A Detailed Look at Aldermanic Campaign Finance Reports

Last week I started looking at the latest round of campaign finance reports from the city’s 28 aldermen. Today I got around to finishing up my review of their contents and what it all means. Before I get into each I want to explain some background info.

Quarterly reports are due to the Missouri Ethics commission on the 15th of the month following the quarter. For example, the current quarter from July 1 – September 30 (aka 3rd Quarter) is due on October 15th. Since October 15, 2006 falls on a Sunday the report can be received up until 5pm on Monday the 16th. However, the report is supposed to be postmarked “before” the deadline. Thus, a report mailed on October 16, 2006 is technically late. However, a report postmarked on October 14, 2006 is timely.

On July 15, 2006 reports from the 2nd quarter (April 1, 2006 – June 30, 2006) were due by all elected officials, anyone out campaigning to become an elected official, “continuing committees” such as ward committees and political action committees. You might think I’m talking down to everyone by explaining the dates for the 2nd quarter but when you see the mistakes being made by these aldermanic committees then you’ll understand why I’m being as detailed as possible, even on some very common sense things.

The aldermen also seem to be very confused when it comes to reporting for elections. The theory behind “campaign finance” reporting is that if you are receiving and spending money you are campaigning not for the prior election but for the upcoming election. This is a very basic concept that seems to stump many. Also, even if you are not taking in or sending out any campaign funds you are still campaigning for the next election simply by virtue of having a campaign committee.

I called the Election Commission to get some clarification around reporting and what is allowed and what is not allowed. For all you aldermen out there, treasurers and future candidates consider this a basic course in reporting.

First, as indicated above, the report is always for an upcoming election. The exception is the “30 Days Following a General Election” report which covers the 12 days prior to the general election as well as the 25 days after the general election (it is due 30 days after the general, hence the name). Let me run through some examples to explain how these should work.

Here is a list of all 28 aldermen, in numerical order by ward, and notes on their reports:

1 – Charles Quincy Troupe

Quarterly report due 7/17/2006, not filed as of 7/26/2006

2 – Dionne Flowers

Quarterly report due 7/17/2006, not filed as of 7/26/2006. Also, quarterly report due April 15 not yet filed. Flowers is up for re-election in March 2007.

3 – Freeman M. Bosley, Sr.

Quarterly report due 7/17/2006, not received until 7/20/2006; Report was not signed by candidate. Indicates “N/A” next to election date but that should be 3/2009 for this cycle. Shows zero activity which is hard to believe due to the recall effort but maybe he didn’t find it necessary to raise money or spend money campaigning.

4 – O.L. Shelton

Only current alderman with no active campaign committee! No reports to file at all, perhaps O.L. is the smartest of the bunch? Shelton is up for re-election in March 2007.

5 – April Ford-Griffin

Quarterly report received on Monday 7/17/2006. Submitted “limited activity” report which indicates no more than $500 was received or spent during quarterly reporting period. A limited activity report is common for many committees.

6 – Lewis E. Reed

Quarterly report due 7/17/2006, not filed as of 7/26/2006. Reed is up for re-election in March 2007.

7 – Phyllis Young

Quarterly report due 7/17/2006 received on 7/18/2006, postmark date unknown. Shows $600 raised this election (since April 2005); over $26K spent this election cycle; just under $25K on hand.

8 – Stephen Conway

Quarterly report received early on Friday 7/14/06. Shows no receipts for this election, spent $475 this election, under $4K on hand. Properly shows election date for this campaign as March 2007. Conway is an accountant by trade so naturally I’d expect his reports to be accurate. Conway is up for re-election in March 2007.

9 – Kenneth Ortmann

Quarterly report due 7/17/2006 received on 7/18/2006, postmark date unknown. For this election cycle (4/2005 – 3/2009) shows -$15K+ raised, $17K+ spent; still has over $45k on-hand. That is some serious cash!

10 – Joseph Vollmer

Quarterly report due 7/17/2006 received on 7/19/2006, postmark date unknown. Report shows committee paid $30 late fee to state, presumably for the prior quarter report that was filed late. Report shows committee received $441.23 in in-kind contributions from A-B Products during the quarter (date of contribution is not reported). This appears to be a violation as campaign limits for aldermen are $325 per election. Shows under just $14K raised, spent $2,400; on hand $13K . Vollmer is up for re-election in March 2007.

