Arnold Arsenal Newsletter, June 24th Edition

The Arnold Arsenal

Arming the Arnold citizenry with information  regarding their City government

June 24, 2013

HAPPY JULY 4TH!!!

CELEBRATE SAFELY!

City Council Business

Next Meeting

Because July 4th falls on a Thursday, the work session & regular council meeting will be held on July 11th 7:00 pm

Last Meeting

Ordinances

Bill #2551: An Ordinance Approving the Amended C-4 Planned Commercial for Lots 2 and 3 of Vernon Rhodes Subdivision, and Approving the Preliminary/Final Development Plan for Lot 3 of Vernon Rhodes Subdivision. Passed.

St. Elizabeth’s Adult Day Care will be constructed on Lot 3 of this property. It is believed the developer will be selling Lot 2. This property is located on the West Outer Road next to Plaza Tire.

Resolutions

Resolution #13-22: A Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Enter into a Contract with J. H. Berra Construction Company, Inc. to Undertake the Construction of the Karley Lift Station Improvements Project for the City of Arnold. Passed.

This is a failing sanitary sewer lift station near Karley Drive & Lonedell on the west side of I-55. This repair was placed in the budget for $40,000. The project bid from J. H. Berra came in at $31,999.

Resolution #13-23: A Resolution in Support of the Preservation of Tax-Exempt Financing. Passed.

I voted against this resolution. I see the use of tax-exempt financing as a detriment to our City not a benefit.  I will further explain my thoughts on the Patch.

Resolution #13-24: A Resolution Providing for the Beautification of the City of Arnold, MO by Establishing a Capital Improvement and Matching Grant Program – to be Known and Cited as the Cooley-Fulbright City Beautification Program. Passed.

I believe I’ve made my opinion known regarding this resolution and I did question the validity of this resolution during the meeting. For the most part, my questions were met with silence. There is no projected budget nor are there caps established for Phase One of the program. Mr. Cooley said there would be caps, but he thought there would only be one or two neighborhoods utilizing the program and it wouldn’t cost that much.  There was no distinction of the expanse of Phase Three regarding the I-55 corridor improvements except that they were to be funded by Tourism. Again, I’m not sure how the tourism fund is going to foot the bill for this improvement as it already runs on a deficit budget.

When I questioned the naming of the program I was told they worked hard and were told by others it would be a good thing to name it after themselves. I pointed out Mr. Amato worked very hard on bringing the Recreation Center to town, but it wasn’t called the Amato Recreation Center. There was no response.

Resolution #13-25: A Resolution Waiving Trash Collection Fees for the Month of September, 2013. Passed.

This was needed because the City’s current budget runs from September 2012 to August 2013. Council waived trash fees for this time period only, but because bills for this service run quarterly and the next quarter being billed includes, July, August & September, it was decided to waive the fees for September only in order to cover the upcoming quarterly bill.

When the budget for September 2013 to August 2014 is presented to council, there will be a discussion regarding waiving trash collection fees for October 2013 through the end of the budget year.

Originally, Mr. Moss made a motion to approve this resolution with a correction in the wording of the resolution itself. I seconded his motion. Within the resolution, there is a reference to “free trash”. Mr. Moss and I both agree the wording of “free trash” needs to be replaced by a true representation of this resolution, “tax subsidized trash fees”.

The change in the motion was voted down by every other council member present. There was another motion made leaving the wording as is, which passed, with every council member voting for it, including me and Mr. Moss.

There are indeed politics being played in this town, but don’t be fooled by who’s leading the charge. I will comment further on this issue on the Patch.

Motions

None.

City News

Arnold Arsenal – A Patch Blog

I have started blogging on the Patch. This is something new for me, but after several requests to do so, I finally decided it was yet another way of getting the word out. I invite everyone to check it out as I will be doing more extensive pieces regarding City business.

http://arnold.patch.com/blogs/the-arnold-arsenal?yPos=456

Coffee with Council

July 10th 9a-11a Jaycees Room at the Library.

Community Garden

The group has now adopted a name (Cultivating the Community) and our garden plans continue to move forward. Several members will be talking and meeting with people from other organizations to firm up our 501c3 status, leasing the property and designing the garden. We are always looking for new ideas so please contact me if you are interested. Our next meeting will be on July 24th at 7pm. Please email or call (636-467-2057) me if you are interested.

Board/Commission Meetings

If you’re interested in the agendas of any meetings below, please contact me.

Planning & Zoning will meet tomorrow, June 29th @ 7:00 in Council Chambers.

ALWAYS REMEMBER: BE INVOLVED

THIS IS NOT ONLY WHERE YOU LIVE, THIS IS YOUR HOME

TOGETHER WE CAN BUILD ARNOLD INTO A COMMUNITY OF WHICH WE CAN BE PROUD