City Council - Regular Meeting

All righty. Greetings, everyone. All right. We'll call the Olivet City Council meeting on August 11th, 2026 to order, please. Can we please have roll call?

Mayor Lewis.

Present.

Chairman Pro Tem Sean Hallman. Here. Council Member Solomanov.

Here.

Council Member Jurgel. Here. And Council Member Clark is absent with an excuse.

All right. We're going to move on to item two, communications. Are there any communications to share?

I have no written communications.

All right. We will be moving on to Beverly. We'll be introducing a new employee. Beverly?

If you want that microphone, there's one behind.

You hit it. Yeah.

Good evening. Good evening, Mayor, Council Members, Beverly Tucker Knight, Parks and Recreation Director. And this evening, I have the pleasure of introducing you to Will Gooden Jr. Will, come on up. So Will is our new recreation coordinator. He comes to us most recently working for the YMCA. And Will is originally from Kansas City. And he went to the University of Missouri.

And... Jeff City.

Sorry. Jefferson City. I apologize. The cities, you know. So we're thrilled to have him with us. He's already been thrown under the wheels of the very swiftly moving soccer bus, and he's doing really well. So we're very thrilled to have him with us. And if you'd like to ask him any very easy questions, you're more than welcome to.

I was going to ask you something about Kansas City, but now I'm not. If you're a Cardinals or Royals fan or something.

Oh, go Cards. Okay. what'd you say?

Yeah. Well, we're very excited for you to be a part, you know, of the, of the team.

So I appreciate it.

It's nice. Yeah. Okay. People online.

I'm not used to holding microphones, but it's nice to meet you guys. I'm looking forward to it. Like she said, I've been diligently working with Hannah and Pat over there for a month now, almost a month and a half. So very blessed to be here for you guys. So hopefully I get a chance to meet everybody.

And I will give you props that I also, I coach. So I see all the things firsthand. So it's been very nice to have dates way up front, no late registrations, lots of good improvements over previous years. So thank you.

I appreciate that. Thank you, Mike.

Well, a big welcome. Thank you for coming. And we're happy to have you. Thank you very much. All right. So we are going to move on to a very special proclamation. I'll be heading down there.

And I'll invite Sue up to join me, please.

All right, can you hear me okay? Well, everyone else. So we're here tonight to honor Sue Rich. We have a proclamation. I'm going to read the whole thing because I like saying whereas, and I think it's exciting. So proclamation honoring the service of Sue Rich, whereas Sue Rich has served the city of Olivet with distinction as a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission for 12 years. offering steady dedication, sound judgment, and an abiding love for our community's parks and open spaces. And whereas she served as chair and vice chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission for three years, providing thoughtful leadership and guiding the commission's work with vision and integrity. And whereas Sue played an instrumental role on the team that developed the city's comprehensive parks master vision plan, helping to chart a long-term course for the growth and stewardship of Olivet's park systems. And whereas she spent six weeks working in the field to personally compile the city's parks inventory, ensuring that future planning would rest on accurate firsthand knowledge of our parks. And whereas Sue contributed countless volunteer hours at citywide special events and in the parks and recreation office, embodying the spirit of civic service in ways both visible and behind the scenes. And whereas she founded the Summer Camp Sunscreen Program and personally donated sunscreen for the program over several years, demonstrating the lasting commitment to the health and safety of all of its children. And whereas Sue worked closely with the commission to develop all of that wayfinding program and contributed to the individual park designs for renovations, leaving a tangible and enduring mark on the city's parks and public spaces. Now therefore, I, Brian Lewis, on behalf of the Mayor and City Council, do hereby proclaim my deep gratitude and that of the entire community to Sue Rich for 12 years of exceptional service to the Olivet Parks and Recreation Commission, embodying the Parks and Recreation mission to create community through people, parks, and programs, and extend our sincere thanks for a legacy of leadership, generosity, and dedication that will benefit our parks and our residents for years to come. Parks make life better. Thank you very much for your service and volunteer work. All right. Thank you very much. Volunteer work, dedicated 12 years, having served on a board for Council for a while. It's a lot of work and your dedication is really, truly appreciated. It does make all of that better. It makes our parks better and our parks are something to be so proud of for the city. All right. Anything you want to say? I'm not going to force you.

I prefer the behind the scenes part. I just wanted to thank the city for allowing me to serve for 12 years. And everyone that I served with, especially Maxine, Bruce Springer, Beverly, of course, Carlos and all the others that helped. So thanks so much. And I know I'm forgetting Jim person, I shouldn't start naming names, because I'm gonna get in trouble. But I appreciate the city's appreciation.

And I'll open it up. Beverly, did you want to say anything? Maxine? Anyone? Now, you know, I'll put you on the spot.

Well, when I started, Sue was a brand new commissioner and I started 11 years ago and all that looked very different. So we've had a lot of growth in the last few years. But in our recreation department, I didn't have any clerical help. I had a part time person and we had one recreation coordinator. two recreation coordinators, and that was it. And when it came time to really start digging in and getting a lot of work done and really charting the course of what we were going to do to turn the department around, Sue came in and volunteered for us. I had no one to help me stuff envelopes, run the postage machine. I was new to the community, new to the city, new to the state. And Sue showed me where the post office was downtown. That was a big adventure. So I really have, you know, incredible fondness for Sue and the appreciation for everything she did to help me as a new employee and a new community member. So thank you very much, Sue. And I will miss you very much. You do, you get to take that home.

Anyone on the council? Do you give me an offer? Okay.

I'll just say a couple of brief words because Sue and I got to serve on the Parks Commission for a short time while you were chair as well and excellent leadership. And I look forward to continuing to get to say hello to you as you do your daily walks in front of my house to the park and around. And I know that your service behind the scenes for all of that, I have a feeling it's going to continue. Yeah. But very grateful for all that you've done for all of it, and especially for the parks over the past few years. The past 12 years, not three years.

I got to know Sue mainly through her sister, Jodi. And what a family, you know, of truly being dedicated to Olivet. It's really, you guys are, your family is a great mentor to everybody who lives in Olivet as far as working behind the scenes, not looking for any limelight, but doing all the things that need to get done here. And It's great. And it's very impressive how the Parks Commission itself, all the members, not only do they just attend the meetings, but they're doing countless hours of volunteer work beyond the meetings that occur. And it's a great commission. And it was under great leadership that you've set up. So thank you very much.

Thank you. Okay. All right. We are going to move on to item three, city manager's report. Report, please.

