FOCUS St. Charles County SPRING 2012 County Executive’s Message In this issue... County, Taxpayers Work Together on Roads Transportation Funds t. Charles County year, the rural areas complained that most of the Improve County Sis celebrating its benefits would accrue to the developed areas of Roadways ...................... 2 bicentennial year. As late the county and the issued failed to pass. as 1871, the county’s road Such urban versus rural disputes remained tax was only two-tenths of an impediment to progress for another decade. Heroin Harms Our a cent. That year, voters set To build support for future road improvements, Community ................. 3 Steve Ehlmann aside parochial interests and the County established a transportation task County Executive approved an appropriation force in 1985. It identified five transportation Personal Property of $25,000 per year for five priorities: the preservation of a corridor for the Valuation ...................... 3 years, for the construction extension of Page Avenue; construction of 370; a and maintenance of county roads. Most of South Fifth Street extension; the improvement of the state lettered routes in the county were Mexico Road; and construction of an outer belt Council Comments ... constructed in the following decades. road around Wentzville. Later that year, voters .......................................... 4-5 With overwhelmingly the advent Throughout St. Charles County’s 200-year existence, residents approved a ½-cent of the have come together to improve roadways and expand our sales tax that would Nature Classroom at communities. (Historic photo courtesy of the St. Charles County Towne Park .................. 6 automobile, Historical Society) sunset in 10 years. special A Road Board was interests established that Emergency Response and the recommended Planning ......................... 7 motoring projects to the public County Commission. Indoor Football demanded Not only were the Returns to Arena ....... 7 paved roads, identified priorities and county met, but voters additional passed a road projects FOCUS $1 million improved St. Charles County bond issue safety, is a publication of and for road strengthened paid for by improvements in 1920. While the proposal the arterial St. Charles County garnered only a simple majority in St. Charles, it road network Government won overwhelming support of the rural areas. and aided Office of Public By May 1975, the Road and Bridge tax had economic Information increased to five-tenths of a cent, but brought in development of the county. The road-building 100 N. 3rd St., Suite 210 only $1.5 million, far short of what was necessary program was so successful that, voters have twice St. Charles, MO 63301 to maintain the transportation network. When extended the tax in additional ten-year increments. (636) 949-1864 the County asked voters to approve a $10.3 To date the County Road Board has completed [email protected] million bond issue for road improvements that projects totaling almost a half billion dollars. Transportation Sales Tax Funds Improve County Roadways he St. Charles County Road Board Mall Drive, is possible because MoDOT bond issue to build the road to the plant. has used the ½-cent transportation received an infusion of funds from the Since 1985, the County Road Board has salesT tax to improve the safety of our roads, county’s ½-cent transportation sales tax funded several projects in the High Tech expand the system and increase the capacity and the City of St. Peters. This project will Corridor, making it possible for employers of existing arterial roads and assist in now be completed before, and provide relief like MasterCard to move to St. Charles economic development. from, the Blanchette Bridge shut-down County. The Salt River Road extension Over the last 27 years, farm-to-market later this year. In addition, Phase III of Page has provided access to industrial parks roads like Upper Bottom, St. Peters-Howell, in St. Peters. Lake Saint Louis Jung’s Station, McClay, Feise, Bates, Henning, More than 440 miles of county roadways requested Road Board Funds to Guthrie, Duello and Green’s Bottom have have been improved or extended using finance the streets leading to The been widened and straightened. Further, transportation sales tax revenues. Shoppes at Hawk Ridge. Road the County used transportation sales tax infrastructure for other major dollars, after a series of fatal accidents, to employment centers in St. Charles provide the local cost-share for the Missouri Avenue Extension, between Mid Rivers Mall County, including Citigroup, MasterCard Department of Transportation’s (MoDOT) Drive and I-64 would not have been funded and Enterprise Leasing, were funded in part recently completed safety improvements to without a commitment by the County to from the transportation sales tax funds. shoulders of numbered and lettered routes match state and federal funds with funds It is clear that the transportation in the southwest part of the county. from