Sunday Poll: Five Propositions On April 5th Ballot

The April 5th ballot in the City of St. Louis contains five items. Today’s poll is actually five polls — one for each on the ballot. They are in order, with the exact ballot language first, in ballot order.  Please vote in all five.

PROPOSITION E

Shall the earnings tax of 1%, imposed by the City of St. Louis, be continued for a period of five (5) years commencing January 1 immediately following the date of this election?

YES – FOR THE PROPOSITION NO – AGAINST THE PROPOSITION

Shall the following be adopted:
PROPOSITION F
Proposition to issue bonds of the City of St. Louis, Missouri, in an amount not to exceed Twenty-Five Million Dollars ($25,000,000) for the purpose of purchasing, replacing, improving, and maintaining the buildings, bridges, and equipment of the City of St. Louis, including (1) acquiring fire trucks, ambulances, personal protective equipment, and other fire-fighting apparatus for the St. Louis Fire Department; (2) acquiring refuse trucks for the Refuse Department; (3) updating computer hardware and software for City departments; (4) providing match share funds to repair, renovate, and replace bridges; (5) renovating recreation centers, buildings, and facilities owned by the City of St. Louis; and (6) for expenses associated with the issuance of the bonds. If this proposition is approved, the property tax levy is estimated to remain unchanged.

YES – FOR THE PROPOSITION NO – AGAINST THE PROPOSITION

OFFICIAL BALLOT SCHOOL TAX ELECTION CITY OF ST. LOUIS STATE OF MISSOURI

PROPOSITION 1

Shall the Special Administrative Board of the Transitional School District of the City of St. Louis be authorized to increase the operating tax levy of the District by $0.75 per $100 of assessed valuation to continue offering early childhood education, to expand character and alternative education options, to improve safety and security equipment and personnel, and to offer competitive salaries to teachers and staff? If this proposition is approved, the adjusted operating tax levy of the District is estimated to be $4.50 per $100 of assessed valuation.

YES – FOR THE PROPOSITION NO – AGAINST THE PROPOSITION

BOND ELECTION
THE METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT

PROPOSITION Y

To comply with federal and state clean water requirements, shall The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) issue its sewer revenue bonds in the amount of Nine Hundred Million Dollars ($900,000,000) for the purpose of designing, constructing, improving, renovating, repairing, replacing and equiping new and existing MSD sewer and drainage facilities and systems, including sewage treatment and disposal plants, sanitary sewers, and acquisition of easements and real property related thereto, the cost of operation and maintenance of said facilities and systems and the principal of and interest on said revenue bonds to be payable solely from the revenues derived by MSD from the operation of its wastewater sewer system, including all future extensions and improvements thereto?

YES – FOR THE PROPOSITION NO – AGAINST THE PROPOSITION

THE METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT

PROPOSITION S

Shall the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) impose a Stormwater Operations and Maintenance property tax upon all real and tangible personal property within the district at a rate of not more than Ten Cents ($0.10) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) assessed valuation for the purpose of providing revenue for the operations of the district’s stormwater utility, including stormwater system operation and maintenance, rehabilitation and limited construction of infrastructure and other capital improvements, and an operating reserve?

If this proposition is approved, MSD will repeal (a) the existing stormwater operations and maintenance property tax of approximately Seven Cents ($0.07) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) assessed valuation that is imposed on property within the original boundaries of MSD, as defined in the MSD Charter, and within the annexed areas described in MSD Ordinance No. 3753, and (b) the existing monthly 24-Cent or 18-Cent stormwater service charge that is imposed on each MSD customer account. As a result, a uniform districtwide stormwater revenue system for operations, maintenance, and limited capital improvements will be in place.

YES – FOR THE PROPOSITION NO – AGAINST THE PROPOSITION

INSTRUCTIONS TO VOTERS: To vote on a proposition, if you are in favor of the proposition, darken the oval to the left of the word “YES.” If you are against the proposition, darken the oval to the left of the word “NO.” Do not try to punch through the ballot. Use only a pencil or blue or black ink to mark your ballot. If you tear, deface, or make a mistake and incorrectly mark your ballot, notify an election official to obtain a new ballot.