Good evening. All right. So it is the first of the month, first meeting of the month. And so we give the kind of update for all of crossings. Um, lot three. So all the tenant spaces except one have been filled and then the fountain, the plumbing permits have been pulled. And, um, not only have they been pulled, they have also been issued and through St. Louis County, and then work continues to move forward on the fountain. So hopefully that will be up and running shortly. Tanya Kessler- lot five if you've not heard the announcement Texas roadhouse is coming, and then the developer has in fact submitted a preliminary plat. Tanya Kessler- To divide lot five into two parcels and so that's currently under review by staff and I believe will be coming to PC DC and eventually counsel to divide that piece of ground. Tanya Kessler- And then lot six, which is the hotel, I do not have an update for. We do invite everybody August 31st to Paris Baguette, which is on Lot 3 of Olive Crossing, with Coffee with a Cop. So members of the Olivet Police Department will be there at Paris Baguette from 8 in the morning until 10 in the morning on August 31st to meet with residents, community members, anyone who wants to just stop by and chat with them. There will be a limited number of Paris baguette pastries available. So come early. All of that night out is happening next month, September 15th. So we encourage neighborhoods or subdivisions to have a block party and you can register that block party with the police department and members of city council and city staff will stop by. And so it's a lovely evening. We have moved it to September. So hopefully the weather cooperates. to be out to meet your neighbors and have individuals come by. So you can certainly follow the QR code to register or the website that's shown on the screen. The beginning of September is the annual Battle of the Badges, which is a blood drive between the police department and the fire department. It is held here at Olivet City Center, and it is a friendly competition between our public service departments. Each department has a very compelling story as to why blood drives are near and dear to their heart, and so participants in the blood drive do get to vote for their public service department of their choice. Unfortunately, the police department has not had a good showing the last several years. So although I think last year, maybe it was tied or it was pretty close. So by one, okay. It was very close. So come out, donate blood for the American Red Cross and then show your support for police or fire. The Parks and Rec Department is hosting a trivia night September 18th at Five Oaks. So get your friends together. The theme is sitcoms from the 1990s to the 2000s. So doors open at 6, trivia begins at 7, it's tables of 8. So follow the QR code to register. It is a 21 and up event. And then if you have a new driver in the family, the police department does have car magnets indicating that you have a new driver. So these are free. You're welcome to come and see the police clerk Monday through Friday from 8 to 5 and get your magnet so that you can put it on your car so that other drivers understand that the driver of your car may be a little bit slower, a little more cautious as they are learning to drive. And then if you've not seen it yet, the activity guide for Five Oaks, the fall and winter activity guide has been published and should be arriving in mailboxes shortly. You can also find it online and it has a whole host of activities going on at Five Oaks. Everything from adult classes to fitness classes to children's programs, community programs. So it has been refreshed. They have a new layout and it looks lovely. So I would encourage everyone to read through the activity guide. And then I always encourage people to sign up for Olivet Weekly. It is the weekly newsletter that is put out by the city that has a whole host of information about things that are coming up in the near term. So you can sign up on the city's website for that weekly newsletter. And then I just have a couple general updates. So unfortunately, our building inspector one, the candidate stopped communicating with HR. So we are going to go back out to find a new building inspector. We don't know exactly what happened, but they're just not communicating with us. The finance director is continuing to move through the process. And we hope to have that individual starting in August. They held interviews for police officers last week. They have two positions open and the city is expecting to make officers offers to two candidates this week. And then the Hicks Carter Hicks survey, the inclusion committee is pivoting a little bit. They are choosing to change their name to the employee engagement committee. They feel like that's more, welcoming to employees kind of a little more reflective of what they're doing. And then they're going to focus on employee recognition, which was something that came out of the survey results is something that was lacking in the city. And then my follow up meeting with Hicks Carter Hicks is scheduled for August 18. So we'll get back to you on that. And then upcoming meeting dates. And I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

Does anyone on the council have any questions?

No. All right.

Thank you very much. Appreciate it. All right. We'll move on to item four, city council liaison reports. So council members will give a report from any activities they've been doing or things they've attended. Council member Solomanov. I don't have a report for this evening. All right. Council member Chabot.

I have nothing to report this evening. All right.

Chairman Pro Tem, Sean Hellman.

I attended the PCDC meeting on Thursday, August 6. Most of the discussion that evening was around a text amendment for coin operated laundromats, which are currently not permitted. And so the commission is discussing the option of a text amendment that would permit them under a special permit use. It was This is our second time discussing this particular topic and it's been a very good discussion. Lots of items that have come up on both sides and the discussion is still ongoing. So if there are any thoughts or feelings that council members have about this item that you would like for me to bring to the commission, just ask you to let me know.

I was there with the original time they brought it forward a long time ago, like just didn't brought it forward. It seemed that was intriguing, very interesting business to have, especially with, you know, different apartments or different things in the neighborhood where people might need that. It seemed like a really, and they had mentioned coin laundries have changed quite a bit in terms of from quarters to, you know, obviously using your phone and things like that.

So do you know which way they're leaning or is it kind of a. I think it's a little too early to say. Carlos presented some great information. on the apartments within Olivet and how many of them have laundry services either in the units themselves or in the buildings. And it was, by and large, almost every apartment complex. There was just one that did not. And it was a smaller building that did not provide some sort of laundry hookups or laundry machines in the building. And then also received a map of kind of the general area around us and where existing uh coin operate they're still calling them coin operated although they're more than likely not going to have coins um uh and there's one not too far down olive in u city and then one not too far on page in overland um so i think it's still it's still a good a good discussion um and i appreciate the some of the information that staff that carlos has brought um regarding potential zoning considerations just to help inform the commission. And should the commission decide to move forward with the text amendment, it would then come to council for our approval or denial, but further discussion for sure.

Is there any company that's interested in setting one up or?

So this text amendment was actually brought forth by a company that is interested in establishing one in all of it.

Anything else?

Yes. So we did have a new member on the commission and we did a nice review of the comprehensive plan and priorities, which I think anytime we can go back to our comprehensive plan, it's good and important, especially with a new member. And then finally, I want to invite council members and any of the public on staff who might be interested tomorrow, August 12th, from 10 to 1130 at St. Louis City Hall. Cool Cities STL is hosting a workshop or a pop-up rather on extreme heat. Quite timely. It just happened to line up with while we're having the extreme heat that we are having right now, but it is an exploration of the heat impacts in this region and ways that cities can work within the limits of nature to better provide for their citizens and to offer safety alternatives in the case of extreme heat. So if anyone who's interested, it's open to the public tomorrow, 10 o'clock, St. Louis City Hall.

Thank you. I have a few things. I think because I'd missed last meeting, I was able to attend the Dreamsteam Academy's preschool graduation, which was a lot of fun where they asked me to come and sign the diplomas and they were there. They had a whole activity and, you know, pomp and circumstance for the kids and it was super cute. And so, and it was well covered by local news stations as well as a other publications. So it was really exciting to offer that. And so really happy to see that. And then the city manager and I met with the new superintendent for Ladue Schools, Dr. Macy, in an effort just to kind of, you know, reach across the aisle and have conversations and understand how we collaborate together. What challenges are we seeing? Are they seeing? How do we make sure we're working together on everything? It was great first meeting. We came up out with a few action items on things we're going to just follow up on and work together on. So I look forward to more of that and Part of the conversation, which we always hear is when people bring new housing to the city, you know, a lot of concern is, well, the schools can't handle that or that's going to be a big problem. And I asked that question directly. And I, you know, paraphrase would say that generally they find that as long as this school district is engaged and informed, which they usually are as part of these, you know, activities that well in advance, they know something's coming, they are able to adapt for it. So there was not an open current concern for them right now. So it is interesting that I learned that Ladue school system, I think in the last 10 years has grown 10.4% in attendance, where most Missouri school districts have been declining. So, you know, it shows the, I think a lot of reasons people move to this area and other surrounding communities. So it's very exciting. So, um, All right. And then obviously, for those who didn't hear our last work session a week ago, we actually did discuss flock cameras as well as the Indian Meadows Pavilion. It was good discussion. Staff brought a lot of great information for us to counsel that we discussed. So we will be discussing those again, I think, on September 1st will be our actual session on that. So for anyone who wants to hear more about that, that'll be on September 1st. I don't see anyone here specifically who are going to be addressing it, but just in case, and would encourage everyone to attend as well if they're curious. All right, so moving on to item five. So this is items from council members. Again, something where the council members can bring up a topic they want to discuss at a further work session. We're not necessarily going to debate it here, but any new items that you want to bring up for a future conversation?

I was curious about the wayfinding. plan that was put in place or developed and just kind of where that's, you know, is that going to be implemented? What's our plan of attack for that? And I like a lot of those ideas that are in there. But I do know there's budgets and constraints that also need to be balanced out.

I think a number of those items have been implemented in the parks. There were some items for kind of signs at the entrance of the city. Those are very expensive, even in like 2016, 17, 18 dollars. So it is not currently budgeted, but we have been implementing the things that we can most specifically in the parks and along the trails.

It's a great plan. I do like what they're doing with the parks. I just like the idea of the city signs as well and notifications of upcoming events. I think that would be great, but I do realize and understand the cost.

