Readers Split On O’Fallon Park Controversy, Agreement Reached

When I posted last week’s poll on Sunday September 23rd it didn’t look like we were going to see progress toward getting the new $22 million O’Fallon Park Recreation Center open for business. Agreement was reached the next day, but political posturing didn’t end.

Monday September 24th – 1pm

One of the key items announced was “1300 low income kids will get $25 memberships at the O’Fallon Recreation Center.” This is $25 per year, not per month.  See the fact sheet here.

Ald. French was glad more specifics were formerly outlined in the documents — that was the goal. It just needed to get through the Board of Aldermen.

Friday September 28th

David Hunn of the Post-Dispatch reported the debate on the bill lasted for over an hour, with many in support:

Aldermen were not uniformly uncritical. Some worried about costs in years to come. Others complained that their wards lacked similarly updated facilities. Alderman Joe Roddy cautioned that the city was gaining a “champagne” appetite when what it really needed was inexpensive access for residents.

But only Alderman Steve Conway spoke fervently against French. He thought the 21st Ward alderman, who has been a paid campaign consultant for mayoral hopeful and board President Lewis Reed, delayed the center’s opening to make Slay look bad. (stltoday.com)

The bill passed, including a yes from Conway. The final vote will be this Friday October 5th. The facility should open by late this year or early 2013.

Q: Thoughts On The Not Yet Open O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex

1. The African-American Aldermanic Caucus is trying to make Slay look bad, helping Reed in 2013 27 [29.35%]
2. What about residents on the south side that can’t afford the new Carondelet YMCA? 25 [27.17%]
3. If we’re subsidizing 60% of the operating costs then the agreement with the YMCA should require at least a 60% discount for low-income residents 12 [13.04%]
4. We’re going to pay the YMCA $1.2 million per year to operate a building we spent $22 million to build? 10 [10.87%]
5. Unsure/no opinion 9 [9.78%]
6. Just sign the 10-year $12 million dollar deal, the YMCA will make sure low-income resident memberships are affordable 7 [7.61%]
7. Other: 2 [2.17%]

The two “other” answers were:

1. The deal is stupid, the city should manage the rec plex.
2.  What kind of idiot builds something that the intended customer can’t afford?

I see validity in Ald Roddy’s comments about champagne taste. The time to question it would’ve been 8 years ago when we voted to support the sales tax. In time these two large facilities will either be viewed as a great decision or a poor decision, it’s too soon to know.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Thoughts On The Not Yet Open O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex

The $21-$22 million dollar O’Fallon Recreation Complex has been finished for a couple of months now but the facility remains closed.  This facility is the north side equal to the facility that opened in Carondelet Park on November 19, 2009:

The City of St. Louis wanted a new community recreation center on the City’s North Side to serve as a youth and elderly outreach facility, encouraging all ages to be engaged in the community. St. Louis City officials determined that there was significant interest in the North St. Louis area to support this new facility. The project is being funded by a one-eighth-cent sales tax approved by city voters in 2008.

The O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex is designed to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Silver certification for environmental design and sustainability. “This new project shows the City’s commitment to improving the quality of life in North St. Louis,” says St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. “This building will be an amenity for nearby neighborhoods and will provide a fun, safe place for children, adults and seniors to go after school and on weekends. It will help make the community healthier, and will help make our northside neighborhoods better places to live and work. The positive impact of this investment will be enjoyed by the community for years to come.” (St. Louis)

But the operating agreement between the city and the YMCA have yet to be approved.

Alderman Antonio French says Mayor Francis Slay has cut a bad deal for his residents. French says the contractor hired to run the facility — the YMCA — wants to charge his residents and the city government too much money, yet can’t assure him needy children will get in for next-to-free. (stltoday.com) 

And the other side:

Jeff Rainford, Slay’s chief of staff, calls the rec center project the mayor’s “baby” and says he’s not sure why French, who was previously happy with the YMCA’s fee schedule and management proposal, is suddenly holding up the bill. The YMCA says they’ll be able to open the center 90 days after the bill is approved.

“Halfway through, he pulled the bill and started criticizing the mayor,” says Rainford. “We want people to be able to use it. It’d be a crying shame to build this palace on the hill and no one can use it.”

Rainsford [sic] says there will be 1,300 guaranteed scholarships given to kids and their families, 650 will be distributed by the Boys & Girls Club of Greater St. Louis, which is supposed to partner with the Y to provide children’s activities. In order to obtain the lower $25 membership, parents will have to show cause for need and bring in a pay stub or W-2 form. (Riverfront Times)

One issue French told me is YMCA formula for calculating a lower fee, the YMCA says their formula is proprietary information. French says that’s fine for other facilities but not one built with tax money and receiving $1.2 million per year operating subsidy.