11 – Matt Villa

Quarterly report received on Monday 7/17 but shows the period as 4/12/06 through 7/11/06, rather than the accepted 2nd quarter of 4/1/06 through 6/30/2006. $7,169 on hand.

12 – Fred Heitert

A limited activity report was received early on 7/3/2006. In fact, all of his reports are “limited activity” going back to 2001! This means through the 2003 election he really had no activity in his campaign. I went through all the reports available online and all are limited activity so I haven’t a clue how much, if anything, he has is his campaign warchest. I’m guessing not much. Heitert has been on the Board of Aldermen since the late 1970s, being first elected in April 1979. As the lone [admitted] Republican he has the least seniority. Heitert is up for re-election in March (primary) and likely hasn’t run a campaign in decades, perhaps someone in the 12th should start getting their ducks in a row to challenge him.

13 – Alfred Wessels, Jr.

Report received early on 7/13/2006. However, date of election missing (should be 3/2009 in this case); show $14K on hand, little activity otherwise.

14 – Stephen Gregali

Quarterly report due 7/17/2006 received on 7/18/2006, postmark date unknown. Submitted “limited activity” report which indicates no more than $500 was received or spent during quarterly reporting period. A limited activity report is common for many committees. As of 2nd quarter ’03 reported in July 2003 had $12,500 on hand; limited reporting since. Gregali is up for re-election in March 2007.

15 – Jennifer Florida

First, I need to apologize to Ald. Florida for an error on my part from last week. I had mistakenly indicated she did not report a $25 contribution from Ald. Kirner. However, in re-reading Kirner’s report I see they were using a single line to indicate contributions they made to two different campaigns. The $25 contribution in this quarter was made to another committee, not Florida’s.

Ok, on with the look at the current report: The quarterly report due 7/17/2006 was received on 7/18/2006, postmark date unknown. The report shows the correct upcoming election and has it correctly marked as a primary.

I had previously reported a discrepancy in Florida’s reports from 2004. I just reviewed all reports from 2004 forward to do a basic audit to confirm my earlier report. All are OK except for two, as previously indicated. In the July 2004 report for the 2nd quarter it indicates receipts of $9,670 of which $9,370 was monetary and $300 was in-kind. Here is what I wrote then and it remains unchanged:

I calculated $5,680 in itemized contributions for the three month period. Yet, on page 3 of the above report, it says $6,355 were received (Contributions and Loans Received, Line #8). This difference is $675.

The prior page, a “report summary”, shows total receipts for the period of $9,670. Again, the itemized detail only totals $5,680 by my calculations.

Their own report from the period indicates on one page that $6,355 was received while on the summary page $9,670 was received, both including $300 of in-kind contribution. The total difference between the detail provided and the highest number reported is $3,990. So does it exist? If so, who was it from? If not received, we need to see the “cash on hand” balance drop by this amount (less $300 in-kind) because cash was adjusted based on the highest number.

The next quarter, reported in October 2004, was as if that $9,670 never existed — the beginning balance for receipts was the same as the prior quarter. From this report through the 2005 election this actually make her total receipts look lower than they actually were. On the positive side the reports correctly switched to zero for receipts and contributions following the 2005 general election.

16 – Donna Baringer

Quarterly report received on 7/17/2006. Submitted “limited activity” report which indicates no more than $500 was received or spent during quarterly reporting period. A limited activity report is common for many committees. One of the few reports to get everything right including the next election date marked as a primary. As of 12/31/05: 18K+ raised; $4,800 spent; $14K on-hand. Baringer is up for re-election in March 2007.

17 – Joseph D. Roddy

Report received on 7/14/2006. The report correct lists next election as 2009 but incorrectly marks it as a general election rather than primary. Roddy was just re-elected in April 2005 yet his reports do not reflect the change from the previous election cycle (2001 – 2005) to the current election cycle (2005 – 2009). As a result his reports erroneously indicate just $36K raised and $65K spent on this election. I reviewed a few reports from the last year and confirmed he has not raised or spent this kind of money since the general election in April last year. The $11K on-hand is presumably correct.