That may be a future Bruce or someone else can bring something forward. Okay. I don't have anything to bring up.

I don't have anything.

Neither do I. All right. Thank you all. All right. We're gonna move on to item six hearing from citizens. So in this portion of the agenda where anyone present in person or virtually may address the city council regarding any topics, including those later in the agenda, each speaker is allowed up to three minutes to address the mayor and city council hearing from citizens is designed for the council to receive feedback rather than for direct dialogue. So again, we're not necessarily, we're not going to be responding or giving feedback directly, but we will take speakers in person first, followed by any online. If you're in person, please complete a speaker card, give it to the clerk. If you've already given your card to the clerk, we'll take you an order which you submitted your card. If you're online and wish to speak, please use the raise your hand feature and you will be added as a speaker. For all speakers, when you come up, please make sure the mic's on. Please give us your name and address just so we can record that prior to delivering your remarks. All right. Do we have anybody who wants to come up and speak? Come on up.

How about not?

Yep.

Thank you for letting me take this time. My name is Doug Cohen and I own Douglas Properties. I wanted to give an update on the project across the street, the townhouses. We've had two closings so far and prices are ranging now between $800,000 and $900,000 per unit. Over the last 25 years, I have invested with my wife some $100 million into this zip code loan. I have brought in 80 families that have helped support the local restaurants and shops up and down along Olive Street Road. I used to ride my bike up and down the strip centers here and visit all my school-age friends all throughout this town. I don't think there's anybody that is more familiar with this city than myself. I went to Old Bonham School. My kids went to Old Bonham School. I think it's a safe assumption to say that my investments in this community have had a big factor in the ever-changing landscape of the housing scenario in Olivet. My family does not live in the city anymore, although we have lived in three different houses in this community. I want to preface this meeting, so to speak, by saying that both Carlos and both fire reps are doing a great job, and I fully respect everything that they're doing. And by stating that also, my architectural firm, Core 10, has missed a few strokes, even though they are a very large and very reputable firm, and they have never had the kind of issues that I'm about to speak about with any other municipalities throughout town. My complaint tonight is with the field inspector, Scott Wagner. He's done everything in his power to cause numerous delays to this project, and these delays have become very costly. My main question tonight is a code issue. And I'm frustrated on why my first two buildings, we'll call them six and seven, would fall under one code and one through five would fall under another. All this does is add cost to the tune of approximately $50,000 to each building with barely a benefit. This topic is not a Scotty item. It's a console item. Most municipalities have granted an exception to this installation requirement, including Creve Coeur. There's been some examples of delays that I just want to talk about real quick with Scotty, where we had a party wall and the electricians were putting electric in the party wall because that's where the kitchen goes, right? And you have to have power over your cabinets. But Scotty was quick to say, no, you can't do that. You cannot have power in the party wall. And the electrician was like, well, then I can't satisfy a county inspector. So we messed around for a month trying to figure this out. And we finally said to Scotty, what if we put in this wire in conduit? And he's like, yeah, that's fine. Well, why couldn't you say that six weeks ago? That's the kind of cooperation that I'm not getting, where every other inspector that I've dealt with will help us progress, not hinder us. And that is not happening. And that's a big complaint of mine. The city has already frustrated the Holtzman family to the point of reconsidering development here, and they're one of the larger commercial developers in town. And I know that there's also been issues with the development on Alice Street Road. I have plans to pursue development going to the west of my property, but I won't pursue it if Scott is going to be a field inspector.

Mitch Cohen, we're three minutes. Can I suggest possibly, unless you're going to write about it.

I have one more minute. One more minute, please.

Or you could come if you have a lot more, you can come back. We have a second part.

No, I have one minute. All right. I think Scott is best suited to be in the office and be a plan reviewer only. And I truly believe he would be a great asset in that role. I have also asked several times for a third party inspection team for the rest of my project in order to keep the project moving forward. But I've yet to get a reasonable response from the city in the last six weeks. That is all I have. And I would like to not have these comments fall on deaf ears. I'd like to have an open source meeting at any time that's convenient. I want to have a continuous successful project across the street. It's a borderline incomplete project right now. And in two years, it'll mostly be all filled and done. But I need the council's help in facilitating that path that I have.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Appreciate it. All right, do we have other citizens who would like to make any comments? Okay, anyone online, please raise your hand if you would like to make a comment. Give everyone a few seconds to find that raise hand button. Okay, if you wish, we will have another hearing from citizens later in the day, night, so you can speak then. Okay, we will move on to item seven, bill 3066. Can we please have the title be read?

Bill 3066, an ordinance authorizing a special permit usage for OL3BP Associates LLC, owners of the property grounds addressed as 9600 and 9606 Olive Boulevard to permit Rick's Ace Hardware to operate an outdoor display and storage area on the east parking lot portion associated with their tenant space addressed as 9612 Olive Boulevard. First reading and public hearing.

All right, I'm going to go ahead and open the public hearing, and Mr. Trejo is going to give a presentation, please.

Thank you, Mayor. Good evening, Mayor, members of the Council. My name is Carlos Trejo. I'm the Director of Planning and Community Development for the City of Olivet. And tonight here I am to present a public hearing regarding Bill 3066, which authorizes a special permit use to be issued to Rick's Ace Hardware to allow authorized really outdoor display and storage at 9612 Olive Boulevard. That's at the Olivet Center. which is the old Party City all the way up to the Pier 1, if you remember back then, center. The next slide gives a little visual of where the location is. Rick's Ace Hardware will be taking the eastern portion in that area of that. It's the old grocery store. Sheriff's parking lot there with the Dobbs, which is towards the far left. in there. Now, the hardware store is retail, and we had retail there in the past. So the hardware stores are permitted use by right in there, but they had made a request to have some outdoor storage, outdoors display, I should use that term, and storage in there. And that does require a special permit in the COR district. It's not something we would normally allow retail tenants along the corridor to have unless it has the authorization reviewed by the commission and approval by the council. And in this case, the property zone COR, commercial office retail, just as the majority of Olive Boulevard is. And again, that's the outdoor display and storage that is in question here that is noted as a permitted special permit. In the next slide, I'll kind of go over what is a special permit. It's a very... unique and viable land use tool and that's with any tools you have to balance them carefully and use them at their best. They may overdo something, they may underdo something, so you have to be careful. So a special permit is something we normally would not allow by right. The council has established a system where it gets reviewed through our planning commission, our planning community design commission. They forward a recommendation to the council based on outlined objectives in the special permit process, the underlying zoning district, and how it helps further our 2024 comprehensive plan update in there. And then the council holds a public hearing and has final say on that authorization. So through this process, it's to determine whether what is being requested is suitable for the area that's being asked. And again, the council holds a lot of authority here because they could say no. They could also revoke a request over time if it's not working as it should. And the next slide. Some of the conditions that we take a look at when we do the analysis for special permit use through the commission is that they go through a site plan review, which that means we look at both external and internal factors of how the site and its relationships work. We look at the other uses in the district, making sure that they're compatible. We look at, does this further the goals and objectives of our comprehensive plan? We look at the location. Again, one location may work and another location may not. It could be due to topography. It could be due to stormwater. It could be due to just traffic. It all depends. We make sure that the structures that are improvements that are proposed are complementary to neighboring uses and architecture. It requires that petitioner demonstrate that they mitigated any potential spillover effects, oversized lighting, stormwater, and things of that nature. And then also authorizes the city has some has rights to require buffering, aesthetic enhancements, designated areas for open space to set limitations on operations like the hours to implement the schedule on how these things are improved or put in place and to consider the adequacy of public services. That applies to special permits. So when Rick's Ace Hardware came before us on the next slide, you'll see, we took a look. This is the building this morning. And they're up and operating. We're glad to have them as part of our business community. And you can see they have the two propane tanks there along the side on the sidewalk, and then some dry storage along the side of the building there. Typically when a new, commercial business opens, we provide some flexibility to get them up and running and operating. And we know that they're in the process and they submitted for the applications prior to that placement and it was something they had talked to me about this prior to that. The next slide will show you where they're looking to do a seasonal canopy in addition to the two display areas by the building and the sidewalk area in front of the building. And I know portion of this will they impede in the sidewalk circulation path in there. So you'll see the building footprint on the upper left corner. You'll see the merchandise display that we'd be facing olive, the dry bulk and display storage, which is a pallet storage that will be on the eastern sidewall of the building. And then seasonally, about four months out of the year, they'll put up a canopy in there, which I'll show you some pictures. They'll provide some seasonal items or annuals and things of that nature. The next slide will give you a three-dimensional view of the canopy and then views of the displayed areas that I showed you earlier, which is in the front of the building, along the east side of the building, and then the access routes to the canopy area and along those things. Those were all conditions that the Commission wanted to ensure that there was some pedestrian safety in that access and that those be outlined as part of their placement.

