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City Hospital-Georgian Square on Two Agendas on 6/6/07

June 5, 2007 Big Box, Eminent Domain, Events/Meetings, History/Preservation, Politics/Policy, South City 1 Comment

TIF Meeting; 8am

AGENDA

CITY HOSPITAL-GEORGIAN SQUARE (RPA3) TAX INCREMENT FINANCING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS

REGULAR MEETING – REGULAR SESSION

12TH FLOOR – BOARD ROOM Wednesday, June 6, 2007 – 8:00 a.m.

1.    CALL TO ORDER

2.    PUBLIC HEARING – AMENDMENT TO THE CITY HOSPITAL REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AND APPROVAL OF THE GEORGIAN SQUARE REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREA (RPA3) (7th Ward/Alderwoman Young)

RESOLUTION NO. 07-TIFC-242 – RESOLUTION RATIFYING THE “NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING” AS AMENDED, AND THE “NOTICE OF CHANGES TO TIF REDEVELOPMENT PLAN,” AUTHORIZING AN AMENDMENT TO THE TIF REDEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE CITY HOSPITAL REDEVELOPMENT AREA, AS DESCRIBED THEREIN, APPROVING THE AMENDED REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREA 3 (RPA3) -GEORGIAN SQUARE AND EXPRESSING ITS RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI WITH RESPECT TO SAID AREA, AMENDED PLAN AND REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT (Dale Ruthsatz)

NOTE:    PLEASE BRING WITH YOU THE APPLICATION DATED APRIL 3, 2007. ATTACHED IS AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY HOSPITAL TIF PLAN DATED APRIL 20, 2007, AS REVISED MAY 30, 2007 AND A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS DATED APRIL 20, 2007.

All the plans and revisions are mentioned to members of the TIF commision but not available online for the general  public to review.

Planning Commission; 5:30pm 

8. PDA-103-07-REZ – Georgian Square Area – Rezone A & D to H – Peabody Darst Webbe Neighborhood – (CB 820, 820.04, 820.05, 414, 415)

These blocks are the ones that are currently vacant, not the ones with occupied homes that Ald. Young wants to take via eminent domain and then raze.

Prior Posts:

Click here for map of area.

 

Political Eye on Ald. Florida

May 30, 2007 Ald Jennifer Florida, Media, Politics/Policy, South City 3 Comments

Last weeks ‘Political Eye’ editorial in the St. Louis American took aim at 15th ward Alderman Jennifer Florida. Florida, you may recall, is the alderman that I squared off against last year over her push for a relocated McDonald’s on South Grand. Thankfully, her relocation of the fast-food chain failed. Here is an excerpt from the editorial, she was rumored to want the job as Lewis Reed’s Chief of Staff:

Florida’ 15th Ward didn’t exactly deliver the bacon for Reed, though it did give him well over the typical 15 percent of the ward’s vote for an African American running citywide. During Reed’s campaign, Florida was considered by many to be overbearing, rude and grossly insensitive. While Florida reportedly got on everyone’s last nerve, even when she snapped at low-keyed and in control Alderwoman April Ford Griffin, her antics were dismissed and the campaigned moved forward. At one point in the final days of the heated campaign, Florida’ see-saw personality finally disqualified her from even getting the community outreach post, which was taken by Rory Roundtree.

You can read the full editorial here. Thanks to Steve Wilke-Shapiro’s 15thwardSTL blog for the heads up.

 

St. Louis Board of Aldermen has Four (4) Staff Openings

May 15, 2007 Parking, Politics/Policy 4 Comments

The current session of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen is well underway but it seems new Aldermanic President Lewis Reed is yet to fill all the positions.  Four, including the legal counsel & clerk, are posted on the city’s website:

Administrative Aide (Board of Aldermen)

Salary
Minimum      
$0.00       
 

Nature of Work
This is responsible technical and administrative work in the Office of the President of the Board of Aldermen. The incumbent is responsible for maintaining accurate and timely information on the Aldermanic website, and must be available to assist Aldermen and staff members with computer hardware and software questions, including issues arising during Aldermanic sessions. Duties also include preparing copies of board bills and resolutions, maintaining computer supply inventories, delivering Aldermanic mail, and general office duties.