18 – Terry Kennedy

Quarterly report due 7/17/2006, not filed as of 7/26/2006. The 1st Quarter report due April 15 was not received by the Missouri Ethics Commission until May 22, 2006 — over a month late! No report is shown for the 3rd quarter of 2004 which was due October 15, 2004. I had to go back to the 30 days after General Election report from 2003 to find something other than missing reports or limited activity reports. At that time the report show $500 was raised and $1,266 was spent (I assume for the 2003 race) with only $385 on-hand. Kennedy is up for re-election in March 2007.

19 – Michael McMillan

N/A, now running for License Collector. I will cover McMillan when I look at other city-wide offices.

20 – Craig Schmid

Quarterly report due 7/17/2006 received on 7/18/2006, postmark date unknown. Submitted “limited activity” report which indicates no more than $500 was received or spent during quarterly reporting period. A limited activity report is common for many committees. Incorrectly lists election as the prior election in 4/2003, not the upcoming election in 3/2007. I had to go back to March 2003 to see that Schmid’s committee had $4,700 on hand. Schmid is up for re-election in March 2007.

21 – Bennice Jones King

Quarterly report received on 7/17/2006. Submitted “limited activity” report which indicates no more than $500 was received or spent during quarterly reporting period. A limited activity report is common for many committees. In looking through prior reports to find how much cash the committee had on hand I found some interesting stuff. This is by far the most suspect of all the committees.

The 2nd quarter report submitted in July 2005 indicates a negative $722.94 cash on hand and $6,237.14. First, the way the reports are set up you cannot possibly have negative cash on hand — at worst you can have zero. Unless of course you wrote checks and your account is overdrawn. I’m not clear in this case. For sake of argument lets just say they are in debt to the tune of $6,960.08. Ouch. But, things look up throughout the next few reports! The next quarterly report in October 2005 is a “limited activity” report, as is the following in January 2006. But, magically in the 1st quarter report from April 2006 they have received donations totaling $650 which is what they show as their cash on hand. Debt? Zero! Can someone with Ms. Jones-King please explain to me how you get from nearly $7,000 in debt to having $650 in the positive with “limited activity” in between time? I need to know the secret because I’ve got this pesky mortgage debt I’d like to get rid of…

22 – Jeffrey Boyd

The only alderman to file reports electronically rather than manually, bonus points! However, they didn’t file the report until the morning of 7/19 — two days late. All is in order including the correct next election date. Report shows $27,920 raised this election cycle with only $599 spent so far. Cash on hand is $28,146.27. Boyd is up for re-election in March 2007.

23 – Kathleen Hanrahan

Report received on time on 7/17/2006. Report mistakenly lists date of election as April 5, 2005 rather than upcoming election. Report shows $3,915 raised (all in this quarter), $2,584 spent with $5,859 cash on-hand; and debt of $9,366. Maybe Hanrahan should have a conversation with Jones-King about how to erase that debt?

24 – William Waterhouse

Report received well in advance of the 7/17/2006 due date by arriving on 7/10/2006. However the report is missing some key information including next election date and the candidate’s signature. Shows $2,566 on-hand; zero raised. Looks like they used the editable PDF forms which allow you to type in them, much neater than most of the handwritten forms. Waterhouse is up for re-election in March 2007.

25 – Dorothy Kirner

The report was received early on 7/14/2006 and includes the correct next election date. However, the cash on hand section is left blank! The report also lists activity from July even though the quarter is April-June.

26 – Frank Williamson

Quarterly report due 7/17/2006 received on 7/19/2006, postmark date unknown. It appears no report was filed at all for the first quarter. Report indicates the election date as “N/A”, the wrong answer. One contribution is listed in the amount of $650 but I can’t make out the name. The legal limit is $325. This may have been two people giving the maximum allowed but they should have written two checks, not combined onto one. Shows $7,300 received this quarter; $2,205 in expenses and ending cash on hand of $13,294. However, they also had $150 in contributions to other campaigns which they did not subtract from their cash on hand. Reporting period is random dates and not the exact quarter. Williamson is up for re-election in March 2007.

27 – Gregory Carter

Quarterly report due 7/17/2006 received on 7/18/2006, postmark date unknown. Report is missing election date. Raised zero since last election (April 2005), spent $540 leaving $1,184 on hand.