Uh, and they're, I'm sorry, can you say that again? Like, that'll be a marked area.

So a pedestrian knows to stay within within the realm and out of the drive. Okay, the next slide will illustrate how we go. We went through the review process and what the commission's recommendations were. Uh, they recommended approval and the council to consider authorizing special permit. Uh, they found that in our 2024 complaint goals, you know, that this, you know. Some of the core principles was, you know, environmental sustainability, investment, crime prevention, and strategic redevelopment. And the conditions they impose try to further those core principles, like the limit the canopy use to four months out of the year, coordinate fire access review with the fire marshal, add additional exterior wall pack lighting. If they add any additional wall pack lighting, that it be consistent with our Chapter 428 standards. So it's cut off controlled temperature or lumen on that. and then provide the parking striping and boundaries. The intent with those conditions is they help us further our goals in the comprehensive plan. And that is what I have for you tonight, Mayor, and before taking any questions, if I can enter some items in the record. For the record, of course, is our 2024 comprehensive plan update, including the five-year economic development plan. and the Olive Boulevard Conceptual Master Plan. Our Olivet Municipal Code and Zoning Map, including Exhibit Table A, which just identifies the permitted uses and special permit uses within the COR District, and Article Roman Numeral 12, which is our special permits, which outdoor display and storage is authorized under Section 412.23g, number 11. The staff presentation and memorandum to the PCDC dated August 11th, 2026, including the petition supporting plans and documents. The public hearing notice, we are required to post this in the county in St. Louis County. It was published at the July 27th edition, and you have a copy of the list of the addresses that were notified. And I did it differently this time. I gave you a link as opposed to having all that paperwork. uh in there uh and that link access what everybody can see uh on our website so it's very transparent in that process and then this presentation tonight uh august 11 2026. uh so mayor i'm prepared to answer any questions but i would like to note we actually have rick from rick's ace hardware in attendance along with the uh chief operating officer uh in there i would suggest if you want to come up and introduce yourself and we can we'll take questions obviously from the public too and then we'll have questions from the council welcome

So good evening. I'm Rick Ballman. It's nice to see you all. Thank you for your time this evening and your service to the city of Olivet. I appreciate it very much. My family's been in the hardware business since 1956. We started on Brentwood Boulevard in Brentwood, Missouri. Over the span of the last five decades, opened 11, 12 stores in the market and have always wanted to be in this community and are very happy to be here. So we appreciate the you taking the time to give us the opportunity to talk about the garden center we want to put in, which we have in all of our other stores, as well as many other Ace Harbor stores in St. Louis County have as well. So thank you.

Vicki Pizzotto. I've been with Rick for 30 years. So here to answer any questions you have, working with Carlos and Tim, they've been great. So anything you need to ask, we're here.

First of all, I'm very excited, honestly, just selfishly excited to have a store so close.

I second that.

For the quick pickup of things and the convenience, and it's exactly, I think, what is a great addition to our community. So I'm so excited. I think you're going to find that. people are going to respond very well. I hope business has been great already, but I know it's still early.

It's been good so far. Good. Yeah, very good.

A couple of questions, and then we'll make sure we take them from the audience as well. I guess we mentioned four months. Which months are we talking about? Has that been decided?

Basically March through June. So we set up the first of March-ish and then shut down right after Father's Day.

Okay, so not necessarily during the holiday time or things like that. I wasn't sure if we're doing Christmas trees or things like that.

So no.

Okay. Um, and then I was curious and maybe Carlos, you might be able to answer this, but like the location, uh, where it is, I was curious if the back, um, kind of by the fence was considered. And the only reason I ask is because my only concern is we're, we're removing a lot of parking spaces and, you know, with jobs there, sometimes that lock gets kind of foolish. Was, was that a consideration or I sure sure it was, but reason why? Yes. Yeah, please. I'm sorry.

Very good question and something that they inquired about and sounds like a sensible location. Unfortunately, it is commercial property, abutting residential property. And while the surface area is there, it's legal, what we call legal nonconforming. It's been in place and it's been occupied in there. And Increasing the intensity or activity that occurs in that area would be contrary to what the spirit of the code is. So in the discussions, this was their, I guess, their third proposed location because the commission had to move it one over. Oh, it was more in the center? It was in that middle aisle, correct. So yes, it was an area that they looked at. However, I think, you know, given the proximity of the residential properties or that even if it's one house or multiple houses, it would be an unfair use of that area.

Yeah, and I assume then the commissioner, you looked at parking in terms of volume, what we think, estimates, things like that, and no concerns?

Correct. And this site, I mean, and I can go way back, but has always been over parked. Uh, and there, and we've worked with Bianco properties for, for years to try to get a balance of, I think they have over 300 stalls, um, uh, on, on the site. Yeah. It extends all the way down to, Oh, you're talking about down that way. Um, and I think now we have a nice balance with the two anchors and Dobbs, and I think there'll be some adjustments, but it's a lot of surface area. Uh, you know, I think, uh, The priority has always been, you know, not to design to the day before Thanksgiving or the day after. But to have a balance, people will find a place in that process. But in terms of numerically, it would meet the minimum quote requirements.

And then the safety.

condition you know obviously a concern with people walking through a parking lot i wasn't sure how that it was more given that the the there is now an island within the parking island uh and that was just so there is a designated area to follow through someone is going to probably take the crow's path to get there uh but this is just to ensure that there was a a meaningful dedicated area for for the pedestrians

During the other eight months that you guys aren't using that outdoor pavilion, is that going to be taken down or is that going to remain up?

No, it's taken down and stored in our warehouse. Okay, and then it would go back...

It would go back to parking. And then with the bulk storage, sometimes housekeeping can be a problem. But, you know, I've seen really good places. I've seen really poor areas. So was housekeeping addressed in the special use permit?

I don't know that it was addressed. It was addressed by us. Yeah. We address it every day. We have very high standards and very high expectations. And if the manager wants to say the manager, then he does.

Well, it does help prevent slips, trips and falls. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that's true. I'm very excited and I love outdoor displays at a lot of these Ace Hardwares and preview grills and other things that are out there.

We're happy to have you and watch all the grand openings. Cut the board. We'll do a ribbon saw board.

That's exciting. Is it a big saw though?

Is Rick doing it now? Any questions?

I have a few just because I am a bit concerned about parking. Also noticing the images that are on this slide right now of the parking spots that are all taken up on that side of the wall. And it looked like in the materials that we were presented that it would be about 12 parking spots in the lot. that would be covered up by this structure as well as at least six. It looks like only six are striped there alongside the wall. And I don't know if other people previously when Party City was there and it was Halloween, people probably parked anywhere they could find enough space for a vehicle. But just losing all of those spots with the recognition that hopefully we will have you will have steady traffic and good consumer flow into and out of the store. And just wondering if there was potentially some way to condense both of these sites for outdoor storage so that it could have less of an impact on parking. That bay door that's on the side of the building, do you expect that you'll be using that for large pallet deliveries?

