Monday Preservation Board Meeting: 1 Soulard & 2 Fox Park Appeals

stl7thward Preservation Board , , , , ,

lacledesepiaComments may be submitted up to an hour before each Board meeting and will be presented to the Board and entered in the meeting record. Email comments to Adona Buford, Preservation Board Secretary at buforda@stlouis-mo.gov

4 pm Monday, January 27, 2020
St. Louis City Preservation Board
Room 2000, 1520 Market, City Hall West
Open to the Public

Online City Calendar Notice (the link where it says Website is actually Agenda page)

Agenda with Details/Drawings/History of Structures

In Soulard, 7th Ward…

1017-19 Geyer (construct a single family house) was on Preliminary Agenda but not on Final Agenda.Also see pages 13-18 of Agenda from 7/30/2018 

1722-30 S. 9th, Llywelyn’s Pub – Appeal of the Director’s Denial to retain 2 garage doors installed without permit and not up to historic code – Staff Recommends upholding Director’s Denial

In Fox Park, 7th Ward…

2647 Shenandoah – Appeal of Director’s Denial to install 33 solar panels on roof – Staff Recommends upholding Director’s Denial

In Fox Park, 6th Ward...

2743 Gravois – Appeal of the Director’s Denial to Retain a Commercial Building Built Without a Permit – Staff Recommends upholding Director’s Denial

See Agenda for other items including 4 National Register Nominations.

Tuesday Night Dem Prez Debate Watch Parties

stl7thward Presidential Debates , ,

DemDebate

Join Elizabeth Warren Supporters
@ Fitz’s
6605 Delmar Blvd, University City
Event Info

Join DSA St. Louis Bernie Sanders Supporters
@ Earthbound Brewing
2724 Cherokee
Event Info

314 City Bar
1137 Washington
Event Info

Nebula
3407 S Jefferson @ Cherokee
Play Ballot Bingo
Event Info

 

Monday Soulard Property Tax Special District Meeting, Still Sunshine Issues

stl7thward Soulard Special Business District , , , , , ,

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Soulard Special Business District is a special taxing district that funds security/safety services within part of Soulard via property tax collected in part of Soulard. Boundaries. 

Monday’s Soulard Special Business District meeting, like most before it, is in violation of Mayor Lyda Krewson’s Executive Order #60 requiring meeting notices with agendas be posted 24 Hours in advance on City Calendar. The Executive Order applies to all offices, board, commissions subject to Missouri Sunshine Law. Special Tax Districts are required to post Notice AND Agenda at least 24 Business Hours in advance. For a 6:30 pm Monday Meeting, the Notice & Agenda must be posted online by 6:30 pm previous Friday. SSBD did not post the Notice on City Calendar but did not post Agenda.

I have looked for Meeting Agendas and Minutes on the District’s website and did not find anything until recently. There is now a page for Agendas and Minutes hidden under “Helpful Resources” tab. There is, however, no Agenda posted for Monday’s meeting.

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The December 9th meeting had an Agenda posted to the District’s website notices the day of the meeting.  Previous post on Soulard Business District Transparency Issues.

Soulard Special Business District is not Soulard Restoration Group Safety CommitteeSoulard Restoration Group Safety Committee.

Soulard Special Business District is not the new Soulard Community Improvement District, which will fund improvements in part of Soulard via special sales tax collected in part of Soulard. Two of the Special Business District directors, however, are also Community Improvement District directors. Boundaries

Special Taxing Districts have received great criticism from State Auditor Nicole Galloway.

6:30-8 pm Monday, December 9, 2019
Soulard Special Business District
Soulard Station, 1911 S 12th
Open to the Public

City Online Calendar Notice

Soulard Special Business District does not post budgets. It has a 2016 pie chart of expense categories showing percentages.