Right now both sides have dug in their heels:

The YMCA is lined up to operate the rec center. But city aldermen are raising concerns over a $1.2 million subsidy it would need. That’s $500,000 more per year than an estimate done eight years ago.

It’s not clear exactly where the money will come from.

Slay’s office says under a current plan, 1,300 young people would get a $25 dollar- a-year membership for the center.

Alderman Antonio French says he wants commitments in writing. (KMOV)

No shortage of options:

There’s been a lot of back-and-forthing about who would pay what to use the facility and what discounts might be offered to low-income families. Mr. French told us he’d be satisfied if low-income families paid 60 percent of the planned family rate of $55 a month, or $33 a month. If 5,000 low-income families took advantage of a $22-a-month discount, $110,000 a year would be needed.

Here’s a plan: If all the civic groups and corporations who have bemoaned the lack of recreational opportunities in north St. Louis bucked up, 110 grand would be easy.

Mayor Francis Slay’s office thinks Mr. French is playing politics. He is a paid consultant to Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, who might challenge Mr. Slay for his job next year. Opening a new rec center on the north side before the March primary election might benefit the Slay campaign. (stltoday.com editorial)

So what do you think? Take the poll in the right sidebar (mobile users need to switch to full website). Poll results on Wednesday October 3rd along with my thoughts on the controversy and a look at pedestrian access to the facility.

— Steve Patterson

Speed Bump Bill Hits a Bump in the Political Road

Recently the humble speed bump was elevated to a political issue, from MayorSlay.com:

“Today, I vetoed an odd little bill that would have paid for the installation of speed bumps in one of the city’s 105 parks. The bill’s sponsor ignored the testimony of the Streets Department that there were better and more effective ways to slow traffic and the opinion of the city counselor that such constructions are legally questionable under state and Federal law.

At my direction, the city’s operations director will work with the directors of the Parks and Streets Departments, the city’s chief engineer, the park’s users, and the bill’s sponsor to find appropriate, effective, and legal measures to calm traffic along that stretch of park road. If the issue is safety, not aldermanic courtesy, that will solve the problem.”

The sponsor was 21st ward alderman, Antonio French, a personal friend of many years. The bill was BB43.

I visited O’Fallon Park to check out the places where French wanted speed bumps, namely two points where the newish jogging trail crossing the main internal road in the park. I can certainly see why he wanted something to slow traffic, neither crossing point is marked other than two faint crosswalk lines.

The phrase “speed bump” doesn’t really apply in the case of O’Fallon Park, speed hump is better:

Speed humps are rounded raised areas placed across the roadway. They are generally 10 to 14 feet long (in the direction of travel), making them distinct from the shorter “speed bumps” found in many parking lots, and are 3 to 4 inches high. The profile of a speed hump can be circular, parabolic, or sinusoidal. They are often tapered as they reach the curb on each end to allow unimpeded drainage.

They are both inexpensive and effective.  But the mayor questioned the legality in his blog post on the veto:

The mayor is referring to the recommendation he received from the city counselor’s office, which told him in a statement, “since speed bumps are not explicitly permitted in [Missouri Statutes section] 304.120, they logically fall under the category of prohibited obstructions in [section] 229.030.” The counselor’s office goes on to state that the speed bumps would create additional legal liability for the City. (RFT)

At the request of the Post-Dispatch, the local [MoDOT] office researched state law on the issue, and found no reference whatsoever to speed “bumps,” which are in parking lots, or “humps,” which are in streets, said Traffic Operations Engineer Brian Umfleet.

And the law, Umfleet said today, typically spells out what is illegal. Roundabouts, for instance, aren’t in state law either. Nor are some of the newer, fancier traffic-control methods, such as the “Diverging Diamond,” at Dorsett Road and Interstate 270 – yet MoDOT builds those, too. (STLtoday.com)

How could these crossings have only two narrow crosswalk lines and no signs at all? I wondered if this was the norm so at first I visited O’Fallon’s south side counterpart, Carondelet Park.

The crosswalks in Carondelet Park are significantly more visible than the standard crosswalk markings in O’Fallon Park.

I personally prefer the Zebra or Ladder styles of crosswalk markings.