28 – Lyda Krewson

Quarterly report received early on 7/14/2006. Shows correct upcoming primary election and unlike most, is neatly typed. To my surprise Krewson has raised a mere $250 this election cycle! In the same nearly four years spent nearly $12K plus another $6500 in contributions to other campaigns. Despite the lack of fundraising, Krewson’s committee still has $18,675 on-hand. Krewson is up for re-election in March 2007.

I looked at many reports and don’t know that I caught all the errors. A common mistake that I didn’t cite often enough was the reporting period. Rather than indicate say April 1, 2006 – June 30, 2006 you’ll see things like April 9, 2006 – July 12, 2006. The fact some cannot grasp the dates for the quarter is scary considering they are running the city’s business.

The campaign reports are all public record but I didn’t link to each and every report simply due to lack of time. You are free to look up the same reports on your own time, click here for the Missouri Ethics search page.

– Steve

Vespa Petitioning to Convert Some Auto Parking to Two-Wheel Parking

Vespa is the most well known of scooter makers and you’ll see plenty of the Italian jobs on the streets of St. Louis. But they are also pretty determined to create an even bigger market for themselves and their competition. They realize parking is an issue keeping more people from using a small and efficient scooter over the family SUV. Enter the Vespa Petition, or Vespatition:

Parking for All! Sign the Vespatition to convert some automobile spaces to two-wheel spaces!

By signing the Vespatition, you are promoting the conversion of some automobile parking spaces to two-wheel spaces. The results will be publicized and sent to your local mayor.

Just as parking spaces for compact cars and handicapped parking stalls have increased efficiency and convenience in urban and suburban communities, officially designated two-wheel parking facilities can do the same.

Government agencies should consider removing the two-wheeler from the four-wheeler parking space and placing it in its own, scaled down zone. This is a simple concept that can be embraced by city councils, urban planners, local merchants, contractors, shopping center management and private businesses whenever parking for motor vehicles is provided.

Here are some suggestions for motorcycle/scooter parking that we are proposing:

Street-legal parking – convert a number of existing parking spaces every couple of streets to motorcycle/scooter parking

•Spaces can be metered or un-metered
•The smaller size of two-wheel vehicles allows them to fit into unoccupied areas on streets and sidewalks, creating efficiencies in urban planning and increasing city revenues (if metered).
•Six motorcycles, scooters or limited-access motorcycles carrying from six to twelve people can be parked in the area normally taken up by one automobile. If, however, no motorcycle parking facility is provided in the area, one would possibly find those six motorcycles occupying up to six separate automobile spaces.

Convert unused space – cement curbs of a certain size can be converted to two-wheel parking. A specialized parking area for motorcycles and scooters not only leaves more space for the automobiles, but also caters to the riders’ needs by providing a well-lit, convenient and secure location in which they may confidently leave their vehicle. Such facilities can be small in area and can usually be located near a building entrance or at the end of a parking island.

Parking garages – designate parking spaces in municipal garages for two-wheel vehicles. Create a more equitable rate structure for two-wheel vehicle parking in private garages.

Sidewalk parking – permit scooters and motorcycles to be parked in designated areas on sidewalks and locked to structures which currently accommodate bicycles.

Designating scooter/motorcycle parking is one of the most urban things we could do in the St. Louis region. This ranks up there with actually having designated bicycle racks! This petition from Vespa is part of their Vespanomics website — a platform on oil dependence and how two-wheel transportation can help with the issue. It only has a few links to their main website — it is not a thinly veiled attempt at the environment just to sell you a scooter. In fact, Vespa has done a good job overall about being inclusive of other competing brands.

Local and national government leaders are charged with establishing transportation policies that address both short-term and long-term problems, are environmentally responsible and truly benefit the American consumer. With the support of federal, state and local governments, new options like scootering can bring immediate and substantial economic and environmental benefits to Americans and the communities in which they live.

To facilitate the adoption of scootering, U.S. Mayors and other elected officials should consider providing dedicated parking for scooters and motorcycles.

Now is the time to broaden the dialogue about America’s addiction to oil and its dependency on foreign imports in a way that includes technological as well as behavioral solutions.