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These non-scientific polls will remain open until 8pm.

— Steve Patterson

Reading: Touching the City: Thoughts on Urban Scale by Timothy Makower

One of the things that attracted me to St. Louis, when passing through in 1990, was the urban scale. Scale is a great differentiator from suburbia. Touching the City: Thoughts on Urban Scale by Timothy Makower takes an in-depth look into the subject — the “experience of size”, the “spaces between buildings”.

The publisher’s description:

Scale in cities is relative and absolute. It has the ability to make us feel at home in the world or alien from it; connected or disconnected. Both large and small scale in cities can be beautiful; both are right, neither is wrong. Whilst accepting that prescription is no answer, ‘getting the scale right’ – at an intuitive and sensual level – is a fundamental part of the magic of architecture and urban design. Touching the City explores how scale is manifested in cities, exploring scale in buildings, in the space between them and in their details. It asks how scale makes a difference. Travelling from Detroit to Chandigarh, via New York, London, Paris, Rome and Doha, Tim Makower explores cities with the analytical eye of a designer and with the experiential eye of the urban dweller. Looking at historic cities, he asks what is good about them: what can we learn from the old to inform the new? The book zooms in from the macro scale of surfing Google Earth to micro moments such as finding fossils in a weathered wall. It examines the dynamics and movement patterns of cities, the making of streets and skylines, the formation of thresholds and facades, and it also touches on the process of design and the importance of drawing. As the book’s title, Touching the City, suggests, it also emphasises the tactile – that the city is indeed something physical, something we can touch and be touched by, alive and ever changing.

Here’s the Table of Contents:

• AcknowledgementsForeword: Scaling the XXL – Kees Christiaanse
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: On Scale and Size
• Chapter 2: On Scale and Movement
• Chapter 3: On Scale and Edges
• Chapter 4: On Scale and Grain
• Chapter 5: On Scale and Form
• Chapter 6: On Scale, Skeletons and Surface
• Chapter 7: On Scale and Detail
• Conclusion: From Nature

As you can see, there are many aspects when examining scale.

— Steve Patterson

Not Impressed With Aesthetic of CityWalk Apartments

I love seeing new mixed-use buildings going up in the Central West End neighborhood, along Euclid Ave. Unfortunately, I’m not excited about the aesthetic of the nearly finished 7-story CityWalk.  When construction began in late 2013 it was expected to be completed by last Summer:

Bruce Mills, whose Mills Properties is developing City Walk, said construction will begin in early November. He said construction will take 22 months, meaning that City Walk, with 177 apartments, will be completed in late summer 2015. (Post-Dispatch)

Let’s take a look…

The facades are a hodgepodge of elements, the window are proportionally too small & horizontal.  However, the building is large and the mass has been well-maslked. The parking garage is hidden.

I look forward to taking the #10 MetroBus from downtown to shop occasionally at the Whole Foods after it opens.

— Steve Patterson

Above-Average Temperatures, Humidifier Kept Us Comfortable During Winter

The past winter was the warmest on record, from March 8th:

The Lower 48 states had its warmest winter in 121 years of record-keeping, NOAA announced this morning.