We get a truck once a week. It'll probably go to twice a week that the semi backs up. You're talking about the door in the very back? Yeah. Yes, it backs up right to that. The third row of parking right now where you see the like four or five cars, like right in front of the circle. Yeah. So those are all Dobbs cars that are like always there, which they're supposed to be moving. So that'll free up some of the parking we're hoping, but.

And then we also have an arrangement with the landlord that, Our employees park on the other side of the shopping center, so we won't have any in the parking lot spots.

Or against the back. You said Dobbs, like you've had a conversation with Dobbs, because that's, I've seen, I've used it, and my car will be there, so they're going to try to alleviate some of those?

They're supposed to alleviate anything in that row, because that's supposed to be for Ace, yes.

Oh, okay. Anything in that row. That will help.

Where will they move them?

Yeah, probably. That was, that was a place.

It is a good, good question. And, and there, there is some parking area in the back behind the bulb of the cul-de-sac in there where they could double stack for vehicles. But they also opened a new facility on page just, just a little bit West of Dealman. So we've been kind of keeping an eye on that. I don't think that's going to impact our facility, but it's pretty close.

Interesting. Okay.

That does help because I agree. I've usually seen that area full. Yeah.

But it's good to know that that is like half of them so far. Okay. And they're supposed to have moved by especially by grand opening.

That's going to be dedicated. In theory, it's supposed to be reserved for ACE. So if you found that Dobbs was parking vehicles over there overnight and things like that.

We've requested those spots to be marked as no commuter and no overnight parking. Okay. Which will alleviate the issues during the day. Okay.

And then Mike, it's already good.

Yeah, just shifting gears a little bit. I'll also mention that we're harping on the parking because a few of the other developments have had some issues. So we're super sensitive to that. But the front display, what types of things will you have up there? In the front of the store?

Yeah, the front of the store. Ball, half palms, straw, ball decor type of stuff. Pumpkins. HAB-Jacques Juilland- Okay, I'll see propane exchange, but it'll be more decorative type of items up there, seasonal nature. HAB-Jacques Juilland- Cool.

Okay. And there's no parking right now in front of that side of the building right now. HAB-Jacques Juilland- It just HAB-Jacques Juilland- Plaza have that right. I think that. Yeah. Okay. That's a fireling.

HAB-Charlotte Pittsburg- Do unfortunately park there. HAB-Jacques Juilland- Yeah, shouldn't.

But yeah.

If parking is an issue, is it possible to move that pavilion further towards the south, create almost like a V? It would block the drive-thru.

Something we can take a look at. I need to make sure that our fire department can make an adequate turn and get close in reasonable proximity to the building. And those trucks have to have a certain radius. So we are cognizant of that. We've been looking at that.

That is an interesting conversation to your point. If you kind of blocked that in and then it creates, yeah, it should be something to look at to see if it's an option. And it is nice to know that it sounds like it comes down. And so we're talking four months of the year. This is a concern. Hours, lighting you mentioned, what hours would the outdoor facility be open?

So it's open our regular store hours, which are 7.30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Okay. But as you know, daylight savings time comes in about when we're putting up the structure. And so we really don't have other outside lighting for that area.

So you don't expect extra flooding of lights and things like that.

And will items stay outside overnight? They're not going to be back in and out.

Yeah, it's all planned. So, you know, annuals, perennials.

So does the, on the description and the drawings that I see here, it doesn't look like it has any sides. Will there be any kind of security or is it just?

We do it at the, we do it at the hill and we haven't had a problem, which is on Southwest.

Okay.

All right. That's great.

Great.

I mean, you know, maybe a couple here and there, but that's everywhere now. They're going to steal a plant if they're going to steal a plant.

It's happening more in COVID times. I'm a total plant nerd, plant person.

She stole a lot of them.

I saw in COVID anyway.

I mean, you know, it's the same with the mulch and the, you know, they're going to do it. They're going to do it.

Yeah. It's a certain point. Fight your battles.

Can't lock up everything.

No. Wonderful.

I have one other question. So this is for March through June. When is, do you have a busy time? What is your seasonal traffic weather look like?

It depends on weather, but typically the second quarter and the fourth quarter are two busiest times. Q1, January, February, March are slow unless we get a weather event and then we're here to... get snow blowers and snow shovels and ice melt to all our neighbors so that they can keep their homes safe.

Makes sense. Yeah. All right. Well, maybe we'll take some questions from the audience, but thank you both for coming. I think we'll have a second here. No, thank you. We're excited. Anyone in the audience want to come forward and ask any questions or? Nope. Anyone online have any questions, please raise your hand. All right. I will then close the public hearing and we will have a second reading of the bill on August 25th.

Thank you, Marilyn.

Thank you, Mr. Trejo. All right. Moving on to item eight, bill 3067. Can we please have the title be read?

Bill 3067, an ordinance authorizing a special permit usage for PPM Bauer LLC, owners of the property grounds addressed as 10401 Bauer Boulevard, to permit advanced driver's assistance systems to operate an indoor automotive repair facility within the tenant space addressed as 10401 Bauer Boulevard, Suite B. First reading and public hearing.

All right. I'm going to go ahead and open the public hearing as well, and Mr. Trejo will give us a presentation.

Good evening, Mayor, members of the Council. Again, my name is Carlos Trejo. I'm the Director of Planning and Community Development for the City of Olivet. Tonight's public hearing is similar. It's regarding the special permit request. It's been submitted by PPM Bauer LLC for ADAS Solutions, which is USA Incorporated. It's to authorize automotive maintenance. At the facility address is 10401 Bauer Boulevard, Suite B. Again, a special permit use that is not permitted by right, but could be considered, depending on the location, to be reasonable use. The property grounds are zoned LID Light Industrial. And we do allow auto maintenance in our LID district, but all through a special permit process. So again, it may be okay in one location, may not be very appropriate for another location, given dynamics and surroundings. So the next slide, this is a location, it's off of Warson. Warson Road. If you go down Warson Road just north of the community center, you'll see Bauer Boulevard. It's a signalized intersection. And if you go all the way to the far east, you will eventually get to the Warson Commerce Center, which is a 6.6 acre lot that has about over 122,000 square feet of multi-flex office warehouse. It's, I think, three primary buildings in there. We're going to look at the most eastern building, which is 10401, and then Suite B is the second to the end on the eastern side. The proposed use is automotive repair and maintenance, and it's for the digital systems that are part of a vehicle, all the sensors and electronic type of replacements and calibrations that the ADS Solutions USA does. And the property grounds are zoned LID, light industrial. And again, auto repair maintenance is considered or authorized only as a special permit. So it's subject to PCDC and council review and approval. The next slide. I'll go over through the special permit process. We did this in the previous presentation, so I'll do it quick. Requires PCDC review on behalf of the council, and then the council has a final say but must hold a public hearing, and it's the basis to determine suitability of use given the surroundings. You're not authorized to approve it, and you also have the ability to revoke or deny a special permit if it just doesn't fit into the area. The goal is always to see how this helps us further our goals and visions in our comprehensive plan, in this case, our 2024 comprehensive plan update. The next slide will get into the details of the review, which is the site plan listed in the district or comprehensive plan its locations. It's complimentary to its surroundings, the demonstration of mitigation and the city also has the specific authority to require, you know, buffering designated areas of open space set limitations on operations. provide a schedule of implementations that are associated with the special permit and to consider the adequacy of public services. And just so you're aware, the adequacy of public services like we just had in the previous adequacy includes the fire department being able to get their vehicles through the site and around the area to access as necessary. The next slide. This is the location. So I'm at the far east end of the building. Suite A is the furthest east and then Suite B will be the pop-out area I have listed in red. So one you're looking west and one you're looking east on the lower left-hand corner. On the next slide, I'll give you pretty much location. This is all a built up area. The building about the central railroad just north of the facility. So I've kind of turned this around. So north is now the bottom, south is up in the top. So towards the south is the beginning of the River De Pere watershed. And there's a heavy tree-lined area, and then you get to Indian Meadows Park, and then you get to the residences in the Indian Meadows subdivision. To the far left or the east, there is no access point, but it continues in other industrial areas that access off of Dealman. And then the lower left is the proposed space. All this will occur inside indoors. This is a sprinkler building, has garage access in there. Most of the work will occur within the building in there, and they're not proposing any specific modifications to the exterior of the building to accommodate this type of use. The next slide. So again, when the commission goes through the review, it looks at how can we further some specific principles as it relates to economic development or investment from our comprehensive plan. Environmental sustainability, investment, crime prevention, and strategic redevelopment were the key ones here. And those kind of led to the following conditions that the commission imposed. One was limiting the hours of operation, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. This was done in discussion with the petitioner. Converting the existing wall pack lighting to cut off fixtures with lumen controls. They already have them in place. They're just kind of angled. They need to kind of be reverted down to maybe the temperatures re-controlled to prohibit outdoor storage. And if there's any designated stalls for vehicles awaiting repair to identify those on the site. In this case, most of these are brought in and then they're brought out once they're done. And then we asked them to assist us in creating a coalition of property owners to help in the street maintenance of Bauer Boulevard. It is a private roadway, which we've had years of, of, of issues with potholes and maintenance. Uh, and there, there has been several groups that have attempted to try to create, uh, some type of group to be able to oversee the street system. There should be, I mean, there, there used to be a, some type of association, um, and there, but we've had so many changes in, in, in ownership. Um, This adds one more to that group and given with the council's discussions about neighborhood improvement districts, this is a good opportunity or venue for them to kind of push that forward and help improve that roadway. The next slide. Mayor, that concludes the presentation. And if I could just enter these items to the record, and then I'll be glad to answer any questions. One is our 2024 comprehensive plan update, including the five-year economic development plan, the Olivet Municipal Code and zoning map, including the exhibit table A under section 407.40 and article Roman numeral 12, special permits. In this case, I apologize. Automobile maintenance is under G number 11, which that is a correct number. I just did not change the the the title. This presentation and the memorandum to the PCDC dated August 11th, 2026, including the petition and supporting plans and documents. We are required to post a public hearing notice in the St. Louis County and that was posted, published in the July 27th, 2026 edition. And then you have a copy of the addresses that were notified regarding this public hearing. And then finally, this presentation before the city council dated August 11th, 2026. I do have several members of the property management team for 10401 Bauer that are here, Mr. Holtzman here, and I believe there are a couple online too.