Minimum Qualifications
An Associate’s degree (or 60 credit hours) in Computer Technology or other relevant business or social science discipline, and at least one year of recent, administrative experience in an office setting with heavy public contact. Qualifying experience must demonstrate excellent software skills working within a microcomputer network infrastructure. OR An equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
—–

Legal Counsel and Clerk (Board of Aldermen)

Salary
Minimum
$0.00

Nature of Work
Legal Counsel duties *review and respond to substantive law questions and request for legal opinions from all members of the Board of Aldermen and aldermanic staff. Respond to all requests for legal opinions regarding ordinance enforcement from various city operating departments. *review and advise members of the Board on legal issues related to pending legislation and budgetary matters *advise the Aldermanic President and members of the Personnel Committee on the development and implementation of legislative procedural policy for the Board *interact with attorneys and member of the general public regarding legislative matters and policies of the Board *represent members of the Board in their official capacity in all litigation whenever there exists a conflict of interest for the Office of the City Counselor *research and prepare draft legislation as requested by members of the Board *serve as Parliamentarian for all Board meetings and committee hearings *testify before all Aldermanic committees as requested by committee members
Clerk duties *responsible for file management of all pending legislation and legislative archives including the supervision of the content of Aldermanic website *prepare and maintain the budget for the Board *oversee the destruction and storage of Board files and records including the transfer of such files and records to electronic format *testify as to Aldermanic records in response to subpoenas *coordinate with the Board of Election on all ballot issues initiated by ordinance and special elections to fill aldermanic vacancies *develop and implement administrative policies for the Board as directed by the Personnel Committee *supervise all Board personnel and respond to all personnel issues *coordinate with the Office of the Mayor and Office of the City Register to ensure the proper enactment and publication of legislation adopted by the Board *serve as the City’s liaison with the Missouri Ethics Commission *prepare the minutes of all Board meetings and coordinate with the Office of the City Register for the proper publication of such minutes

Minimum Qualifications
Education: Graduation from a school of law approved by the Committee on Legal Education of the American Bar Association and current membership in the Missouri Bar in good standing.
Experience: At least two years of progressively responsible experience as a licensed attorney working in the areas of civil litigation, real estate, municipal contracts, or fiscal matters.

—–

Receptionist (Board of Aldermen)

Salary
Minimum    Maximum
$23,000.00    $27,000.00

Nature of Work
Responsibilities include greeting citizens and answering telephone inquiries in the office of St. Louis City Board of Aldermen. This position has heavy public contact.

Minimum Qualifications
Two years of experience serving as a receptionist or customer service representative. Prior experience must demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills and oral communication skills and knowledge of word processing software such as Microsoft Word, WordPerfect and Access.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Some experience assisting the public in a federal, state, or local government setting. Knowledge of the Board of Aldermen and city departments and agencies in order to answer questions and assist customers.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

Salary range: $23,000-27,000 plus medical benefits and parking. This is a non-civil service position.

—-

Secretary (Board of Aldermen)  

Salary
Minimum     
$27,000.00      
 

Nature of Work
Responsibilities include performing secretarial and administrative duties in the office of St. Louis City Board of Aldermen. This position has significant public contact.

Minimum Qualifications
Two years of recent experience as a Secretary. Must be proficient in using word processing, spreadsheet, and Internet and database computer applications, including Microsoft Products, WordPerfect, Access and Adobe Reader. Must type at least 40 words per minute. Must be a resident of the City of St. Louis or be willing to relocate to the City within 120 days of permanent hiring.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Some experience assisting the public in a federal, state, or local government setting. Academic background in Office Technology or Paralegal.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

Salary: $27,000-medical benefits, life insurance and parking. This is a non-civil service position.

—–

HOW TO APPLY

Applications can be submitted on the Internet. Visit our website at www.stlouiscity.com and link to Jobs with the City. Or, applications forms can be picked up in the Board of Aldermen Office, Room 230 City Hall, 1200 Market Street.

I like how “parking” is considered a job benefit.  Shouldn’t the city be setting an example for private companies by offering free transit passes rather than free parking?

 

Ald. Kennedy Finally Opens Westbound Olive to Traffic

May 7, 2007 Central West End, Planning & Design, Politics/Policy 17 Comments

In April of 2006 I first mentioned the barrels that completely blocked through traffic on Olive at Walton in the Central West End.  The next Month, in May of 2006 I looked into the issue a bit closer and realized that Olive was the dividing line between two wards.  Below is an image from that post.
olive - 11.jpg

At the time I wrote:

Olive, a once great road, is politically divided. One side of the street from Boyle Westward is in the 18th Ward (Terry Kennedy) and the other is in the 28th Ward (Lyda Krewson). Both sides of the street, however, are fully within the Central West End neighborhood. From an urban perspective the issues relating to the rebirth of this street do not fall into line with ward boundaries.