I ask that everyone of you reading this take a minute and click on the above link to sign the petition. Doesn’t matter if you have a scooter or not or where you live. Just fill out the form to help support a more friendly policy toward parking for two-wheeled vehicles.

Of course if Vespa sends this to Mayor Slay they are kinda wasting their time as the Mayor’s office has little control over parking in the city. Our planning agency has little say either! No, parking in St. Louis is the responsibility of the Treasurer! Yes, Treasurer. Presumably accounting types know best when it comes to parking. The logic being parking is a revenue source so that belongs to the Treasurer. Not sure when this became part of the city’s charter but it is F’d up if you ask me. Larry Williams has been Treasurer of St. Louis since 1981. As you might expect, he ran unchallenged in the last election in 2004.

While we are on parking, we need to switch from individual meters and marked spaces to the more free-flowing parking model of progressive cities and institute a “pay-n-display” system for paying. The reason is short cars like mine do not need anywhere near as much as a Chevy Suburban or a Hummer. With more and more shorter cars around we can likely squeeze in another space per block. With four sides to a block and a good 40 blocks in the CBD we could easily get another 160 cars right in front of local businesses. Of course, using some of this newfound space for scooter/motorcycle parking would be wise.

Related Prior Posts:
•St. Louis Region Needs to Address Parking for Scooters & Motorcycles, April 2006
•Parking on Washington Avenue — Finally!, February 2006

Again, please sign the Vespatition!

– Steve

St. Louis Region Drops Again in Forbes Ranking

This year St. Louis ranked 31st among 40 metropolitan areas as “Best Places for Singles” according to Forbes magazine. Our best ranking was 14th in 2001 but since then we’ve continued to sink in the rankings, now falling into the bottom 10. It should be noted this is for the metropolitan area of St. Louis, not simply the City of St. Louis.

To simplify things I compiled the chart, at left, showing where the St. Louis region ranks overall and in their various categories. As you can see we’ve been steadily dropping in the overall rankings since 2001. But a closer look reveals the good and the bad.

Below are each of the subcategories with the Forbes methodology in italics, followed by my thoughts on each.

Overall:

To determine the best city for singles, we ranked 40 of the largest continental U.S. metropolitan centers in seven different areas: nightlife, culture, job growth, number of singles, cost of living alone, coolness, and for the first time, online dating. Each metro is assigned a ranking of one to 40 in each category, based on quantitative data. All categories are weighted equally, with the exception of the number of singles, which received a double weighting. The ranks are then averaged to determine the final rankings.

We’ve got a lot of great things going on in the City of St. Louis right now with lofts and new restaurants and trendy bowling alleys opening but our region, we must accept, is boring. We are a region of “comfortable” suburban housing mixed with sterile office parks connected by massive highways. Tax base aside, the region is pretty much a drain on the City of St. Louis.

Culture:

Our cultural index is determined by the number of museums, pro sports teams and live theater and concert venues per capita, as well as the university population, in each metro. Data provided by AOL CityGuide and Montreal International.

I’ve yet to consider pro sports as having anything to do with “culture” but that is only one part of this criteria. This is the one section where we’ve been the most consistent over the years. Phoenix ranked #1.

Nightlife:

Nightlife is based on the number of restaurants, bars and nightclubs per capita in each standard metropolitan area. Data provided by AOL CityGuide.

This is a category where we are doing a lot of ups and downs from year to year. From the information provided I’m not sure if this is because our data is changing or if other city’s data is changing and thus moving everyone around in the rankings. Most likely it is a combination of both. Cincinnati ranked #1.

Singles:

The number of singles is based on the percentage of a metro’s population above the age of 15 that has never been married. Given the importance of this data, the singles category carries twice the weight of any other category. Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Per the rankings this just isn’t a singles region, or perhaps many have been previously married. No surprise but New York ranked #1.

Job Growth:

Job growth rankings are determined by the projected percentage of job growth over the next five years for each metro. Data provided by Washington, D.C.-based Woods & Poole Economics.

