Nice Work If You Can Get It

Last week gossip columnist Deb Peterson reported:

DOWNTOWN COMMITMENT: Downtown Now topper Tom Reeves and his bride of nearly a year, Kathy Brown Reeves, former head of St. Louis’ Community Development Agency, have recently bought a new house on the manicured grounds of the Bellerive Country Club in tony Town & Country. Reported purchase price: $1.23 million.

Wow, cha-ching.

It is my understanding Reeves did quite well in the banking business before taking the head job at Downtown Now! on a pro bono basis. His defenders also say they have a downtown loft in addition to the new suburban Town & Country place.

Somehow I’m supposed to feel better about this because he has a second place downtown and works for free. Hmmm, not working.

This affirms my opinion of organizations like Downtown Now! and the Downtown St. Louis Partnership. Namely, they are tools of the rich. “Look at us, we are helping the city.”

A quick glance of the boards of both organizations and you’ll see it is elected officials and the people that paid to get the officials elected. The two organizations stay busy giving each other awards.

I can imagine it is hard for the board to complain about the fact the organization’s website still has a “what’s happening in 2004” logo on their main page when the executive director works for free. What are they going to do, fire him?

But pro bono doesn’t mean the job doesn’t have any perks.

As an example, Apple Computer’s Chairman and CEO Steve Jobs takes a salary of only $1 per year. Yet a few years ago he got a new gulfstream jet valued at something like $80 million. He has also received massive amounts of stock. The point? Steve Jobs is considered one of the highest paid executives in silicon valley despite his $1 annual compensation.

I have no idea what kind of perks Mr. Reeves may or may not be getting either directly or indirectly. I just know that in the real world of politics and big business they have ways of making things look noble on the surface and well compensated otherwise.

What is painfully clear is that someone that can afford to work for free, have a downtown loft and a million dollar McMansion in the ‘burbs probably can’t relate to the the needs of downtown residents and start-up business owners. Reeves certainly can’t manage to keep a website updated…

Read my prior post on Downtown Now! here.

[UPDATE 2/7/06 @ 10:30am. On the next post I report that Tom Reeves is not working pro-bono at Downtown Now. His base salary is $187K. – SLP]

– Steve

The 1970s Plan to ‘Deplete’ North St. Louis

Over on PubDef.net Antonio French linked to a story he wrote back in 2002 regarding some history from the early to mid 1970s. This is a fascinating read and it certainly fills in some gaps in my knowledge.

French talks about a couple of reports and plans prepared in the early 70s. One is known as the “Team Four” plan, from French’s story:

The Plan recommended that each area of the City be grouped into one of three groups: Conservation, Redevelopment, and Depletion, these distinctions being based on factors including age, physical qualities, loan policies, public service level and population stability. Race is not mentioned specifically.

Apparently much of the older areas of North St. Louis were designated as “depletion.” French quotes from the plan how to deal with the depletion areas:

“Efforts must be made to adjust services and public investments so as to provide for those who are remaining in these areas. Yet these efforts should be pursued without encouraging new investment until the City determined that Redevelopment can and should begin.”

Fast forward 30 years and we can see the results of not encouraging new investment. I haven’t read these plans yet but I will be getting copies to review. In case you missed the link above, click here to go to the post on PubDef.net. The city’s website has a simple summary of various planning documents here.

– Steve

Sunshine Law & St. Aloysius

Today I made a formal written request to the City Counselor’s office for two documents related to St. Aloysius:

I had requested communications via fax or email because otherwise they send out letters in the snail mail. I received a reply back via fax indicating they’d get back to me by the 13th of the month.

I had requested any fees be waived as this was in the public interest. They denied my request to waive any costs. Yes, I’ll be getting an estimate of costs to produre two documents. By law they are allowed to charge up to 10¢ per page along with time to research the request. I’ll be curious to see how much time it takes them to research a current file.

I fully expect St. Aloysius to be on the agenda for the February 27, 2006 meeting of the Preservation Board, however, the items are not yet posted.

– Steve

Fate of St. Aloysius Receives National Attention

The future of the buildings at the former St. Aloysius Gonzaga is receiving national attention from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The issue was featured yesterday in the Trust’s Preservation Online website.

It is sad that we continue to raze quality urban buildings in favor of uninspired new construction. But the wrecking ball hasn’t struck yet so don’t be so sure it is going to happen.

Click here to read the Preservation Online story.

– Steve

St. Louis Not The Only City Where a St. Aloysius Is Threatened

The National Trust for Historic Preservation recently had a story about church closings and possible demoltions in the New York City area, including a St. Aloysius in Harlem:

Architecturally, the three Harlem churches meet the commission’s criteria for landmarking: special character or special historical or aesthetic interest. But that’s only part of the churches’ significance. “They tell the story of immigrants to this country who were poor and who were unable to manifest any kind of individual pride in terms of places they were forced to live in,” says Michael Henry Adams, a Harlem architectural historian of Harlem and author of Harlem: Lost and Found. “But they were able to manifest a group pride by building these great buildings as an indication of their faith in God and also the opportunities of this great country. They’re symbols of the promise of America.”

In these cases parishioners are working with preservationists to save their history, even though the churches will likely be closed and the buildings used for other purposes.

Click here for the full story.

– Steve