Do you want to come up or up? That's it.

So Corbin Holtzman with PPM Bauer.

Hey, how are you guys doing? Corbin, thanks for having me. The tenant is also on as well, but yeah, owner of property management, tenant myself at the property. Appreciate you guys considering us for the special use permit.

It's exciting. It's a very unique, obviously, proposal in the city, but I think it's a great thing. great use of the uh industrial park and kind of where we are in terms of you know the need and it's been interesting it's just brought up talking to friends at work and a lot of them have been to many locations like this and uh people who are real car aficionados and things like that so yeah do you own others in the city as well or other properties other than my sister lives here no Dave Kuntz, Though Okay, no I mean I guess that, like businesses like this in the you know, throughout the county or the city or things. Dave Kuntz, No, no.

Dave Kuntz, This has landlords, we have had similar but this one's definitely more as a special mention the technology for driver assistant and luckily our concrete is pretty level and gain their interest for the space.

Dave Kuntz, How many cars are going to be worked on at any one time inside.

That might be a question for him, but given that capacity, they're not, they can't do like a bumper to bumper scenario. So it's about like the 3,500 square feet. I think max they could have lined up would be like five, five or six in the space at most.

And then it doesn't sound like it's a noisy operation, but we've had issues with noise issues.

Totally different. Okay.

That's what I thought. No one's revving engines.

Like, yeah.

No, lasers don't, I don't think they make noises.

Maybe just the locked drills or different things like that.

Yeah, just standard indoor industrial, you know, birthday parties. Office-like ones, but yeah.

Yeah, it could be a birthday party, but probably an adult birthday party. Yes, yes. Excellent. Mike, any questions?

I had just two kind of clarification questions. In your presentation, Carlos, it said that the hours would be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. I'm sorry. Let me restate that because my microphone was off. In your presentation, Carlos, the hours were stated as 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In the information that was provided to council on page two of the staff report, it listed as 8 to 5 p.m. I, to be honest, I don't really have a strong feeling one way or the other, but it would just be helpful to know which, what the recommendation is.

It was, I think the initial staff started from eight to five. And then during the discussions, we went from a 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. And that's what I reflect in the meeting minutes for that. So I think you are correct. And I'm not sure if you were there during the liaison, the date of the discussion. I think we threw out, we need some hours, how about eight to five? And then we've had discussions. It was 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., which are typical construction hours.

Yeah, I think either one, I don't have a strong feeling one way or the other, but just want to make sure that that both are aligned one way or the other. And then I was curious why for the light packs on the walls, only the south side were deemed to, were desired to be switched to the full cutoff light fixtures and not the north side. I know the south side is where residential property is, but certainly if the desire is to minimize light pollution,

there is but if I can go back a couple of slides to the aerial right there it's not the the most ideal space and given the the railroad and the other activity that's north of the railroad I can understand why somebody would want a little bit more light spillover across the property line I totally understand the aspects towards the front. There are opportunities to put pole lightings if they had concerns or things, but in, in the rear and given what is actually there, um, I think that's where that balance comes. I don't think they'd have any opposition to, so, but it's not an area that you're going to, you know, there are some utility lines that run across that maybe they can have the, uh, the lights there, but, uh, yeah, there's a lot of great deviation with the docks and you can see, uh, in that aspect, but it's something we can work with them.

Yeah, I think just, you know, kind of in keeping with the general desire to minimize light pollution wherever and whenever possible, and certainly to, you know, have that priority be minimizing it when it impacts residential. I just wouldn't want to If there's an opportunity to minimize it elsewhere. And they're still maintaining you know the lighting that's necessary for safety and for visibility back in that area where it's, you know, kind of tucked away.

And a lot of our industrial building stock. I think they're one of the more subtle ones too. So like we've seen where, because you don't need to get a permit through us, where they're placing them on the roof, on top of the roof, on the roof eave, and they just point out this way. And there's a little bit more compact and angled, but we can work with the Holtzman's and take a look at that.

Well, and I also, you know, I know, Carlos, that as a staff, you work on these things. regularly and diligently and so i trust you know your work especially with the with this particular building and your familiarity with it as well i appreciate that but we'll take a look at that for sure the other piece that i would say is that um i have participated in two river de pair cleanups um with volunteers here in olivet and there is a lot of trash that just comes naturally from industrial areas. And so certainly as the owner and the landlord and the tenant, yes. You know, my ask and request to you would also be to do whatever is within your power to minimize any potential trash spillover effects that then end up in our watershed.

Yeah. Absolutely. I'm playing that too.

And we'll invite you to our next trash.

And this is one of the nicer sections where the bank that really does have a nice bank and it's not that you can actually walk down to the water and see that.

And there's Yeah, well, and also with the if you're not, it's nice that you still have all the trees that are there. But with the proximity to those houses that when trash builds up in those industrial areas, it's it can have a pretty negative, you know, visible effect.

Bauer's pretty nice. Bauer does a good job.

Yeah, good, good.

Glad to hear that. I think that I know of. And we also patched the, there was some patchings on Bauer Boulevard that we took care of from last meeting. We patched the front. I haven't reached out to the neighborhood or seen who the committee is, but we'll still follow up with the rest of the neighborhood and see how everyone's doing. But we did patch those four potholes on the entry and the Bauer from Ashby.

Great, great.