the county’s ½-cent transportation sales tax has been the catalyst behind road The revenue has also been used to sales tax. improvements needed to improve safety, extend or build entirely new thoroughfares When the General Motors Assembly keep traffic moving and support economic like Wentzville Parkway, Mid Rivers Plant was built in Wentzville in the early development in St. Charles County. Mall Drive, Tom Ginnever Boulevard, 1980s, County government had to pass a Winghaven Boulevard, T.R. Hughes Boulevard, Lake Saint Louis Boulevard St. Charles County Road Projects and Interstate Drive. The most recent example is the Completed Using Transportation Tax Revenues Salt River Road extension. Since opening in late 2011, it has allowed westbound Highway 370 traffic to avoid the congestion on I-70 at Mid Rivers Mall Drive. Many motorists have incorporated Salt River Road into their daily commute and many others have discovered that Salt River Road provides them with an opportunity to keep moving when I-70 is stop and go. The key to our future The roads marked in green were all upgraded using revenue arterial road system is collected from the ½-cent transportation sales tax. Over the last Route 364 (Page Avenue 27 years, this revenue has funded the improvement of more than Extension). Phase II, 440 miles of roadways within St. Charles County. extending to Mid Rivers FOCUS St. Charles County • Spring 2012 • Page 2 Growing Heroin Use a Danger to Our Community t. Charles County Twenty years ago, a heroin addict was deaths in our county. has been known perceived to be some back-alley junkie or The Wentzville School District asS one of the top five someone from a lower social class with recently partnered with the National Missouri counties no moral compass or useful purpose in Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse to for meth lab seizures life. That has changed. Heroin users now present a town hall meeting on the heroin for several years. The come from all social and economic levels of problem. The 300 attendees were provided St. Charles County society. information by law enforcement personnel, Tom Neer Regional Drug Task The most widely accepted explanation representatives from treatment centers Sheriff Force continues to use for heroin deaths is the result of a quantity and a testimonial from a local mother who every available resource or quality of heroin in excess of a person’s found her teenage son dead in his bedroom to reduce the production and distribution tolerance to the drug. The purity of heroin as the result of a heroin overdose. of meth in our county while combatting on the streets today is considerably higher We plan to have at least three more another major threat to our community – than in the past. town hall meetings to provide as much heroin. Conventional methods of drug information as possible to county residents Heroin overdose fatalities tripled from enforcement have not produced the desired about what needs to be done to reduce the 2007 to 2010, going from seven deaths in results, and heroin deaths continue to market for heroin. We will also provide 2007 to 22 deaths in 2010. We experienced increase. Law enforcement agencies cannot information on signs of heroin abuse and a slight decrease in 2011 with 18 deaths, but fight this crisis alone. We need the help how to obtain help before a friend or loved we are on the path to another increase with of churches, community organizations, one becomes another statistic. Help law five deaths in the first two months of 2012. schools and, most importantly, parents. The enforcement help you. We cannot win this The majority of those who die from heroin more informed and educated people are the battle alone. overdose are between the ages of 15 and 35. better our chances are of eliminating heroin VIN Tracking Bestows Value on Your Vehicle n January, the Dealers Guide (NADA). Prior to using the and upgrades — they hadn’t been paying Assessor’s office VIN to identify personal property, many the rate that they should have been assessed Imails approximately inconsistent and incomplete descriptions in previous years. 170,000 personal of vehicles were used depending on the Tax rates are determined annually property declarations amount of information returned by the by each local taxing authority after the to St. Charles County taxpayer. assessments/values are certified, meaning Scott Shipman residents. This may have unfairly shifted the tax the tax amounts are unknown during the Assessor You may have burden to others. time values are established. Incorrect noticed on your Some, who did not include all of the vehicle descriptions would result in 2012 declaration the inclusion of the bells and incorrect values and unfairly vehicle identification number (VIN) for whistles of distribute more or less of the Automobile property values many of your items. This information the vehicle on tax burden based on these was collected for the 2011 assessment declarations are generated using the discrepancies.