Readers Don’t Think McKee Will Come Through With Urgent Care, Hospital/Medical School

Paul McKee’s 3-bed urgent care facility had been under construction, but after a wall collapsed last year it stopped.

Given aldermen’s failure to do their jobs before Friday’s vote approving tax subsidiesfor McKee, St. Louis taxpayers can only hope those creditors will thoroughly scrutinize the viability of the two-phase medical-complex project McKee proposes for north St. Louis. The first phase of the project, a three-bed urgent-care clinic, will cost $21 million, with McKee having come up with only $8 million in promised credit. The second phase involves building a 103,000-square-foot hospital/medical school. McKee has no funding source in sight for the $73 million he’ll need for that.

Friday’s vote puts taxpayers on the hook for $4.6 million in subsidies to be drawn from tax-increment financing worked out years ago with McKee after he used shell companies and other means to acquire around 1,500 acres of dilapidated, abandoned north St. Louis properties. Instead of improving those properties, he allowed them to deteriorate while punting property maintenance to the city. McKee offered grand designs for housing projects and retail-office complexes surrounding the new site of the $1.75 billion National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency western headquarters. Those plans fizzled. (Post-Dispatch editorial)

In the recent non-scientific Sunday Poll readers were skeptical of McKee delivering:

Q: Agree or disagree: The 3-bed urgent care facility and the hospital/medical school will open by the promised deadlines.

• Strongly agree: 1 [3.57%]
• Agree: 0 [0%]
• Somewhat agree: 0 [0%]
• Neither agree or disagree: 3 [10.71%]
• Somewhat disagree: 2 [7.14%]
• Disagree: 7 [25%]
• Strongly disagree: 14 [50%]
• Unsure/No Answer: 1 [3.57%]

If I were a gambling man I’d say not only will he not deliver, but the deadlines will get extended and the subsidies increased. Twenty-three aldermen voted in favor of Board Bill 103, sponsored by Tammika Hubbard.

Ayes (23)
Ward Alderman

• 1 Sharon Tyus
• 3 Brandon Bosley
• 4 Samuel L Moore
• 5 Tammika Hubbard
• 6 Christine Ingrassia
• 9 Dan Guenther
• 10 Joseph Vollmer
• 11 Sarah Martin
• 12 Larry Arnowitz
• 13 Beth Murphy
• 14 Carol Howard
• 15 Megan E. Green
• 17 Joseph D Roddy
• 18 Jesse Todd
• 19 Marlene E Davis
• 21 John Collins-Muhammad
• 22 Jeffrey L Boyd
• 23 Joseph Vaccaro
• 25 Shane Cohn
• 26 Shameem C Hubbard
• 27 Pam Boyd
• 28 Heather Navarro
• President Lewis E Reed

One voted “present”:

Present (1)
Ward Alderman

• 8 Annie Rice

Three were absent for the vote:

Absent (3)
Ward Alderman

• 2 Lisa Middlebrook
• 7 Jack Coatar
• 16 Tom Oldenburg

Only two had the convictions to vote “no”:

Noes (2)
Ward Alderman

• 20 Cara Spencer
• 24 Bret Narayan

Aldermanic courtesy, the process of rubber-stamping legislation in another ward, is alive and well.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Board of Aldermen: New Board Bills Week 19 of 2019-2020 Session

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen meet at 10am today, their 15th meeting of the 2019-2020 session. As previously noted, they have the first two meetings labeled as Week #1, so they list this as week/meeting 18.

Today’s agenda includes six (6) new bills.