I'm curious, Carlos had mentioned the need. I know that we're not talking about but our needs actually possible for non residential. Yes, they're fascinating. Another time for another discussion. Alright, as anyone online, the owners want to speak or anyone, if they wanted to say anything. Raise your hand if interested, we can promote you. No, that's okay. You're right. Thank you very much. We'll take some questions from the audience and we'll obviously see you at the second hearing. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Anyone in the audience? All right. Anyone online have any questions or comments? Okay. We will then close the public hearing and there will be a second reading of this bill on August 25th. Thank you, Mr. Trejo. Appreciate it. All right. Move on to Bill 3068. Can you please read the title?

Bill 3068, an ordinance reaffirming and adopting Chapter 115, Article 3, Section 115.080 to 115.120, Conflict of Interest of the City of Olivet, Missouri Municipal Code and Establishing a Procedure to Disclose Potential Conflicts of Interest and Substantial Interests for Certain Municipal Officials.

First reading. Presentation, please.

It's a very short presentation. This is what I would call a housekeeping item. It is something that is required from the Missouri Ethics Commission every two years to adopt an ordinance essentially requiring financial interest statements for political subdivisions. It's a form that as elected officials, you will get to fill out, I get to fill out. And so we're just doing some housekeeping and reaffirming that we do in fact have this ordinance.

Any questions from council?

No.

All right. Then we will have a second reading on August 25th for this. Okay. Moving on. Item 10, Bill 3069. Can we please have the title be read?

Bill 3069, Ordinance Granting an Easement to Spire for the Installation of an Underground Gas Main at 9201 Olive. First reading. All right.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Things were going so well with the Olive Improvements Project until... So this is pretty self-explanatory by the title. We are working with our partners, MoDOT, Missouri American Waters, FIRE, Fiber Communications, everybody to get our utilities relocated so we can place the stormwater collection, which was supposed to be a graded inlet in the curb line, which now has to be relocated behind the curb so it's not on top of the 12-inch water main. We need to grant access for Spire to relocate said gas main. And we're giving them space on the remnant parcel of 9201, which was the old CBD Kratom and dry cleaner space. It's going to be a vacant site in city possession. We've been talking in-house about a beautification project to go on the corner. there, but it won't be anything constructed. It's a remnant parcel. So it doesn't have any adverse impact. So into discussions with the field crew about how to realign this gas main, they asked for the 10-foot easement across the front of the property so they could have working room to get around the structure that supports the signal arm, the traffic control underground, the water main and fiber optic and everything else. I'd be glad to answer any questions if there are any.

So we're just talking about a delay in finishing the project, right?

Yes. So this is spiraled a bit out of control. Unfortunately, it is entirely out of my hands because it's MoDOT right away. And MoDOT, it seems, has changed the parameters of the stormwater management than were previously the standards from when we designed the project. It was originally designed and approved by MSD and MoDOT for the stormwater. And they have now required a much larger structure. which takes up even more space behind the curb. It was originally going to be a two by two graded inlet. We are now putting in a five foot linear curb inlet just a little bit north of where the utility pole is. So we're actually meeting that directive just came in today. We had gone back and forth with MoDOT over the past couple of weeks about getting approval to relocate behind the curb. And then this item came up, they said, well, we need you to double the capacity. We showed them the calculations. And one of the main points was, even though we're widening the roadway, the net impervious area is actually about 30% less because we're removing the parking lot, most about 60% of the parking area at the site and the roof, which was all complete runoff, all sheet flow on to North Price Road. So we actually showed them that we went from 0.92 cubic feet per second down to 0.7 cubic feet per second. And we had this debate David Price- engineers and engineers arguing and, at the end of the day, they are you know it's their requirement and their approval so. David Price- Today it's capitulated and said we'll get the five foot structure we're going to have to have it manufactured, I wanted to keep the project going and use what we had on site, but these are precast structure so. We're just at, you know, we're going to try to get it, you know, express fabricated as much as we can. But, you know, that's, that's just, just where we are. I felt like I was back in like high school arguing with my teacher over a grade on the test.

And you lost because the teacher wins.

yeah yeah i mean you know and there's just nothing to do you know but it just the picture illustrates what we're looking for you know what we're up against when we're in underground we've got this 12 inch water main we've got fiber optic natural gas signal cables under the sidewalk and then we have to construct a manhole where that square is and then the red area is about the location of the curb inlet which will be a little over six feet wide by four and a half feet deep, you know, depth behind, and about two and a half feet underground.

So it's all going to be underground, no visible?

No, I mean, it'll be just like a regular curb inlet and a subdivision. It's a slightly different profile because MoDOT has a different standard than MSD, but same thing in principle, you know, an opening at the curb for the water to flow into. Okay. No good. Yeah.

Does this impact? Does this easement impact any of the lane space?

No, no, not at all. The easement is really off roadway. It's on the remnant parcel of 9201. So it really doesn't impact anything in the roadway at all. It's only an encumbrance of land. of the vacant ground, but we're planning a above ground, you know, some sort of improvement area, a plaza, a planting garden. I don't know. We have several options, but Carlos and Jennifer and I are sort of looking at scenarios of what we can do there, you know, because it is a corner and it's a good opportunity for some beautification.

We now have extra capacity. Right.

Right. Yeah. So just one of these small little things that just stopped us dead in our tracks. It's just so frustrating.

I appreciate you putting up a good fight. We'll get done.

To no avail. Yeah. Anyway, it's the first reading. All right.

All right. And I think it was a first. Okay. No, we're good. Any other questions? All right. We'll have a second reading on August 25th.

Thank you. Thank you.

All right. We'll move on to item 11, request for approval to purchase two Motorola APX8000HXE radios. I think that was made up, the names.

Yeah.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, city council members, Ms. Yackley. My name is Steve Carman. I'm the fire chief for the city of Olivet Fire Department, and I'd like to talk about radio replacement. The fire department operates a fleet of 17 portable Motorola radios initially funded by the 911 tax in St. Louis County. With ongoing maintenance and replacement responsibilities to the city of Olivet. In December of 2023, the department was informed that Motorola and Wireless USA that parts and service support for the existing radios will no longer be available, necessitating a proactive replacement strategy. To address the outdated radios, the department has initiated a replacement cycle starting in FY28 and committing to replacing two radios each year to ensure operational readiness and safety. As part of the replacement strategy, the department successfully purchased two new radios in August of 2025, demonstrating a commitment to maintaining modern communication capabilities. The department is actively seeking additional funding sources through grants and will apply for any grants when they come available, aiming to expedite the replacement of more radios beyond the established annual cycle. So the fire department is requesting a motion to authorize the City of Olivet Fire Department to purchase two Motorola APX8000HXE at the price not to exceed $18,000. I'll take any questions if you have any.

Any questions from the council? All right, I'll entertain a motion.

Did you say this was included in the budgets for this year, or is this kind of an emergency?

No, we've been budgeting this money in our CIP. Okay.

Do you also expect, so we're replacing two every year, do you expect that that's probably going to continue, that once these ones that we're coming and replacing now, by the time we finish replacing the old ones, it'll be time to start replacing the new ones?

Just about. Motorola is working on a grant right now. It hasn't been totally established. We're replacing our portable radios, which are the handheld radios, the mobile radios that we have in our vehicles. Motorola is looking at putting out a grant in St. Louis County specifically. So in the future, we may be able to replace more than just two in a year when we apply for a grant.

The usual shelf life is how long?

What's that?

The usual lifetime is... From eight to 10 years.

They're like cell phones. There's more technology than we use in those radios.

It should last eight to 10 years.

But Motorola doesn't care.

And have you found that the new ones work fine with the old ones?

There's not any kind of... No, there's no problems, no crossover. The only problem with parts is we can't use... old batteries and new radios. So when we purchase new radios, we also have to purchase batteries that go along with that. And that is in the budgeted price that we have.