In June 2006 I was happy to report that Ald. Lyda Krewson of the 28th Ward had made the decision to remove the old barrels and open the eastbound portion of Olive to traffic once again.  However, the westbound barrels remained in place.

Recently, Ald. Kennedy finally relented and had the remaining barrels removed allowing a free flow of traffic on Olive — a first in many decades.

olive_walton - 3.jpg

Much investment and development is happening in the areas formerly on the wrong side of street closings so hopefully we will see a nice blending of the areas.  It is just too hard to justify developing on the bad side of closed streets.  The Central West End folks that pushed for the reopening of Olive deserve lots of credit.  Viva la street grid!

 

Bulk of City Legislation is Development Related

May 1, 2007 Board of Aldermen 9 Comments

The new session of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen is just beginning and already they have introduced bills numbered 2-65.  Of these, I counted roughly 45 that were development related — either redevelopment plans, TIF financing, PUDs (Planning Unit Developments) or related.  Thus, so far, roughly 70% of the legislation is development related (45 bills).

Of couse, if one alderman introduces a bill for a development (or redevelopment) in their ward the other 27 go along under their unwritten rule of “aldermanic courtesy.” Basically, the 28 aldermen get to do what they want within their ward with no legislative oversight.  It is doubtful the city’s planning & urban design office has reviewed any of the projects.  Mayor Slay keeps planning director Rollin Stanley and his staff hidden over at 1015 Locust, pulling them out only when used to talk about census numbers and such.

Here is an example of the “summary” of one such bill:

Board Bill#:      18
Title:      Redevelopment Plan for 2652 Ann
Summary:      An ordinance approving a Redevelopment Plan for the 2652 Ann Ave. Area (“Area”) after finding that the Area is blighted as defined in Section 99.320 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, 2000, as amended, (the “Statute” being Sections 99.300 to 99.715 inclusive), containing a description of the boundaries of said Area in the City of St. Louis (“City”), attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit “A”, finding that redevelopment and rehabilitation of the Area is in the interest of the public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the people of the City; approving the Plan dated March 27, 2007 for the Area (“Plan”), incorporated herein by attached Exhibit “B”, pursuant to Section 99.430; finding that there is a feasible financial plan for the development of the Area which affords maximum opportunity for development of the Area by private enterprise; finding that no property in the Area may be acquired by the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority of the City of St. Louis (“LCRA”) through the exercise of eminent domain; finding that the property within the Area is unoccupied, but if it should become occupied the Redeveloper shall be responsible for relocating any eligible occupants displaced as a result of implementation of the Plan; finding that financial aid may be necessary to enable the Area to be redeveloped in accordance with the Plan; finding that there shall be available five (5) year real estate tax abatement; and pledging cooperation of the Board of Aldermen and requesting various officials, departments, boards and agencies of the City to cooperate and to exercise their respective powers in a manner consistent with the Plan
Sponsor:       Phyllis Young

You can click here to view this summary and reach the full PDF bill.   Don’t look for Exhibit “B” online because, just as in the days of Jim Shrewsbury as President, this information still does not exist online.  Hopefully, with a bit more time, Lewis Reed’s office can begin to put all the related materials online.
Reed, during the campaign, made an issue out of not being able to get access to informtion on the board of Estimate & Apportionment, including minutes.   We’ll see what action he takes, if any, to make this hard to find information more accessible to the rest of us now that he is one of the three on E&A (along with Mayor Slay & Comptroller Green).  It will also be interesting to see if Reeds idea of more open government will extend to basics such as including bill attachments online — something certainly within the control of the President of the city’s legislative body.
These redevelopment bills read almost identical to each other.  It makes me wonder how much thought is actually put into each project and by whom?  A staff person at the St. Louis Development Corporation?  Under what guidelines, our 1947 anti-city zoning code?   My guess is the developer says what they want to do, the alderman directs staff to make it happen and it just does.  No scrutiny, no checking against a master plan.  Certainly no critical review for pedestrian access and other signs of greater public good when tax money is being involved.  Just routine business.

We are talking about legislators whose backgrounds are as business persons, accountants and such.  When reviewing the city budget they may be very helpful but with the bulk of their legislation in the development arena I get a bit uneasy.
You can view all the current Board Bills here.

 

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