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That’s not a budget. This is Soulard Special Business District’s 2018 Budget approved by Board of Aldermen. Note, 2018 Budget included $300,000 for “General Security Provider,” That’s TCF, the off duty police officers who patrol in Soulard, Downtown, elsewhere in vehicles marker “Police.”. The Budget also provided $10,000 for “Recognition – TCF Officers.”

There’s $6,000 budgeted for “Business Management,” so there’s no reason meeting Agendas should not be posted online in accordance with law.

UPDATED: Sunshine Request For Soulard CID Tax Election Results

stl7thward Soulard Community Improvement District , , , , , ,

Updated January 13, 2020 with January 10, 2020 response from David G. Richardson, Husch Blackwell, attorney for Soulard Community Improvement District. The records will be turned over by January 17th. You would think that part of the records could be turned over immediately. Hard to believe the election authority- Husch Blackwell- does not have a file folder with a letter to Soulard CID Board with number of  votes cast, number of Yes votes, number of No votes, that could be forwarded as partial  comply with Sunshine request.

SoulardCIDSunshineHusch
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Imagine if your city had a website that failed to provide contact information- no physical address, no phone number, and the email link was dead, but if you clicked on and read every page, eventually you’d find the email address buried on another page.

Imagine if your city held a tax election where the ballots were mailed and counted by a law firm, not conducted by your Election Board or elected County Clerk or Election Director, and the election results were not posted online except percentage of Yes and No votes.

That’s the situation with Soulard Community Improvement District. It is, under State law, a taxing district, a political subdivision, a governmental unit. It is bigger than many cities in Missouri. And it has a transparency problem, which would come as no surprise to the Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway.

Soulard CID held a mail in sales tax election conducted by its legal counsel- Husch Blackwell.

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It has failed to publish election results even remotely resembling that what would happen in an election conducted by Board of Election.

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To get the election results, I have made a Sunshine request today.

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I’ll let you know the response. I plan on writing more on this faux election later.

— Marie Ceselski, former 7th Ward Democratic Committeewoman

 

 

2020 Legislative Preview: 5th Senate, 78th & 79th House Districts

stl7thward Missouri General Assembly , , , , , , , , ,

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The Missouri House of Representatives convenes at Noon, January 8. At that time, 5th Ward Democratic Committeeman Rasheen Aldridge will be sworn in as 78th District State Representative. The 78th District includes all or part of the 7th Ward’s Downtown, Kosciusko, LaSalle Park, Peabody, and Soulard neighborhoods.

79th District State Representative LaKeySha Bosley represents all or part of the 7th Ward’s Fox Park, Lafayette Square, McKinley Heights, and Tower Grove East neighborhoods.

Representing all 7th Ward neighborhoods in the Missouri Senate is 5th District State Senator Jamilah Nasheed 

In gun related legislation…

Senator Nasheed filed SB 543 to create new provisions relating to firearm restraining orders.

Rep. Bosley filed HB 1586 to regulate the sale of firearm ammunition.

Rep. Aldridge filed HB 1824 to require a firearm owner to report lost or stolen firearms.

In St. Louis Public Schools related legislation…

Senator Nasheed filed SB 626 to require every school in the St. Louis City School District to use a response-to-intervention tiered approach to reading instruction for students struggling to read.

Senator Nasheed filed SB 627 to elect the St. Louis City Board of Education from seven districts.

Senator Nasheed and Rep. Aldridge are sponsoring SB 542 and HB 1780 to restore voting rights to persons convicted, served their time, and released but on probation or parole.

Senator Nasheed also filed SJR 35, a constitutional amendment to require redistricting to use last residence of persons incarcerated instead of where they are incarcerated.

Rep. Bosley is also sponsoring HJR 83, a constitutional amendment to limit votes for county mergers to the counties affected by the merger. This is legislation was filed last year and was passed out of committee. The legislation was and is a counter measure to Rex Sinquefield funded Better Together Plan to give statewide voters the right to dictate what kind of government St. Louis City and St. Louis County should have.

Rep. Aldridge has filed HB 1781 to authorize a tax credit for establishing a new business in a distressed community.