Now we are getting to the real issue. Our job growth in this region sucks big time! The region must come together to evaluate why this is true and what are possible solutions. The old guard will continue to cite another bridge over the Mississippi River and other nonsense that simply keeps the politically connected sprawl machine working. While the city’s earnings tax may keep business out of the city, I’m not sure it would have an impact on the region’s job growth numbers. Whatever the reasons, this must be addressed. Las Vegas ranked #1.

Cost Of Living Alone:

Our proprietary Cost Of Living Alone index is determined by the average cost of a metro area’s apartment rent, a Pizza Hut pizza, a movie ticket and a six-pack of Heineken. Additionally, we factored in entry-level salary data. The majority of the raw data for the cost of living index was provided by Arlington, Va.-based ACCRA. Salary data provided by the New York-based Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

Ouch! I’m guessing here but I’d say our entry-level salaries have not kept pace with the average apartment rental rates. Either that or Pizza Hut has had to dramatically raise prices in St. Louis to cover the cost of hiring Queen Latifa for their commercials. Seriously though, while many may not think so I do believe we are building ourselves into a situation of higher and higher living costs relative to our incomes. Salaries simply have not kept pace with the increased property values, at least in the city. This is reflected in some very costly cities ranking ahead of us, including Seattle, NYC and San Francisco. Atlanta ranked #1.

Online Dating:

Due to the increasing popularity of online dating, we added this new measure to our methodology this year. The ranking is determined by the number of active profiles in each metro, per capita, on dating site Match.Com. Data provided by www.match.com.

OK everyone, get online so we can move up in the rankings for 2007. Yeah, right…. Boston ranked #1.

Coolness:

Coolness is determined by an area’s diversity and its number of creative workers (i.e., those whose jobs require creativity, such as artists, scientists, teachers and musicians). Kevin Stolarick, of Catalytix and Carnegie Mellon University, provided the data based on work he has done with Richard Florida, of George Mason University, and Gary Gates, of the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law.

This is the one that shocked me, the ranking being much higher than I expected.

So what do you see in the numbers? Or what are they missing about our region that can’t be quantified?

– Steve

TOD Sites Abound in St. Louis

Transit Oriented Development, TOD, is a big topic in planning circles. The basic concept is to concentrate development activity around transit such as a subway or light rail station. A good mixed-use project with retail, office and residential can keep a station busy and transit cost-effective. A developer too can maintain/increase profits while building a bigger project.

To date I don’t think we’ve done the best job maximizing the existing MetroLink light rail stations. We are starting to see some work near stations in Illinois but the density is still relatively low. Granted, many of our stations were built in existing areas, some of which are quite urban. For example, downtown was already full and as lofts fill up former offices and warehouses we can be sure rail transit access had something to do with that.

We do have several areas of our light rail system that could benefit from increased development. The first comes to mind is 8th and Spruce, just west of the new Busch Stadium. Here the Metrolink line curves to change from east-west orientation under the highway to north-south under 8th. A new corner building with MetroLink running in the basement could prove popular. With the stadium station in place just across Spruce access would be a cinch. Don’t look for any underground parking with the train in the middle of the footprint but we must get to the point where not every place has dedicated parking. Besides, that is part of the point of transit. In this new building I’d have street-level retail/restuarant space facing both Spruce and 8th, a couple of floors of office space and then residential. Maybe it is at most 6-8 stories high. Still, that would do a wonderful job of urbanizing a prominent corner as well as adding density to a transit stop that doesn’t see much activity outside of game day. This new construction and users could compliment the renovation work in the adjacent Couples Station area.

A similar opportunity exists just to the west, between 14th and 18th along Clark St. Between the Civic Center Station (14th) and the Union Station Station (18th) is development nirvana (see map). At the immediate corner of 14th & Clark we’ve got a nice grove of trees leading to the station platforms. I could see a new building design just to the west, facing Clark, that leaves this corner plaza intact. However, I’d get out the chainsaw for the right building(s) on the corner at 14th. The problem here is the big curve is closer to street grade than I’d like and lowering it might be too costly. But, from what was once 15th to 16th you’ve got a clean shot over the tracks. Same for 16th to 18th.

Concentrating more residences near 18th and Clark would create more daily users for Union Station (so it is not entirely dependent upon tourist traffic). Offering downtown residential units without included garage space might also offer affordability to those that want a car-free lifestyle but cannot currently afford to live near a MetroLink station. Of course, garage space could be built on the main and a few upper levels with retail along the street-face and office & residential over the parking. A mix of housing in numerous price ranges might be the best solution.

