Altenburg, Frohna residents mull name of consolidated town

ALTENBURG, Mo. -- About 40 residents of Altenburg and Frohna, Missouri, met with a joint board of aldermen in Immanuel Hall in Altenburg on Monday night to discuss what the new town will be called after the two towns merge.

Altenburg and Frohna are already about as close to being one town as they could be; they share utilities, sewage and a fire department. But the official consolidation -- approved by municipal ballot with 72 percent of resident support from both towns -- has been stymied for the past 13 years.

As it turns out, the hardest part about consolidating has been figuring out what to name the new town.

Those in attendance were not shy about voicing their dissatisfaction with both having to change the towns' names and with the state statute forcing them to do so.

"It's not as easy as saying, 'Let's just not do it,'" Frohna alderman Jason Klaus explained in response to one woman asking why the name change is imperative now, since for the past 13 years they've been avoiding it successfully. "We wish it were that easy ... but that's not the case. Nobody's taking away our heritage. We're trying to move forward and do what's best for the community."

The statute pertaining to consolidation requires the town be re-registered under a new name, but does not specify a timeframe in which this must be accomplished.

As elected representatives, the joint board of aldermen could just rename the town themselves, Altenburg city attorney Thomas Hoeh explained, but Frohna Mayor Hank Voelker said they are soliciting community input in the interest of transparency.

"We're trying to involve the citizens in this decision," he said.

One thing is clear: The new town will not be named Frohna, Altenburg or any combination thereof. The board made the executive decision to exclude those names in hopes that focusing on possible names from a fresh, neutral list might cut through the gridlock that has prevented a consensus.

The board will solicit entries from each registered voter in Frohna and Altenburg and will then cross-check the proposed names with the Missouri secretary of state's office to ensure they're not duplicating an existing town name. They hope to present the final three candidates for popular vote early next year.