Ex Alderman Newsletter 344 and Chesterfield Unapproved 289
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EX ALDERMAN NEWSLETTER 344 AND CHESTERFIELD UNAPPROVED 289 August 26, 2018 TOWN AND COUNTRY AND CHESTERFIELD DEER REPORT Town and Country had the same number of Deer vs Vehicle incidents in July of 2018 (5) as in July of 2017. After killing 364 deer in January of 2018 the Deer vs Vehicle rate only decreased for three months. Since then it has been the same or slightly more in 2018. However the YTD numbers still show 9 fewer deer collisions so far in 2018. 1 2018 Town and Country Deer Vs Vehicle report Aug 22, 2018 32 Ballas Road 1 Ward 1 I-64 at I-270 2 Ward 1 I-64 at or near Mason Road 3 Wards 2 or 3 I-64 at or near Hwy 141 1 Ward 4 I-270 4 Ward 1 Des Peres Road 1 Ward 1 Municipal Center Drive 1 Ward 1 Clayton Road (Mason to Bopp) 2 Wards 1 & 2 Westmoor Place 1 Ward 2 Mason Road south of Clayton Road 2 Ward 2 Mason Road North of I-64 2 Ward 4 South Outer Forty 2 Wards 1, 2 & 4 North Outer Forty 2 Wards 1, 2 & 4 Hwy 141 5 Wards 3 & 4 Ladue Road 1 Ward 4 Woods Mill Road 2 Wards 3 & 4 2 IT SEEMS LIKE CHESTERFIELD HAS FUDGED DEER-ACCIDENT NUMBERS: The Chesterfield Police Department claimed there were no deer-vehicle accidents in July. Then they report how officers were dispatched to shoot and kill three deer badly injured on the side of the road and how officers found four other deer dead on the side of the road. How does the police department think the deer were injured and killed? 3 DEER CAUSES CRASH IN NORTHEAST MISSOURI KILLING 75-YEAR-OLD WOMAN: Phillip Long, 74, was driving the 2012 Harley Davidson Motorcycle. His 75- year-old wife, Sheilah Long was riding behind him on the motorcycle at 8:40 PM Thursday 08/09/18 on Rt. C in Macon County. A deer jumped into their patch causing a crash followed by the motorcycle leaving the road and striking a fence. Phillip was in serious condition while Sheilah was dead. This is from the Missouri Highway Patrol online accident report. EXTERIOR REPAIRS TO THE JARVILLE HOUSE (QUEENY HOME) CONTINUES UNDER A GRANT: The Jarville House that many people refer to as the “Queeny Mansion” facing Mason Road in Queeny Park is undergoing a face lift. The house was built in 1853 and much later purchased by Edgar Queeny, son of the founder of Monsanto. (1928-1960) It is now part of the St. Louis County Parks system. 4 On the north side of the building is a very modern addition that is the entrance to the AKC Museum of the Dog. On the rear of the building is a large special function room. The Museum is shutting down at the end of September as the art work will be packed up over the last three months of the year to be shipped to the Museum’s new home in New York City. Here is the sign in front of the Jarville House ref the improvements: Here are the bid specs of the work being done: 5 TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING AND ZONING: After failing to attend Planning and Zoning meetings, where he has a seat and a vote, for two years Mayor Jon Dalton suddenly appeared at two meetings this summer. But he was back to his old ways in August when he missed the August 15 meeting. Alderman Fred Mayland-Smith was also missing. The first item on the agenda was Grant Dino, the new owner of 18 Brookwood, who wants an over-the-top pool to go with the mega-McMansion he is building. Dino 6 Brookwood used to be an interesting street. There are a lot of ranch houses, many of unusual designs. One of the more interesting was the all stone house at 18 Brookwood Road that sat on a 3.3 acre lot. The house and lot were sold in 2017 for $1,391,000 and the house was torn down. The ranch houses on Brookwood (off of Topping Road) are now in the minority and McMasions or full blown mansions are in the majority. Here is a traditional ranch at 16 Brookwood: And here is what is at 20 Brookwood. (Below) Here is what they are building at 18 Brookwood: (Below) 7 Front of 18 Brookwood Current construction at 18 Brookwood rear 18 Brookwood Here is what they want to add: 8 Grant Dino talked about how all three neighbors would not be able to see the pool and pool house (that looks more like a mausoleum). That made me think back to when I was growing up in Webster Groves. The neighborhood was considered wealthy. But we had walkways to our neighbors. I would play with their dogs, learn to swim next door at the only pool in the subdivision. We knew the neighbors, their dogs and they knew us. Times have apparently changed. A new neighbor in our subdivision was telling my wife, who was walking the dog, how “sterile” the subdivision was with no one stopping to talk. Welcome to “Snoburbia!” In our subdivisions in Kansas City and Maryland, 30 minute walks with the dogs would turn into 90 minutes when neighbors would wave you over to have drinks on their patios. That is not something that happens much in T&C. The house I grew up in where all the neighbors knew each other. 