While I’d have no opposition to a mid or high-rise tower I don’t think it is necessary either, at least not from a design perspective. Clark and the adjacent numbered streets would have had 3-6 story buildings originally. This creates a nice friendly scale along the sidewalk for pedestrians. Even is part of the structures did get taller a shorter height at the sidewalk would still be best.

The cost-effectiveness of construction over a functioning transit line is the big problem with this plan. The cost of the required concrete tunnel may necessitate more floors just to help break even. The concept is certainly worth detailed analysis.

As Metro (Bi-State) most likely owns the right-of-way used for MetroLink a developer would need their blessing. This would involve a lease or sale of the development rights over the right-of-way. This money could help ease the currently strapped transit agency while providing new users for the system.

Moving west out of downtown I think a new stop at Jefferson Ave is needed. The replacement bridge over the tracks is currently being planned so adding a transit stop during construction would be a simple affair, relative to retrofitting to an old bridge. The site to the east of Jefferson facing Scott (and the UPS facility) is ideal for concentrated development around a transit stop (map). With a new interchange at I-64 and 22nd Street it might actually be possible to connect Scott Ave with 21st or 20th street making it possible for those living at this new area to walk to Union Station. All this is adjacent to the proposed Chouteau Greenway. I’ve already covered the TOD possibilities at Grand in a prior post.

I think our developers do a good job converting existing buildings but when it comes to new construction I think they tend to seek out large tracts. The idea of building on smaller parcels just hasn’t quite sunk in yet. This land near these transit stops is not serving anyone at the moment but if developed could help Metro, the new occupants, adjacent retailers and restauranteurs and the City of St. Louis.

– Steve

The Return of Electricity (and Old Habits?)

The experience of a simpler way of life this week, courtesy of mother nature, was unexpected and frankly, unwelcomed. I like my computer, wi-fi, fax machine, air conditioning, washing machine, dishwasher and food refrigeration thank you very much. Television I can do without.

The funny thing is I have three TVs in the house; one in my home office, one in master bedroom and one in the living room. A bit much for just one person don’t you think? I cancelled my satellite service at the beginning of the year and have only one antenna. I can’t recall the last TV program I watched at home. I did just get Netflix (2 week free trial) so I will be using the living room TV to watch videos, (or just use the new 20″ iMac in the office). Still, I don’t see myself watching many movies at home.

Interestingly, my first Netflix DVD arrived on Wednesday, the day the electric went out. The title I selected on Tuesday? Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. So Thursday afternoon I’m sitting at Hartford Coffee with my laptop and headphones watching this documentary tale of corporate corruption and energy manipulation. How poetic. I knew I’d get angry the first time I saw this film but as my home was without power I could relate to those in California who were without power during rolling blackouts as Enron’s traders exploited power plants and electric availability for a buck (ok, thirty billion bucks).

I spent Wednesday night at home in the heat. A breeze would have helped but my old storm windows and older wood windows just don’t operate as well as they should. If more would work property I could have gotten a slightly better breeze. My house, a 1917 corner storefront, never had a sleeping porch but many houses of the era did. A sleeping porch is something I’ve wanted for a long time and may seek out in my next property.

After finishing the Enron documentary on Thursday I accepted reality that I’d be without electric for days, not hours and thus sought out a hotel. It seems everyone else came to that conclusion long before I did as no rooms were available in the entire region. All the hotels either were booked or without electricity themselves. Many friends were without electric and I didn’t want to inconvenience others as well as give up personal privacy. So, I decided to look upon the outage as an adventure and check out a place outside our region. Looking over a map I considered Jefferson City, Columbia MO, and Rolla but settled on Mt. Vernon, IL. Roughly 90 minutes east of St. Louis on I-64 heading toward Louisville KY I thought this would be a good choice.

The Days Inn promised a king bed, indoor pool and wireless internet. It delivered that in a highly suburban setting just off the highway along chain hotel and restaurant row. As it was late I went to Chili’s for dinner rather than seek out a local place. Local flavor would have to wait until Friday.

