuade their neighbors. Don't do this, and if the city insists on it, let's vote the bums out. That has been a very effective tactic."
Another option is going the legal route, but Roland said, "It is harder when a community claims that its project is based on building a road or some other structure that's going to be owned by the public."
The City of Arnold has details about the project on a special website, arnoldparkway.org.
Water Tower Place Shopping Center, one of the businesses under threat of eminent domain, has a website to organize the community against the project called stopthestupidroad.com.