Readers Don’t Think the 2011 World Series Win Will Help Get Ballpark Village Built Sooner

Before I get to the poll results from last week I want to ask local TV stations to stop saying they are broadcasting “live from Ballpark Village.” BPV doesn’t exist yet! The vacant site where BPV is proposed to be built certainly exists — but at this point no village exists. Cut it out, I got tired yelling at my television recently. Okay, not that I have that off my chest I can share the poll results from last  week.

1. No 78 [56.12%]
2. Hopefully 38 [27.34%]
3. Maybe 12 [8.63%]
4. Yes 7 [5.04%]
5. Unsure/No Opinion 2 [1.44%]
6. Other: 2 [1.44%]

The two other answers were:

1. Yes, but at a much reduced scale
2. It’s a nice spot for a park/gathering place. Do we need more buildings?

We need buildings because they define urban space in a downtown, we have an excess of open space.

– Steve Patterson

Ties to Vashon/JeffVanderLou Initiative, Inc.

Yesterday I posted about the bankruptcy last  year of Ald Marlene Davis. Today I take a look at a non-profit she co-founded that annually receives hundreds of thousands of dollars through city contracts.

The Vashon/JeffVanderLou Initiative was formed on April 14, 2000. The three founders were Columbus Edwards, Marlene Davis and Norman Seay. The original board of directors consisted of Mike McMillan, Marlene Davis and Norman Seay. (source) When founded the non-profit was located in the basement of the True Light Missionary Baptist Church at 2838 James “Cool Papa” Bell in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood. A source told me the organization paid no rent.

A 2005 fiscal review by the Comptroller’s office (PDF) concluded “The Vashon-JeffVanderLou Initiative, Inc. did not fully comply with federal, state and local CDBG requirements.” The Comptroller’s office reached the same conclusion in 2007 (PDF)

In July 2007 a change of address was filed with the secretary of state’s office, the new address: 3026 Locust in Midtown. The 2007 IRS Form 990 shows occupancy (rent) of nearly $36,000.  The owner? SAG Properties LLC. Who is SAG Properties? One SAG partner is Barry Adelstein, one of two former partners of Marlene Davis in the failed Gene Lynn’s club I mentioned yesterday. The 2008 & 2009 Form 990 show similar amounts.

License Collector Mike McMillan remains on the board serving as president.  Barry Adelstein is also McMillan’s landord at a building a couple of blocks east. The bulk of the revenue is from city contracts to provide services to several wards.  Most of the expenses are salaries. I plan to continue reviewing these documents to try to map out how all the parties are connected.

– Steve Patterson.

Alderman Filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy While Serving on Ways & Means Committee

The Ways & Means Committee at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen is probably the most important of their standing committees:

[The] Ways and Means Committee is concerned with questions of finance, assessments, budget, public debt; appropriations and other bills not properly referable to other committees except monies administered by the Community Development Agency or the St. Louis Development Corporation.

The City of St. Louis needs competent leadership to address the financial problems  facing our city. Thankfully the committee chair is now Lyda Krewson (D-28). Her full-time job is as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the firm PGAV. The qualifications of the other ten current members of the committee pale compared to those of Krewson. In fact, one member of the committee shouldn’t be serving on the committee at all.

Marlene E. Davis (D-19) was elected to the Board of Aldermen in March 2007 (unchallenged) to finish the term of Michael McMillan, who became License Collector. After getting elected, this former President of the St. Louis School Board and two partners bought the legendary jazz nightclub Gene Lynn’s in July 2007, presumably from Mr. Gene Lynn himself. The partners were Kim Kyunah of O’Fallon, IL and Barry Adelstein of St. Louis.

On August 27, 2008 The Lindell Marketplace LP filed a lawsuit against the three for rent and possession totaling $100,171.92 In December 2008 the once-popular club was closed.

On March 3 2009 Davis defeated challenger Michelle Lawrence (73.44% vs 26.56%) in the democratic primary for a full 4-year term. On March 19,2009, a consent judgement for $24,000 was filed by Judge Peebles with payments of $300/month starting in April 2009.

In March 2010 Davis filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Davis listed assets of $10,500 and liabilities of $119,718.47. Nearly $17,000 was back taxes to the Missouri Department of Revenue ($5,000) and the Internal Revenue Service ($11,953.37).