And then I'm just curious, too, when you retire the old ones, is there an effort made to do electronics recycling with the parts?

We keep some radios just as backup. If something happens to one of our radios, we have also donated a few to the St. Louis County Fire Academy.

Okay. Is there a leasing program available for equipment like this? Is that something that's even in question?

I don't know if there is. I've not heard about it. Just because they're giving the cost. Yes. A lot of departments in St. Louis County are going through this because we were given all the radios through ECC, the 911 tax that we passed years ago. So everybody is coming due for radios now. So everybody's scrambling. And that's why Motorola is looking at grants to help cities and districts pay for these radios. But we got our eye out. So if we run across grants, we will let you guys know and try to make a bigger purchase if we can.

Because the specs are dictated by the ECC and Motorola, correct?

Yes. We do not have a choice on what radios we buy. We have to buy Motorola because Kenwood is not associated with our PSAP, our dispatch center. So we wouldn't be able to hear them. Okay.

So part of the reason for the E911 tax and the ECC in general is interoperability of the radios so that all the fire departments and the police departments as well can communicate with one another when they are on a call together. Mutual aid is key in the St. Louis region. And so Olivet will respond to things in Creve Coeur. We respond to things in New City. We respond to things in Overland and other agencies come here and they're all operating on the same radio. And so if they need to go to a particular tech channel for that particular incident, they can all do that on their radio.

Yes. All right. Do I hear a motion?

I'll make a motion. I'll make a motion to authorize the City of Olivet Fire Department to purchase two Motorola APX8000HXE, and the price should not exceed $18,000. Second.

All right. Will you please pull the council?

Councilmember Drigal? Yes. Councilmember Solomonov? Yes. Chairman Pro Tem Sean Hellman? Yes. Mayor Lewis?

Yes.

The motion is passed.

Thank you.

Thank you. All right. You're staying up here for this one. Item 12, request to purchase a Rosenbauer Commander Pumper.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, City Council Members, Ms. Yackley. My name is Steve Carman, Fire Chief, City of Olivet Fire Department. The department is requesting authorization to purchase a Rosenbauer Commander Pumper through Sentinel Emergency Solutions using the HGAC by Cooperative Purchasing Contract. This provides a competitive, compliant procurement process while avoiding the time and expense of conducting a separate bid process. The Rosenbauer Commander is the same apparatus platform currently used by the department. Once the new pumper is in place in service, the existing pumper will become the city's backup apparatus. Standardizing the fleet will simplify training, maintenance, parts, inventory, and repairs of the overall fleet management. Sentinel Emergency Solutions currently provides the department's maintenance for the apparatus and repair services and operates a full service facility in LeMay. This provides the department with the convenient access for preventive maintenance, major repairs, warranty work, and emergency service, helping reduce apparatus downtime. The proposed Rosenbauer Commander provides a 750 gallon water tank and a pump capacity of 2,250 gallons per minute. Maintaining a standardized apparatus platform also improves firefighter familiarity and driver operator proficiency supporting safe and efficient emergency operations. The fire department is requesting the city council approve to purchase the Rosenbauer Commander Pumper at a cost not to exceed 1.3 million dollars based on the department's evaluation of procurement, service, support, fleet compatibility, operational capabilities, and the cost. The Rosenbauer Commander represents the most advantageous option for the city of Olivet. I'll take any questions if you have any.

When is the delivery of it? I remember that. That's a few years, right?

That's a good question. Two to three years. If we sign and order it, in between two to three years is the quickest we can get one. Yeah, it's frustrating.

And this is something obviously has always been in the budget that we're planning for. And then the life of this again is usually how long?

Usually a fire truck lasts about 20 years, 10 years of frontline service and 10 years of backup. So, yes.

So is our existing pumper getting on 10 years?

No. Our existing frontline pumper, we purchased that in 22 or received it in 2022. So by time we get the new pumper, that pumper is going to be seven to eight years old and can go in as a backup. Our backup truck is a 2006 pumper. So it's right at 20 years. We have a hard time getting parts for it because the truck is so old. And they have fabricated parts for that truck because we just can't get them anymore, which increases the price of fixing that truck. And that truck is being held together with band-aids and electrical tape and duct tape and anything else we can put on it.

Silly question, but I assume by signing now at this agreement price, they can't raise the price in two years. No, once we sign in... Prices are going down, right? Everything. Yes.

Yes.

Yeah.

All right.

And I apologize. Since I have this question, I should have looked it up on my own. Do you know offhand, and I do apologize for putting you on the spot, about what the budget for maintenance is each year?

We usually budget, I think it's about $15,000 to $20,000 in our budget to maintain both frontline pumper and backup pumper. We've had occasions where something major breaks down. I think one year since I've been here, we went over budget in our maintenance, but most years we keep it pretty much in line.

And about how often, either in a course of a month or over the course of the year, do you find that both pumpers are needed at the same time?

That doesn't happen often if at all. Most of the time we're in a frontline pumper and if for some reason the frontline pumper goes down, we move to the backup pumper. And we do have other departments that have come in and borrowed our backup truck because their trucks have been down. But having them both in service at the same time, the only thing I can imagine is if we had a bad storm and we called in another crew to come in. And that's a possibility, too. If we ever get a bad storm like Clayton's tornado, we could staff that pumper and put it in service and use the manpower.

So in general, is the backup pumper only used in kind of extreme cases or when the front line might be out for maintenance?

Yes.

Okay.

Yes.

I got one final question. What color scheme?

We're going to stick with the gray and red. Thank you. Thank you for bringing that up.

Well, I just recently saw a front neck with like all black. It looks like a SWAT mobile.

Bingo. Yes. No, we are not going to do that. We want to look professional.

I had the exact same thought. And in fact, I had the exact same conversation with Chief Carman.

Yes, and I will tell you, too, since we have new members on the council, when we purchased that truck and we went to Minnesota to – the very end of the truck, we have to go up and make sure it looks the way we want it to. We were thanked by so many people for having a gray truck because they were tired of building red, yellow, and green trucks. And so they actually nicknamed it Olivet Gray, and they promote it as Olivet Gray.

Excellent. There's worse things to... Yeah. All right. That's great. I will ask if there's any questions from the audience, but I assume... I just want a thumbs up and object or anything. I didn't think so.

Very strong showing.

All right.

Anything else in the council or if not, I'll entertain a motion. I'd like to make a motion to authorize the city manager to execute the purchase of one Rosenbauer Commander Fire Engine through Sentinel Emergency Solutions and agent of HGAC, Houston Galveston Area Council. Purchasing program in an amount not to exceed $1.3 million subject to final legal review and budgetary approval. This investment will ensure that Olivet Fire Department continues to provide dependable, safe, and high-quality emergency services while maintaining the city's commitment to protecting the lives and property of its residents.

All right. Do I hear a second? Seconded. All right. Can we please pull the council?

Councilmember Jurgel? Yes. Councilmember Solomanov? Yes. Chairman Pro Tem Peshan-Hellman? Yes. Mayor Lewis?

Yes.

Motion is passed.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

All right. We're gonna move on to item 13, hearing from citizens part two, same conditions apply. So if anyone in the audience wants to be heard or if anyone online, please raise your hand online. Nope, thank you all. Okay, then we will move on to item 14, review and acceptance of minutes. Were there any corrections seen to the minutes by anyone? All right, then do I hear a motion to approve the minutes?

I'll make a motion to approve the council minutes from July 28th, 2026, as well as the work session minutes from August 4th, 2026. I'll second.

All right. Could we please call the council?

Council member Dragal. Yes. Council member Solomonov.

Yes.

Chairman Pro Temp, Sean Hellman. Yes. Mayor Lewis.

Yes.

Motion is passed.

All right. Move on to item 15, city attorney's report, please.

No reports this evening.

All right. Wonderful. All right. Then at that point, we will close the meeting and adjourn at 8.34 p.m. Thank you.