Reggie Helm has been “the boots on the ground” for the City as a Neighborhood Alliance chair, and he’s now hoping to take his position to the next level by seeking a seat on the City Commission.
Helm, 67, said that of the 12 Neighborhood Alliances, only half are active — something he said is a shame given the amount of access the groups give residents to talk to the local government. Due to the lack of involvement and engagement in the alliances, Helm said people feel disconnected to the City’s efforts.
“People just feel like they don’t have a voice. A lot of people say that, but now they do and they need to see what we could get done,” Helm said.
For those that are active, he said the alliances can help spark conversations that lead to change. One thing Helm said he’d like to see is getting the whole community inspired and bringing energy outside of downtown.
He also said the city starts getting “trashy” after a certain point and said the uncleanliness starts to hurt business.
“I’ve had a couple realtors tell me they’ve lost sales because people have driven around and they just see waste,” Helm said.
To combat the issue, he said he wants to start a program aimed at cleaning and bettering the green spaces in Owensboro.
Point to his 20+ years in the music business, another initiative Helm has is supporting Owensboro as a music town and its claim of being the bluegrass music capital of the world.
One of his final aims, should he be elected, would be to refine bike and pedestrian infrastructure. As a member of Bicycle Owensboro, he said they have been working on getting a path that connects the Greenbelt to more areas.
He referenced a meeting that they had with city officials in October, where representatives from Bicycle Owensboro and Chamber Young Professionals presented to the City.
He said after the conversation, though several seemed interested, they did not contact the group again.
“We got phase one done, but we never got to phase two or three to finish it, so I’d like to finish that,” he said.
