City Council - Regular Meeting

Is that as a block unit president, I've gotten this gentleman involved with everything we're doing. And I'm extending this hand out to the mayor who's taken on a second term, third term. And we would love for you to come down and visit with us and see us. We're going to have a block unit party. Oh, and the sponsor would invest STL and several other groups shed. And we are going to try to bring about a change in the third ward. And with saying this, the last thing is we know that there is monies that have been set aside because of the buildings that have gone up. in the upper part of Olive. And we would like to know, my constituents, the people I represent, when will that money be available so we can start putting homes together and making people's lives a little better in the third ward? And with that, I thank you for your time, Councilman and Mr. Mayor. Do I press this again?

Thank you very much. Our next request to speak is Ravi Patel.

He's really tall. All right, Ravi Patel, 1542 Raby Drive. Honorable Mayor, Council, and Ms. Sharp, congratulations. I wanted to say thank you, Asharp. I know that a lot of my concerns over the last, we've been living in U City now for two years. There's a defunct construction company that used to own a large parcel of land behind my house. And apparently I was the only one that was noticing all this overgrowth and raccoons and all this other crazy stuff going on. And after many, many months of working with Councilman Smotherson, we were able to, with your help, get it cleared out. And I'm so thankful. The mosquitoes already this year, much less. The raccoons have been evicted. It's nice to see my neighbors on the other side, whether I want to or not. You know, they can see me now. But the work's not done. And I wanted to say thank you. um i i we couldn't have done it without the help of the city that's for sure uh and there's definitely still more work to be done uh this week the city came and picked up people have been dumping trash on that lot for a long time the city came and cleaned that up discovered other things that maybe that that's not desirable but in general i just wanted to say thank you to everyone involved Next, I was going to switch gears. So the only other thing that I can really think about chiming in on Chuck's comments there about some of our renter landlords and in our neighborhood specifically, I mean, we've done research, right? We did it about a year ago. We discovered about 45% of the homes that aren't neighborhood are owned by homeowners that are renting out to their tenants or whatever. And a vast majority of those 45%, those homes are pretty quite derelict. We were talking about soffit falling off. One house has a rake on the roof for the last year and a half. I mean, that home, there's a home where they've been dumping trash behind their home. The parks department found that they might have been defecating on that land as well. So, I mean, there's a lot of problems with these renters that I find very annoying. And it really, it's not just our neighborhood, but it really matters as a citizen when you participate in your city government. I think it matters that you're calling to things to the attention of the city that might have not been known to anyone because unless someone says something, you're not going to know about it. And if there's anyone here that also lives in a community where they would want it to be better or whatever, you just got to participate. Get your neighbors together. participate and figure out a way to make things a little bit better. And I'm happy to report that a big thorn in my side for the last two years is starting to get better. And I just wanted to say thank you. Take care.

Thank you very much. Our final request to speak during this section is Mr. Tom Sullivan.

Tom Sullivan, 751 Syracuse. I think it was a mistake to select Brooke Shark as the new city manager. As suggested before, she will only be Gregory Rose 2.0. Since being appointed interim city manager, she has continued the Rose policy of neglect and indifference. Same as with Gregory Rose, Ms. Sharp can't keep the streetlights on, doesn't care if streets are cleaned, ignores concerns that younger citizens could be electrocuted at streetlight poles, ignores all the dumpsters with damaged or missing lids, can't get the problem traffic signal at Kingsland and Del Mar fixed, et cetera, et cetera. Of course, the city manager selection process was a sham. There wasn't going to be any nationwide search, and the council certainly isn't interested in what University City residents have to say. You never are. I also think voters made a bad choice in reelecting Terry Crowe. It will only mean the further destruction of the character of University City and more mindless development. After destroying the west end of the city, the loop is next. It has become an extended campus for Washington University. The monstrous building that's being completed is way too much for its space. Awful is the usual comment I have heard. There's but one more building to serve Washington U. As far as a diverse business district with unique small businesses, that's becoming a thing of the past. At the same time, what's called the Cicero Building is beginning to lease apartments for students, for our students, of course. And the Cicero space is going on nine years of being vacant, despite being the most visible location in the loop. While the Costco developers got a $70 million subsidy, third ward owners are still wondering if the promises made to improve housing in their ward will be kept. It seems every time the matter is brought up, the city keeps backing off its promises. It will soon be four years since Costco opened. Number of improvement projects completed in a third ward, zero. Number of plan, zero. Yet it was told this program was so unique, it could be a national model. Olive Boulevard was also to be improved, but that hasn't happened. It has gotten worse in some parts. Haley and Olive is looking bad these days. The notorious Seafood City Market building is still vacant. A longtime car wash closed. The old Firestone Auto Repair shop has been vacant for more than five years, along with other vacancies. With the present lineup in City Hall, there is little reason to believe things will get better. Thank you for listening to my comments.

