By Rosemary Horvath
Herald Correspondent
When George Kubin was asked to identify memorable experiences as St. Louis’ longest serving elected official — city council member for 35 years and mayor for 17 — he shot back, “Oh goodness, do you have a book?”
Such a book is ending with Kubin’s decision to resign from the city council effective at the end of the month. His current term runs through Jan. 1, 2026.
Kubin’s resignation was an agenda item at Tuesday’s city council meeting. He joins mayor Tom Reed who will not seek another term.
“It will be a substantial change” for city government, Kubin predicted.
Additional change comes as he and wife Winnie have sold their Kubin’s Furniture & Mattress store on Mill Street and are planning a move to Nevada. Store manager Wyatt Minor, of Harrison, will become the new owner on Jan. 1, 2024.
The business is observing its 45th anniversary in St. Louis this month.
“We’re not homeowners anymore,” Kubin explained. “We sold our house and will be moving to Henderson, Nevada where our son lives, and where Winnie has relatives.”
Son Thomas works in the gaming industry in Las Vegas. Henderson’s population is over 311,000.
Another son, Christopher, lives in Mishawaka, Indiana, and works in digital marketing.
With a near chuckle, Kubin reports he and his spouse will move to the St. Louis apartment on Center Street that had been their first home when they married 40 years ago. They plan to maintain the apartment for their St. Louis visits and business.
Bringing about these monumental changes required small steps at a time. It reflects Kubin’s methodical approach to things.
Retiring and moving “was a big decision for us,” Kubin noted. “We have close ties to this community. Our hearts will always be here.”
The 66-year-old also acknowledged getting older.
“In a nutshell, I don’t want to be working the day before we pass,” he said. “We don’t know what’s next.”
Kubin was first appointed to city council to fill a vacancy in 1987 and was elected two years later. He served as mayor from 1992 to 2009, and left council to tend to business during the recession.
In 2011, he was appointed again to fill a vacancy.
Kubin hopes to pass the torch to Kevin Palmer, a community volunteer and member of several city committees. He previously chaired the city parks and recreation commission.
Whoever succeeds him may serve in the council seat until the end of the year. In January, that person could be reappointed to fill the remaining two years of the term, or a new mayor can appoint someone of his choosing.
Council achievements
Few cities of any size population can claim to be a David that won against a Goliath, but St. Louis stood its ground against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decades ago.
Kubin’s fortitude at the time stands out among his city experiences.
The saying “canary in the cold mine” frequently described the urgency Kubin and others feared when para-Chlorobenzene sulfonic acid, or pCBSA registered in the St. Louis main water supply. It was feared water would be contaminated with more byproducts of the pesticide DDT that Michigan Chemical and its successor manufactured at the chemical plant in St. Louis.
That former manufacturing site became and still is a major EPA Superfund site.
Kubin arranged for EPA personnel from Chicago and Michigan congressional delegates to meet in St. Louis. His intent was to apply pressure on the resistant federal agency to finance cost of a new water supply.
“EPA was not on board,” Kubin recalls of the uphill battle waged locally by city leaders, the Pine River Superfund Task Force, and its environmental consultant Scott Cornelius.
The battle was won. Hence, the Gratiot Area Water Authority, known as GAWA, was created by leaders of the two cities.
Today, the water supply originates from six new underground wells in Arcada Township. The system is comprised of approximately 100 miles of mains transporting quality water from the GAWA treatment plant in Alma to St. Louis.
The cities of Alma and St. Louis each support separate water distribution systems. Previous water wells in St. Louis were shut off and abandoned.
“The precursor chemicals are still there but we don’t use that water,” said Kubin, adding having a new water supply “was the most important thing that ever happened during my time because it guaranteed clean water for St. Louis.”
Kubin intends to remain a member of the Pine River Superfund Task Force and Zoom into regular meetings while in Nevada.
Jane Jelenek, chair of the Pine River Citizens Task Force, noted Kubin had been “instrumental in convincing the legislators that we needed new water back when pCBSA was found in the city wells. He was also instrumental in bringing the lawsuit against Velsicol to help pay for the new wells.”