A few of the “creditors holding unsecured non priority claims” were:

• Barry Adelstein $30,000
• Kim Kyunah $28,000
• Lindell Marketplace $25,506

Davis’ income was listed as $3108.28/month but after taxes and a tax garnishment of $1083.33 her take home pay was just $1,114.10/month. In a separate line for other monthly income Davis listed $350/month for “adjustment for expenses paid by city” bringing the total to $1,464.10/month. What’s interesting is the monthly expenses schedule — $3,003.00/month. The 2nd biggest item was an install payment of $384/month under auto. The largest was $425/month detailed on a separate sheet as:

• Mailings for ward: $175.00
• Stamps: $150.00
• Parking: $100.00

I’ve had my share of regrettable financial decisions over the years but I doubt Davis’ ability to make sound finical decisions for the City of St. Louis as a member of the Ways & Means Committee.

Tomorrow I will look at

Readers Support Cost-Saving Measures for USPS

In the poll last week Readers showed support for changes at the U.S. Postal Service:

1. Reduce delivery to five (5) days per week per the USPS plan 44 [43.56%]
2. Privatize the postal service 17 [16.83%]
3. Other: 16 [15.84%]
4. Reduce delivery to four (4) days per week or less 14 [13.86%]
5. Keep delivery six (6) days a week & raise first class cost up to $1:  9 [8.91%]
6. Unsure/no opinion 1 [0.99%]

Not surprising since you are online. These days government checks (pay, Social Security, Disability, etc) are direct deposited for most who receive them. But there are still many who eagerly await mail delivery six days a week.Privatization sounds good but as one comment on the original post pointed out, those in rural areas would get the short end of the stick. The USPS can deliver to the 40 household in my condo building much easier than 40 households in Franklin County or edge cities like Wentzville.

Here are the “other” answers provided by readers:

1. Look into how top heavy the post office is and the financial abuse by the mgmt
2. end the unusual and crippling pension funding levels that only apply to USPS
3. Keep six days and raise bulk rates. I get 5-10 pieces of bulk a day.
4. Charge more for junk mailings, reduce to 5 days. Don’t close rural offices
5. Close it down. Take the money spent prossising mailand give every a PC
6. stop performance bonuses to mgmt of all levels. stop paying unit to move every
7. Pass HR 1351.
8. go back to the way the PO was run prior to 2006 postal reform, get rid of congre
9. Have OPM give the USPS the money they owe them
10. Require the union to allow firings/layoffs
11. get rid of 1 supervisor in each office
12. Stop making the Postal Service prepay into the retirement fund
13. does it really lose money? I though that’s mostly budget games.
14. Reduce service and raise price to breakeven
15. Reduce 5 day/wk but no deliver on Wed, mid week
16. Close every single post office that doesn’t make a profit; see what people think

I’m well on my way to not needing the USPS at all. As more of us conduct out business online the USPS will continue to struggle. That realization explains a recent USPS ad called “hacked:”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oysFmSVzCnM

Click here for tips on how to stop USPS junk mail.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Should St. Louis Require Pet Owners To Spay, Neuter & Microchip Their Pets?

Dogs & cats are getting caught in political debates lately in St. Louis.

One attempt to control the animal population is Board Bill 107. From July:

The bill, introduced by Central West End Alderman Lyda Krewson, comes as part of a citywide effort to reform animal control laws and crack down on the owners of thousands of city strays overwhelming the region’s animal shelters.

Yet, in the same meeting of the Health and Human Services Committee, aldermen narrowly rejected sending $250,000 in taxpayer donations to the city’s nonprofit dog shelter, Stray Rescue — a move that threatens the already rocky relationship between the city and the nonprofit’s founder, Randy Grim. (STLtoday.com)

The bill stalled at the Board of Aldermen before they went on summer recess.  From September 21st:

​A bill under consideration in the St. Louis Board of Aldermen could make St. Louis one of the most restrictive cities in the nation when it comes to owning cats and dogs.

Board Bill 107 would require all pet owners to spay or neuter their dogs and cats and microchip them for identification. Those who don’t want to sterilize their pets would be assessed a fee of $200 per year. (RFT)

I’m not a pet owner so I’m not directly impacted. Still I thought this was a good topic for a weekly poll.  Vote in the poll in the right sidebar. Results will be published on Wednesday Oct 12, 2011.

– Steve Patterson