West Newsmagazine 6-14-17

10 I NEWS I
June 14, 2017
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
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news
briefs
CHESTERFIELD
Prosecuting attorney reappointed
In what has become a familiar
event during Chesterfield City Council
meetings, there was another split vote
at the June 5 meeting, this time on the
reappointment of the city’s prosecuting
attorney.
Mayor Bob Nation’s nomination of
Tim Engelmeyer and the law firm of
Engelmeyer and Pezzani, LLC, to a fouryear
term was approved but only on a 5-3
vote.
Councilmember Ben Keathley [Ward 2]
questioned the nomination of a firm, rather
than a single individual, saying it would
result in less council control over the prosecuting
attorney’s performance.
However, Chris Graville, city attorney,
said the appointment of Engelmeyer and
his law firm addressed an issue raised at
an earlier meeting about there being no
authorization for the city to have an assistant
prosecuting attorney to help handle the
municipal court’s large caseload. Engelmeyer
still will serve as the prosecuting
attorney, but including his law firm in the
appointment enables him to draw help
Ellisville hosts a public hearing at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 17 to discuss
improvements to city parks, including Bluebird Park, shown above.
when needed from other lawyers in the
practice.
At the end of the day, Engelmeyer still is
responsible for the job that’s done, Graville
noted.
Councilmember Tom DeCampi [Ward
4] then suggested a one-year appointment,
reminding the mayor that he [Nation] had
suggested that alternative at an earlier
meeting.
Nation responded that a subsequent session
of the council’s Public Health and
Safety Committee, where Engelmeyer
responded to criticisms about his handling
of a number of cases, resulted in a unanimous
recommendation that the mayor
proceed with Engelmeyer’s reappointment.
State law provides for an appointment of
up to four years and Nation said he was
comfortable with that term length in light
of Engelmeyer’s presentation and his
responses to questions.
However, Keathley and DeCampi
opposed the reappointment and were
joined by Councilmember Michelle Ohley
[Ward 4]. The other five councilmembers
supported Nation’s recommendation.
Police to receive body cameras
Chesterfield police officers soon will be
equipped with body-worn video cameras
that the department is receiving for a free
one-year trial.
The Chesterfield City Council’s Public
Health and Safety Committee recommended
that action, which received council
approval on a 7-1 vote at its June 5
meeting.
Police Chief Ray Johnson noted the city
will receive the body cams under a no-obligation
agreement from Axon Enterprise,
Inc., an Arizona-based company formerly
known as TASER International. The firm
changed its name earlier this year.
The agreement includes all necessary
support equipment and systems.
Johnson said his department has been
considering equipping officers with body
cams, and they have tested and evaluated a
number of models during the past year. The
Axon model to be used meets or exceeds
the requirements of most law enforcement
agencies, he added.
At the end of the one-year period, Chesterfield
will have the option of either
returning all equipment at no cost or obligation,
or negotiating a purchase.
Johnson observed that the one-year trial
will enable his department to test and evaluate
the gear further, as well as develop
policies and procedures governing the
equipment’s usage.
Councilmember Tom DeCampi [Ward
4] opposed the deal due to concerns about
access to stored data in the offsite [cloud]
storage location to be used with the system.
Council acts on deer
hunting rules
The Chesterfield City Council has
approved updated deer hunting rules and
has set the stage for passing new regulations
governing drones and short-term
rentals involving single-family residential
property.
On a 6-2 vote at its June 5 meeting, the
council OK’d the revised deer hunting
rules.
In an effort to control the animals’ population,
Chesterfield has permitted bowand-arrow
hunting for a number of years.
The primary change is to allow hunting on
parcels as small as one-half acre. The previous
minimum size was one acre.
Councilmember Dan Hurt [Ward 3]
opposed the ordinance due to concerns that
hunting on smaller parcels will increase
safety problems. Councilmember Randy
Logan [Ward 3] also voted against the
updated regulations.
While Councilmember Guy Tilman
[Ward 2] supported the changes, he warned
that hunting on smaller plots emphasizes
the need for common sense and safety
considerations in implementing the new
measure.
The council’s Public Health and Safety
Committee [PH&S] earlier had recommended
the updated rules. Anyone interested
in the new regulations should contact
the Chesterfield Police Department.
Proposed rules regulating the use of
drones will affect both the unmanned aircraft
and those who operate them.
Among other items, it will be unlawful
to use a drone for surveillance within the
city limits and to operate one over or near
any city-sponsored event or where there
is a fire, motor vehicle accident or crime
scene.
Drone flights are limited to daylight
hours, defined as the period 30 minutes
before sunrise and after sunset.
An unmanned aircraft operator must
have a registration for the drone from the
Federal Aviation Administration [FAA]
and an FAA-issued commercial remote
pilot certificate.
The proposed regulations on renting
single-family homes declare that “the
peace, safety and general welfare of neighborhoods
can be negatively affected by
excessive noise, disorderly conduct, illegal
parking, overcrowding and excessive accu-