• B.B.#129 – Arnowitz – An ordinance authorizing and directing the Director of the Department of Human Services, on behalf of the City of St. Louis, to accept a Grant Award from the Family and Community Trust in the amount of $35,000.00 from the No Kid Hungry Missouri SY19 Summer Special Grant Program and to expend those funds as a part of the City of St. Louis Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) – After School Meal Program and the Summer Food Service Programs (SFSP) starting in the 2019-2020 school year as set forth in the Grant Agreement, attached hereto as Exhibit A; appropriating said funds and authorizing the Director of Human Services, upon approval of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, to expend such funds as permitted by the Grant Award Agreement; and containing an Emergency Clause.
• B.B.#130 – Arnowitz – An ordinance adopting the Uniform Plumbing Code, 2015 Edition, as the Plumbing Code of the City of Saint Louis; repealing Ordinance 66615, which adopted the Uniform Plumbing Code, 2003 Edition; repealing Ordinance 61713, Ordinance 62610, Ordinance 62682, Ordinance 65031 and Ordinance 65932, all of which modified Ordinance 60826; and containing a penalty clause, a savings clause and an emergency clause.
• B.B.#131 – Guenther – An Ordinance recommended by the Planning Commission on October 8, 2019, to change the zoning of property as indicated on the District Map and in City Block 761, from “K” Unrestricted District to the “J” Industrial District, at 423 Lynch Street, so as to include the described parcel of land in City Block 761; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#132 – Hubbard – Pursuant to Ordinance 68937, an ordinance authorizing the honorary street name Karlie Kloss Way, which shall begin at the intersection of Washington Avenue and North 16th Street and run east on Washington Avenue to the intersection of Washington Avenue and North 15th Street.
• B.B.#133 – Narayan – An Ordinance recommended by the Planning Commission on October 8, 2019, to change the zoning of property as indicated on the District Map, from “A” Single- Family Dwelling District to the “C” Multiple-Family Dwelling District, in City Block 4625.04 (6845, 6847 & 6849 Bruno and 2156-58 & 2190 Forest), so as to include the described parcel of land in City Block 4625.04; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#134 – Spencer – An ordinance directing the installation of signs, as specified in this ordinance, notifying individuals that City of St. Louis parks and parks facilities or child-care facilities under Section 210.201 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, and that as child-care facilities the possession and carrying of firearms are prohibited under Section 571.107(11) of the Revised Statutes of Missouri.

The meeting begins at 10am, past meetings and a live broadcast can be watched online here. See list of all board bills for the 2019-2020 session — the new bills listed above may not be online right away.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Board of Aldermen: New Board Bills Week 18 of 2019-2020 Session

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen meet at 10am today, their 18th meeting of the 2019-2020 session. As previously noted, they have the first two meetings labeled as Week #1, so they list this as week/meeting 17.

Today’s agenda includes three (3) new bills.

• B.B. #124 – NOT USED THIS SESSION
• B.B. #125 – Moore – An ordinance approving a blighting study and Redevelopment Plan for the Evans Ave./N. Newstead Ave./Pendleton Ave. Scattered Sites Redevelopment Area
• B.B. #126- Roddy – An ordinance to submit a 2020 Annual Action Plan to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) as required to apply for funding under the Community Development Block Grant (“CDBG”), HOME Investment Partnership (“HOME”), Emergency Solutions Grant (“ESG”) and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (“HOPWA”) Entitlement Programs, authorizing and directing the Mayor and the Comptroller on behalf of the City of St. Louis to enter into and execute agreements with HUD for the receipt of 2020 CDBG, HOME, ESG and HOPWA funds.
• B.B. #127-Clark-Hubbard – An ordinance amending the Redevelopment Plan for the West End Redevelopment Area (“Area”) approved by Ordinance # 64392 dated June 25, 1998 (Exhibit 1 attached) by adding the implementation schedule now calling for projects to be completed by May 1, 2029.

The meeting begins at 10am, past meetings and a live broadcast can be watched online here. See list of all board bills for the 2019-2020 session.

— Steve Patterson

Most Don’t Yet Have A REAL ID

Missouri only began issuing the new REAL ID earlier this year, so it’s no surprise most still don’t have one yet.

Here are the results of the recent non-scientific Sunday Poll:

Do you have a new ‘REAL ID’?

• No: 19 [65.52%]
• Yes: 8 [27.59%]
• Unsure: 2 [6.9%]

My husband had to renew his driver’s license in July so at that time we got the additional documents together so he could get a REAL ID instead of a regular license. The cost was the same.

My license is up for renewal in February 2020, I’ll get a REAL ID at that time. It’s been five years since either of us has flown, but we do hope to fly somewhere in 2020. After October 1, 2020 anyone hoping to fly domestically will need either a state-issued REAL ID or a passport.