With the exception of high humidity Friday started out great. Unlike the night before, I sleep great and awoke refreshed and ready to explore. I checked the map on Google before leaving the hotel and knew what to expect: the main drag, Broadway/IL-15, became one-way eastbound through downtown with Main St. to the north serving as one-way westbound. As I approached downtown the one-way street began and drivers were encouraged to quickly make their way through, not stop and linger. Big mistake, big.

Downtown Mt. Vernon was once quite charming with the attractive stone courthouse occupying the center square bounded by Broadway on the south, 9th on the east, 10th on the west and Main on the north. Today two of the four sides of the square have been bastardized with horrible buildings. Another side is half urban with a dreadful bank ruining a prominent corner. Still, much potential exists in the fabric that remains.

I enjoyed lunch at a new upscale restaurant open downtown (9th St. Grill) and as I finished I began to see the clouds approaching. Walking around getting photographs it began to sprinkle then rain. I made my way to a local country & western clothing store on the square (Main & 10th) just as the rain really began coming down. As I shopped the music on the store radio stopped for an urgent notice — Mt. Vernon was under a tornado watch (or was it a warning?). The wind and rain soon picked up and it was clear I would not be leaving the store until the storm passed. I finished my purchase (they were having a sale!) just before the power went out leaving me, the owner and her young son in the dark. The storefront windows began to shake as the wind continued to pick up speed so in the dark we made our way to dressing and storage rooms behind the counter. Thankfully the windows didn’t break out but it didn’t look good. During this time I talked to the owner about Mt. Vernon.

Turns out she is on the board of their downtown development group (website). So as the winds downed trees and ripped awnings off nearby buildings we talked traffic control and other things they are examining. This woman (I didn’t get her name in all the commotion) is untrained in urban planning but she had a keen sense of what it takes to create a friendly and thriving downtown. An architect whose office is in the a great old bank across the street is president of the group.

After the storm passed I drove back toward the hotel. Trees, signs and awnings where down the entire way. Areas of streets and parking lots were flooded. Traffic signals were out. This looked way too familiar! I kept hoping that somehow the hideous suburban area with mostly underground electric service would still have power. But no, the entire area except for a single gas station and an Arby’s were without power. The gas station a few doors from my hotel sustained substantial damage to the canopy over the pumps. I figured I’d have better luck being in St. Louis without electric so I packed and returned.

A friend had offered me her couch and I arrived at her downtown loft just as she was getting home from work Friday afternoon. Downtown, it seems, is pretty immune to such outages with only 9 customers in 63101 without service per Ameren’s map. The next morning we headed from the 10th Street lofts to Printer’s Lofts for an early breakfast and to watch the final stage of the Tour de France before Paris. If you hadn’t heard, American and Mennonite Floyd Landis won this year after helping Lance Armstrong for the U.S. Postal Service team 2002-2004.

Another downtown friend left for a week in Florida on Saturday afternoon so I moved my things over to her loft in the Railway building. Ah, privacy. And internet. And a big shower. And a nice gas range in the granite island. Today I decided I was going to cook as I had been eating out a bit too much. I had called my home fax around noon and still no power. Later I started cooking and at 2pm decided it was time to call home again (about every two hours seemed right). It worked, starting a pot of beans did the trick as I got the high pitched sounds of my fax machine.

I may spend another night in the loft, giving my A/C time to cool off my house after I go and get all the windows closed. Also, I need to check the internet service to make sure it is working OK before I take my computers (yes, plural) home.

I was talking with a long-time friend and Seattle architect today and we discussed if I’d learn from this experience or return to mostly oblivious power user. Hard call at this time but that manual mower I bought a year ago after Katrina hasn’t seen much action this year. My Honda scooter, however, has taken me nearly 2,000 miles in local traffic.

This week I was shopping for a new George Forman grill or similar. I of course checked out local stores like Casa Semplice on 10th Street but I wonder if I want yet another electric appliance. I already own nearly every electric kitchen device known to man so will another make my life better or simply more dependent upon the power grid? The computer and fax are not going away but I can certainly get a nice grilling plate for my gas range rather than an appliance to do the job. Yes, this assumes the continued availability and relative affordability of natural gas.

What have all of you taken away from this experience?

– Steve