More Master Plan woes!

I was talking with a friend this weekend, Mr. Tom Durst, owner of Wentzville's Dairy Queen. He has conserns about the Church Street improvements scheduled to begin in 2011. According to the master plan, there will be a six foot sidewalk on the west side of Church Street and a nine foot sidewalk on Dairy Queen's side. The result is the city commandeering about another six feet of his property. In addition to the nine foot extension of the sidewalk there will be a bike rack and a bench. This all sounds very cosmopolitan except that Tom stated that the sidewalk would come right up to his sign standard.

The obvious question is why is the City planning on building the nine foot sidewalk on the east side where there are homes and businesses and not on the west side where there is mostly parking lots for most of the street. Well, this is just a guess but, the path of leat resistance may be why. Since the west side of Church Street is mostly parking lots, at first glance it would be the best choice to expand the sidewalk. But after looking at it, the path of least resistance may be considerably more expensive. It would mean removing the fences from St. Patrick's and MFA properties and rebuilding them which in the long run may be more expensive than taking the property from Mr. Durst and a whole block of homes and businesses where there are no fences.

I've found that most of the decisions made by the city is based on money. If you find the money, you find the reason. The problem which Mr. Durst and a host of others on the east side of the street could be facing is that the engineering may be complete and in that case, it would cost the City even more money changing the engineering and paying for a new fence or two. It's a catch 22. It amazes me how little thought goes into these major projects and how little consideration is given to residents and busineses of Wentzville.

I hope the folks on the east side of the street go before the Board of Alderman and lodge their complaints, it'll be a lot easier to fix now before the City starts breaking ground.

Beware of the Master Plan

The City is going through an extensive remodeling of the streets in the downtown area. Adding a center lane, better lighting, wider sidewalks, the whole nine yards. Old Highway 61 was to be the first with the work there almost completed. Church Street is next on the schedule with a completion date in 2012. Many more streets will be in line in accordance with the new downtown master plan.

This past Wednesday, at the Wentzville Board of Aldermen meeting the audience of citizens suffered through an agonizing two hours of political blathering even before they got to the Bills and Resolutions. The only oasis from the tedium was during public forum; A Wentzville businessman Mr. Rodney Sherman of Budget Towing explained to the Aldermen that the improvements to Old Highway 61 has presented his company with a problem. He explained that the curb cut leading to his building does not match up with his driveway. The Board discussed this situation amongst themselves and Alderman Leon Tow asked City Attorney Paul Rost, what the legal ramifications of this obvious oversight is to the City? Rost responded that the subject cannot be spoken about in a public meeting and suggested to call an executive session. Mr. Sherman was then told by Mayor Lambi that they would go into executive session just after the public portion of the meeting and that he would call him when they reconvened. It was at this point that I decided to leave. I wasn't about to sit around for another two hours while they scratched their collective asses. On my way out the door, Mr. Sherman pulled me aside and asked me what I thought was going on. I simply told him that it looked to me like he was about to get screwed.

I received a phone call from Mr. Sherman the following day and all he said was; "You were right!" I strongly urge residents or business owners to look carefully if you are in the path of the master plan. Be sure that what the City tells you and what the master plan says are the same.

They're off and running!

I really enjoy election time, whether it's National or Local, I follow them all. Most people find politics boring but once you get involved and experience the fight, you're easily hooked. I have no desire to run for office, although I have considered it a time or two and have had folks encourage me too, still I'd rather be on this side of the pen. It takes a special kind of person to want to come under the scrutiny of citizens and the press.

After sitting in council meetings for a number of years, you start to pick up on little nuances that are quite interesting in an otherwise droll situation. With an election not more than five months away, the horses are lining up at the gate. Prospective candidates start showing up at meetings some familiar, some not but the council chambers is a ringside seat for all who attend.

One seat in each ward will be up for re-election; Ward 1 Alderman Cheryl Kross will be seeking her second term and in this writers opinion, she has earned it. It is unknown who will be opposing her at this time. Ward 2 Alderman Peggy Meyer told me that she has not made up her mind yet and is contemplating possible retirement. I saw Lurch, (former ward 2 Alderman Bill Schuette) hanging around chambers recently perhaps looking for his old job back. Anyone having influence with Peggy Meyer needs to beg her to run for office again if for no other reason than to keep Schuette off the City payroll. In Ward 3, Nickolas Guccione will be vying to keep his seat and as with ward 1, it is uncertain who will be running against him. I did see former ward 3 Alderman John Luby at a meeting recently but I don't believe he will go against his good friend Guccione.

By this time next month we'll know for sure who will be seeking election but until then, I'll keep my eyes open.

It's Good To Be Back!

Thirteen months have passed since I fell off the scene in Wentzville. I wish I could say that I spent the time on a tropical island but alas, no such luck. I'll not bore you with the real facts of my absence, but I assure you I wasn't in Jail. I have however, kept up with what has been going on in my beloved Wentzville and I'm happy to report a good many positive developments have occured.

April 2010 brought about the election of Wentzville's first majority conseravative Board of Aldermen in decades and Paul Lambi was re-elected to his fourth term as Mayor winning 38.42 percent of the vote. Hardly a landslide, especially when his closest opponent was the infamous reprobate Bill Schuette. I was disapointed that Alderman Patrick Moody elected not to run again in Ward 1 but very pleased that Leon Tow came out of retirement to fill the vacancy garnering 98.33 percent of the vote. Ward 2 elected Vann Samples with 59.31 percent of the vote and Ward 3 saw John Luby defeated by Rick Stokes who carried 52.4 percent. I have returned to my old place at the Board of Aldermen meetings, I can't wait to see our junior Aldermen at work.

I am back now, unable to return to my regular job so I'll be spending lots more time here. I hope my posts help you in making your decisions in the upcoming election in April 2011.