Temperatures averaged over the country between December and February were nearly five degrees above the 20th-century average. Every state but two were warmer than normal and all six New England states set winter records. (Washington Post)

From the NOAA:

• The December–February average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 2.03°F (1.13°C) above the 20th century average. This was the highest for December–February in the 1880–2016 record, surpassing the previous record set last year by 0.52°F (0.26°C). December 2015–February 2016 also marks the highest 3-month departure from average for any 3-month period on record, surpassing the previous record set last month, November 2015–January 2016, by 0.16°F (0.09°C).
• The globally-averaged land surface temperature for December 2015–February 2016 was 3.47°F (1.93°C) above the 20th century average. This was the highest for December–February in the 1880–2016 record, surpassing the previous record of 2015 by 0.83°F (0.46°C). December 2015–February 2016 also marks the highest 3-month departure from average for any 3-month period on record, surpassing the previous record of November 2015–January 2016 by 0.70°F (0.40°C).
• The December–February globally-averaged sea surface temperature was 1.51°F (0.84°C) above the 20th century average. This was the highest for December–February in the 1880–2016 record, surpassing the previous record set last year by 0.40°F (0.22°C).

Though we had some cold spells, it didn’t seem as cold as last year. Here are the results from the non-scientific Sunday Poll:

Q: Winter is over, how were your heating bills compared to the previous winter?

• Substantially higher 0 [0%]
• Higher 0 [0%]
• Somewhat higher 2 [7.41%]
• About the same 6 [22.22%]
• Somewhat lower 6 [22.22%]
• Lower [7 25.93%]
• Substantially lower 6 [22.22%]
• Unsure/No Answer 0 0% [0%]

More than two-thirds reported lower heating bills. Our heating bill was substantially lower — it was zero! Yes, we went all winter with our HVAC system turned off. Our loft has three floors below and above, plus units on each side. With windows only on one side, we’re well insulated. An advantage of multi-family living.

For comfort I worried more about the inside humidity level — dry Winter air feels colder.

Many sites suggest 40%-60% relative humidity for healthy air quality, but that depends on the outside temperature:

If outside temperature is 20 to 40 degrees, humidity indoors should not be more than 40 percent. (Source)

In the Spring & Summer we do need to use air conditioning, but largely to lower the humidity. Eventually we’ll get a dehumidifier.

— Steve Patterson

St. Charles County & St. Louis County Connected Via Public Transit

Five days a week people take public transit to/from St. Louis & St. Charles counties! No, MetroLink light rail wasn’t secretly extended over the Missouri River. No, MetroBus doesn’t serve St. Charles County either. “How”, you ask?

Just the way Madison County Transit enters the City of St. Louis, St. Charles Area Transit (aka SCAT), enters St. Louis County. In late February I took the last morning SCAT bus from the North Hanley Transit Center into St. Charles. Over four hours later, I took the first SCAT bus back.

We departed North Hanley on time — here’s the official schedule for the last SCAT bus leaving St. Louis County:

• 8:55am North Hanley
• 9:19am St. Joseph Health Center/Main St St. Charles
• 9:24am Ameristar Casino
• 9:31am Cave Springs Commuter Lot
• 9:38am Zumbehl Commuter Lot
• 9:46am Fairgrounds Commuter Lot
• 9:50am Streets of St. Charles — where I got off
• 10:16am last morning drop off at North Hanley

The route, logically, is designed to serve St. Charles residents needing to get into St. Louis County for the day. Just 30 minutes to go from the Fairgrounds Commuter Lot to North Hanley four times each weekday morning, starting at 5:44am!  Still, my bus from North Hanley into St. Charles had about 10 other passengers — people I presume were going to work.

In the afternoon the SCAT I-70 bus runs four times, starting at North Hanley at 1:38pm, the last on 5:59pm.

• 1:38pm North Hanley
• 1:45pm Fairgrounds Commuter Lot
• 1:52pm Zumbehl Commuter Lot
• 2pm Cave Springs Commuter Lot
• 2:11pm St. Joseph Health Center/Main St St. Charles
• 2:16pm Ameristar Casino
• 2:20pm Streets of St. Charles — where I got on
• 2:42pm arrival at North Hanley — next departure is 2:48pm

I’m so glad to see the City of St. Charles operating transit buses, connecting to the rest of the region — via St. Louis County. However, the webpage and route maps need improvement. Online maps for the four St. Charles routes must be viewed separately. No system map exists, at least not online.  Still, it’s a start.

— Steve Patterson