It would appear the city skimped on pedestrian safety when the jogging path was completed in O’Fallon Park, relative to Carondelet Park at least.  Forest Park uses textured pavement near such crossings to slow traffic, in addition to warning signs. It amazes me French had to introduce a bill and have the mayor veto the bill over something that should have been included with the original installation of the jogging path.

– Steve Patterson

PR: Volunteers Bring Hope to Homeowners on Lee Avenue

The following text is from a press release:

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Alderman Antonio French, Rebuilding Together-St. Louis, The Acts Partnership, and the Boeing Corporation join forces to rebuild one of the northside’s neediest blocks.

(ST. LOUIS) – Last summer, Lee Avenue experienced a string of shootings and drug-related homicides that left residents stunned and shaken. This Saturday, April 30, Alderman Antonio French (Ward 21) hopes to begin to turn that all around.

This Saturday from 7:00AM to 6:00PM, hundreds of volunteers (many from the Boeing Corporation) will rehab eight homes on the 4100-4300 blocks of Lee Avenue (between Newstead and Fair). These eight homeowners will receive complete home makeovers during year two of Alderman French’s innovative block-by-block “Rebuilding” program—a first-of-its-kind partnership between the 21st Ward and the nonprofit Rebuilding Together-St. Louis. This program works by coordinating a large number of volunteers to target homes on one block, on one Saturday, leaving a lasting impact on the whole block.

Saturday on Lee Avenue is the first of three “Rebuilding Days” that will take place in the 21st Ward this year, with the goal of repairing at least 50 homes over the summer and fall of 2011. Each targeted block will also receive needed city services, such as alley and sidewalk repair, demolition of vacant properties, tree-trimming, and street light replacement, as well as assistance in organizing block units. Saturday, volunteers will be doing everything from emergency plumbing and roof repairs to minor tasks like painting and landscaping.

“The residents of Lee Avenue have lived through violence and tragedy during the last twelve months,” Alderman French said. “We are going to do everything we can with the resources we have to rebuild these blocks and show these homeowners that they are not alone. With the help of the volunteers and donated materials that Rebuilding Together and Boeing bring to the table, we can really stretch each dollar we have as far as it can possibly go.”

“Rebuilding Together is grateful for the substantial financial commitment of Alderman French and the 21st Ward,” said Dave Ervin, Executive Director of Rebuilding Together. “We are thrilled to be helping over 50 families repair their homes in the 21st Ward this year thanks to the support of Alderman French, volunteers from Boeing Corporation, and the valuable support from the skilled trades.”

Work is already underway on Lee Avenue, as several long-vacant buildings are being demolished this week in preparation for Saturday’s event. For more info and to volunteer, please contact the 21st Ward TMAP Office at 769-9000.

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So Much Work Still to be Done

The real estate ad for this property might read something like:

Historic Hyde Park fixer upper.  Lots of light, airy interior.  Just needs some tuck pointing and TLC.

We all know how real estate ads can sometimes gloss over obvious flaws.  Clearly this house needs a new gutter too.

Driving through parts of North St. Louis this past weekend I was reminded about how great our city once was and how much work remains ahead of us.  It is one thing to have fewer residents than our peak in 1950 (500K fewer).  On paper that is just percentages.  On the ground it translates into vast areas with more vacant lots & buildings than current residents.  To be sure much of North St. Louis is a bombed out mess but as much or more is like the rest of the city — a wonderful grid of tree-lined streets with well maintained homes.  Some blocks have few houses standing while others have only a few gaps.

I visited newly elected 21st Ward Alderman Antonio French at his residence in the 4500 block of Athlone (map), just West of the beautiful O’Fallon Park.

Saturday was the Operation Brightside blitz cleanup day in French’s area.  Orange city trucks were everywhere.  I drove French through some alleys so he could check the progress in the afternoon.  Considerable amounts of debris had been hauled off but we saw tree limbs and tires remaining.  One of the few vacant lots in the area is directly across the street from French’s house.  But many houses a block over are vacant and need rehab.  Many of the homes on the blocks are stately and impressive.  Even those in need of major rehab are impressive.

At one time all the infrastructure was new.  The houses were new.  The businesses were new.  Now they are historic.  They rival areas in South City for architectural interest.  The cost to rehab a house here costs as much as the same house in South City.  But the house on the South side will likely have a higher sale price.  So the house down South gets rehabbed while the house on the North remains vacant.  Somehow we’ve got to find a way to increase interest in all of St. Louis’ neighborhoods.  We will never again reach the 850,000+ population we had in 1950 but we need to occupy our structures and build new on our vacant lots.

It is a tall order.  Can we do it?  Can we afford to not do it?