Here’s summary of the legislative history of the REAL ID Act:

The Real ID Act started off as H.R. 418, which passed the House in 2005 and went stagnant. Representative James Sensenbrenner (R) of Wisconsin, the author of the original Real ID Act, then attached it as a rider on a military spending bill, H.R. 1268, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005. The House of Representatives passed that spending bill with the Real ID rider 368–58, and the Senate passed the joint House–Senate conference report on that bill 100–0. President Bush signed it into law on May 11, 2005. (Wikipedia)

Click the link about to see more detail, including links to the votes. Several votes I checked indicated Representative Clay (D) voted “no” each time. Democratic efforts to repeal the law failed.

People mentioned costs, especially if their current ID has a few years left before expiring. So say your license or state ID is valid through say May 2022 — the fee will be waived so you can get a REAL ID before October 1, 2020.

What is the cost of obtaining a REAL ID-compliant driver license or nondriver ID card?

Transaction and processing fees for new and renewal applications will be the same as they are currently.

Click here for detailed fee information. You may also apply for an early duplicate license or ID card outside of your regular renewal period (which is six months prior to the expiration of your license or ID card).

Missouri law allows for a one-time waiver of the duplicate transaction fee for persons who have not been issued a REAL ID-compliant license or ID card. License office processing fees, however, will not be waived and are $6 (three-year issuance) or $12 (six-year issuance). Personal information may be changed as part of a duplicate one-time waiver transaction, but if you are applying for a different class of licensure or to add any endorsements or restrictions, the one-time waiver will not apply. (Missouri REAL ID page)

Illinois’ REAL ID page is here. If you want to fly, or enter secure federal facilities, then you need a REAL ID before October 1, 2020.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Board of Aldermen: New Board Bills Week 17 of 2019-2020 Session

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen meet at 10am today, their 17th meeting of the 2019-2020 session. As previously noted, they have the first two meetings labeled as Week #1, so they list this as week/meeting 16.

Today’s agenda includes six (6) new bills. Two are interesting, potentially controversial — one regarding criminal history of job applicants (120). The other regarding residency requirements for city employees (121).

• B.B. #118 – Roddy – An ordinance approving a Redevelopment Plan for the 3974 Sarpy Ave. Area
• B.B. #119 – Davis – An Ordinance recommended and approved by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment authorizing and directing the Director of Airports and the Comptroller of the City of St. Louis (the “City”) to enter into and execute on behalf of the City, seven (7) First Amended On-Airport Passenger Vehicle Rental (“PVR”) Concession Agreements (the “First Amendments”) at St. Louis Lambert International Airport® (the “Airport”) containing an emergency clause.
• B.B. #120- Muhammad – An ordinance prohibiting employers in the City of St. Louis from basing job hiring or promotion decisions on an applicant’s criminal history, unless the employer can demonstrate its relevance to the employment related decision, or where employers are required to exclude applicants with certain criminal convictions due to local, state, or federal law or regulation; and prohibiting employers from inquiring about a job applicant’s criminal history until after it has been determined that the job applicant is otherwise qualified for the job position, or the job applicant is a part of the final pool of candidates from which the job position will be filled and all of the applicants in the pool are asked.
• B.B. #121- Vaccaro – An ordinance submitting to the qualified voters of the City of St. Louis, a proposal to revise Section 2 of Article VIII of the City of St. Louis Charter which requires City employees to reside within the boundaries of the City of St. Louis and thus allow said employees, except for City Agency and Department Directors appointed by the Mayor, to reside outside of the boundaries of the City of St. Louis, and; providing for an election to be held for voting on the proposed revision and the manner of voting thereat and; for the publication, certification, deposit, and recording of this ordinance; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B. #122 – Vollmer – An ordinance approving a Redevelopment Plan for the 5223 Botanical Ave. Area
• B.B. #123 – Vollmer – An ordinance approving a Redevelopment Plan for the 5476 Dempsey Ave. and 5027 Daggett Ave. Area

The meeting begins at 10am, past meetings and a live broadcast can be watched online here. See list of all board bills for the 2019-2020 session — the new bills listed above may not be online right away.

— Steve Patterson