9 The swimming pool with a mausoleum passed on a 5-1 vote with longtime member Dennis Bolazina voting against it. MARYVILLE UNIVERISTY EXPANSION: Does anyone really care what is happening on the upper campus of Maryville University? People care when Maryville wants to expand the campus in public view along Conway Road, not so much on campus.. Maryville wants to add a 3-story 137,516 square to the existing academic building. Academic Science addition Plans were also passed by the Planning Commission to expand the auditorium from 450 seats to 1,000. This expansion would eliminate all close by parking, meaning people attending something at the auditorium will have to park on one of the west side large lots and take a hike. Auditorium addition TOPPING ROAD TASK FORCE: This is another one of Mayor Jon Dalton’s political creations to get nine more people to back him in future elections. The task force met at the Longview Farmhouse on Thursday August 16. Those present introduce themselves 10 and there was no one who claimed any experience as an engineer, although we know that one is a mechanical engineer. Perhaps Andrew Selkirk gave the best qualifications of being selected. “I was having a beer with the mayor when he asked me to be on this,” said Selkirk, who lives nowhere near the project. Selkirk is an “art appraiser.” His family ran the Selkirk auction on the east edge of Gaslight Square for years. In 2002 the company then run by Andrew was sold to Malcolm Ivey. In 2013 Ivey sold the company still using the Selkirk name to Jeff Jeffers and the lawsuits from customers claiming to have been cheated soon followed. + + = Task Force Selkirk Dalton Beer = qualified The Task Force was told their first job was to select one of five engineering firms to handle the street and sidewalk job. There is currently $190,000 in the budget for engineering. The engineering choices are not driven in Missouri by lowest bids, but on design. The staff has reduced the number of applicants to five for the task force to consider. Instead of the Task Force members deciding if they want a presentation from each of the five firms, City Services Director Craig Wilde, strongly suggested they hear from each potential project manager rather than a detailed presentations with power 11 points. Wilde suggested that the personalitiesof the project managers were important since they would be dealing with residents. The first phase on the project is Topping Road from Kent Manor to Clayton Rd. The project is likely to be in two phases. Wilde cut the project in half making the applications for grant money lower and more likely to be granted. It was also announced that the grant application for Phase Two of the street and sidewalk project from Kent Manor or Topping Estates depending on what side of the street the sidewalk is on, was turned down days earlier. The five engineering firms selected for final consideration by the staff are: Burns & McDonnell CBB CDG Horner & Shifrin HR Green Right Away and easement acquisition would not begin until October of 2019 and construction would not start until 2020. Keith Godding brought up one excellent point. Just like Clayton Road after the extra wide sidewalks were installed large groups of bicyclists continued to ride in the street. The problem with Topping is it is narrower with no left-turn lanes and has lots of blind hillcrests. 12 The next problem for the Task Force to deal with is Mayor Dalton’s history of not using eminent domain for sidewalk projects. Right now there is a lot of tax money about to be spent on Mason Road. The original goal was a sidewalk from Clayton Road to the 500-plus acre Queeny Park. However four or five residents refused to sell property as easement and Dalton refused to use eminent domain, not wanting to piss off rich people. PGA #2 We learned from one source that Whitfield Academy at Mason Road and Ladue Road (across Ladue Road from the Bellerive CC) will be getting a new parking lot and new athletic fields.