Thank you very much. That concludes our citizen participation section for this part of the agenda. We'll now move forward with any council comments. If there are no council comments, we'll move forward with the public hearing. We have a public hearing scheduled this evening on the proposed budget. I will open that hearing at 6.42 p.m. Madam Clerk, do we have any written comments regarding the budget?

There are none.

Do we have any requests to speak on the budget?

I think you have two.

Two. First request to speak is Mr. Patrick Fox.

My name is Patrick Fox and I live at 1309 Purdue Avenue. I had a chance to review the proposed fiscal year 27 budget that was published on the city's website originally dated May 1st and updated May 26. I want to take the opportunity to provide feedback to the council at this initial stage for consideration as this proposal has some red flags. As someone who regularly reviews financial information and financial reports, it was a tough read. In comparing this year's proposed budget to what was published in prior years, it is missing many crucial components. While there was an explanation in the introduction that was published that this is a draft, to the reader, I have to say that appeared more of an excuse than a reason. Formatting and presentation issues aside, the most distressing part of this recommended budget is just how much information is missing. Last year's fiscal year 26 budget proposal was 280 pages long. And that provided not just requested amounts, but relevant comparative information in addition to extensive narrative context that supports the underlying figures. This year's fiscal year 27 published budget is 80 pages, about 200 less, with little narrative context and no comparative figures from prior period actuals or approved budgets. Prior amounts are key components and necessary to ensuring both the public and decision makers have an understanding of what has changed, what needs attention, and most importantly, it drives the why in the narrative. It's frustrating that a city with our resources and potential has published this as its work product for a $35 million operating budget that includes a significant projected deficit. I previously shared that it would be helpful to have an understanding of the department level distribution of approximately 750,000 in wage increases that was recommended to this body at a prior meeting. This, as you all may remember, was without getting adequate comparable data from three municipalities that border U City, but instead use communities like Creve Coeur, Ledoux, and Clayton as justification. Additionally, nowhere in the budget is there a comparison on expenses by function. As with any organization, personnel is the largest expense area, so that is confusing as to why this was missing. I'm worried that this is the most recent example providing too limited and filtered information in order to satisfy checking a box to complete a necessary function. This has been the city's norm, but I was hopeful that with change in leadership, we could see tangible improvements in how the city shares information with its residents to make crucial decisions. While I recognize there were some additional details released in tonight's meeting packet that was published on Friday, there are still insufficient details that would provide the reader with a comprehensive understanding of what the budget request includes. Here are some questions that would be helpful as a citizen to have to ensure clarity and understanding of the budget. What, if any, are the largest variations between sources of revenue and department expenses over multiple periods? This can be accomplished by a simple formula column that is relatively easy to add. is the breakdown by expense function as compared to prior periods if we only have comparative information on a department's total budget and not the entire city's budget by function like wages benefits and non-personnel related expense categories how would one know whether it is in alignment with existing activities service changes or new initiatives what percentages of each department's share of general operating funds have evolved over time For example, Prop P was passed to ensure there is a dedicated allotment of additional funds for public safety. The ancillary benefit of this was to be budget relieving on general funds, and it is not clear that that's actually what's happening. Why has the finger not been on the pulse of the financials for fiscal year 26? The original budget, amended budget, and current estimate in the packet for tonight are all exactly the same amounts. This seems to be counter to the method one should take in a year with a proposed nearly $4 million general fund deficit. Could the timeline for the budget be shared as it has been in years past? And will there be a deeper dive into some of these areas? And if so, will that be distributed to citizens and published before key votes have to occur? I want to conclude my comments tonight by saying my feedback this evening and on prior occasions are not meant to cause distress, but to attempt to bring attention to these important matters. I think it's important context to share as having served in similar public service roles myself, I understand oftentimes the work is thankless, and I wanted you to hear that directly from me. I worry that my previous feedback might have been construed as overly critical, and that was not my intent, and I want to make sure that that was clear. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Our next request to speak is Eric Kay. We'll let you go the rest of the way, Eric.

Hello, Eric Kushnirkevich, 7344 Melrose Avenue. Honorable Mayor Crowe, City Manager Sharp, and members of the Council. I am here tonight speaking on behalf of the Historical Society of University City as Vice President. We would like to formally request funding in the FY27 budget for a critical step in restoring the University City searchlight that lives above our heads in this chamber. The searchlight is completely unique and to our knowledge, the only one of this size that GE has ever made in its history. Our organization has a comprehensive project plan in place that has been provided to the city to restore the light to its former glory so it can shine over our community once again. We are facing a major barrier at this moment to making this a reality, which is the elevator repairs. To be clear, the light functions and could shine this evening if the elevator was repaired. Midwest Elevator has quoted the necessary repairs at $45,000. We respectfully request that the city considers allocating this financing in the FY27 budget to bridge this gap. The last time major work has been completed with the light was in 1965 when it was rediscovered by Assistant City Engineer Robert Norvell. And we believe it's time for the world to rediscover the light once again. There are too many people I talk to in U City that do not know the light exists because it's been dormant for too long. I am always available to sit down, share project information, answer any questions you may have. And I believe let's use the light for what it was originally intended to do to bring people to U City as a marketing ploy, but bring people to the loop and use it to draw attention to this wonderful city. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Madam Clerk, are there any further requests to speak at the public hearing?

There are none.

Thank you very much. I will now close this public hearing at 6.49 p.m. We'll now move forward to the consent agenda. On the consent agenda, you have the First Amendment to the Facility Use Agreement to allow MAFM to operate its New City Farmers Market at 72 Olive on Wednesdays instead of Thursdays. I think you had the attachments in your packet. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? Motion made by council member Fuller. Is there a second? Seconded by council member Dancy. Is there a discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Ms. Sharp, any updates?

No updates.

Thank you very much. We now have before us resolution number 202604. Is there a motion to approve? Motion made by council member Tiemann. Is there a second? Seconded by Council Member Fuller. Is there discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor of Resolution 202604, please signify by saying aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Let's see. We now have for introduction Bill No. 9582. Who would like to introduce? Council Member Tiemann. Madam Clerk, may we have the first reading of bill number 9582.

Bill 9582, an ordinance authorizing the execution of an employment agreement for the position of city manager.

Thank you very much. Are there any other reports from members of council or from any of their commissions? Hearing none, Madam Clerk, are there any further requests to speak on non-agenda items?

There are none.

Are there any council comments this evening?

Council Member Smotherson. Thank you, Mayor Crow. I just wanted to actually address this to our new city manager, Mrs. Sharp. And this is an issue that we've discussed before. And I just wanted to tell you the results of that. And this is in reference to the damage that's actually on the 1200 block of Purdue. And I wanted to let you know, I literally watched... American Water and MSD sit in their vehicles for two days straight do absolutely nothing, turn around and leave. And I actually stopped one of the MSD vehicles and asked, I said, so in your determination, is this an MSD problem or is this somebody else's? And he said, this is not an MSD issue. Okay, so, and I will tell you that our public works people, did show up and did report that correctly and did discover a five-foot hole under the sidewalk. American Water, MSD, neither one of them got out of their vehicles and examined that situation at all. And so I just wanted to report that. And so, and the reason I'm asking that, I mean, reporting that now is because I want to know what report they send back to our public works people, because I'm very curious as to what their findings were, especially since they literally sat in the vehicles for at least two hours. So just wanted to report that and get some updates on that, on the progress. Thank you.

Any other council comments this evening? My only comments this evening would be to thank and to congratulate Dorothy Davis and Audrey Jones, again, who are the creators of the Mannequins Project in University City that just completed its 17th year with over 25 mannequins now located throughout the entire city. The awards were given out last night. Two scholarships were given to two University City high school students that were going to college in the fall. It's a wonderful project, and I hope that we are able to continue that. As you know, the city supports this project through the Economic Development Retail Sales Tax Fund and the LSBD. So we are grateful that Dorothy and Audrey created this program, and we look forward to the 18th year next year. With nothing else being said, is there a motion to adjourn? Motion made by Councilmember Tiemann. Is there a second? Seconded by Councilmember Fuller. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Oppose the ayes have it. Thank you very much for joining us this evening.