West Newsmagazine 2-14-18

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February 14, 2018
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
Susan Mathis
Chief Executive Officer
Susan Mathis, RN, MSN, is the chief executive
officer of CenterPointe Hospital, a state-of-the-art
high-quality mental health and addiction treatment
facility for adults, senior adults and adolescents. Prior
to being promoted in 2016 to her current position,
Susan was in the chief operating officer role at CenterPointe from 2005 to 2015.
Susan earned a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing and a master’s degree in
nursing from Saint Louis University.
For the past 25 years, Susan has spent her career in the behavioral health field. She
has held behavioral health senior leadership positions in prestigious organizations.
She is regarded as an innovative and effective leader and change agent with excellent
interpersonal and communications skills.
Susan is highly skilled in motivating and mentoring management teams and staff to
achieve objectives and results. She has demonstrated flexibility and success in the
challenging and ever-changing healthcare environment and has used her expertise to
make CenterPointe Hospital a leader in behavioral health treatment.
“CenterPointe Hospital is committed to serving the mental health and addiction needs
of our communities,” said Susan, “and we continually strive to meet the needs of
our patients and families during their time of crisis in a caring and professional
environment.”
With her history of proven success,
under Susan’s leadership CenterPointe
Hospital will continue to provide a level
of comprehensive care unmatched by
private treatment centers in the region.
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SYSTEM
4801 Weldon Spring Parkway • St. Charles
(800) 345-5407 (Toll Free)
(636) 477-2136 (Admissions)
www.CenterPointeHospital.com
Chesterfield resident Tami Barnes is the director of
sales and marketing for Oasis Senior Advisors. As a
free service, she guides seniors and their families in
finding independent, assisted and memory care living
as well as respite care services. The dedicated and
compassionate Senior Living Advisors have extensive knowledge about senior living
options in the area and work with seniors and their loved ones to find the “right place.”
They provide hands-on service with personal meetings to discuss specific needs; they
prepare a refined list of living areas to match each client’s unique profile and they
accompany clients on tours of communities.
Tami understands both the emotional and financial aspects of finding senior housing
and she has made it her mission to positively impact families during a difficult time
in their lives. The never-ending choices and costs associated with assisted living
options can be overwhelming.
“I can help people find the perfect place for their loved one,” Tami said. “Seniors have
contributed so much to society. They
deserve this greatly needed service
and attention.”
Call today to learn how Tami
and her professional staff of senior
advisors can help your loved one
find the perfect oasis... because the
right place means everything.
Tami Barnes
Director of Sales
and Marketing
17295 Chesterfield Airport Road • Chesterfield
(636) 893-4194
tbarnes@youroasisadvisor.com
www.chesterfield.oasissenioradvisors.com
By JIM ERICKSON
The Chesterfield City Council has
decided to proceed with updating its master
plan for city parks and has approved a new
location for the city’s community garden.
The council earlier had delayed acting
on the parks master plan project despite
having approved funds for it in 2017. Concerns
centered on the cost, whether the
updating was needed and the view that the
work could be handled by city staff.
In a subsequent report, Tom McCarthy,
Chesterfield’s director of parks, recreation
and arts, explained that while
having a master plan is not essential to
receiving municipal park grants, having
one enhances the city’s score when applying
for St. Louis County funds. Although
budgeted funds for the project were not
used in 2017, projected expenditures again
were used in developing the 2018 budget.
No additional funding or appropriation is
being requested.
McCarthy noted that master plans are
complex; therefore, it is cost-effective to
use an experienced consulting firm rather
than hire additional staff for the job.
Councilmember Ben Keathley [Ward 2]
said his thoughts on the project had changed
since 2017. The cost of a master plan isn’t
cheap but it’s much less than what the city
@WESTNEWSMAG
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
Chesterfield moves ahead with parks
master plan, approves garden site
WILDWOOD, from page 11
ing the appointment of officers, boards
commissions and committees, has raised
concerns, particularly among members of
the We Are Wildwood group.
Ward 6 resident Bill Kennedy, a member
of We Are Wildwood, said in an email to
West Newsmagazine that the proposed
appointments are “back-door politics at
its worst.” Kennedy said, “The fear is that
he [Bowlin] will appoint people who will
push through his chosen legislation before
the citizens get to choose their representatives
[in the April election].”
According to Rull, “I hope that no matter
who wins or loses the election, it doesn’t
deter residents from getting involved in the
community.”
Bowlin maintains the pre-election
appointments were not politically motivated,
but not everyone agreed with that
statement.
“Wildwood voters are not dumb,” Bowlin
said. “They’re smart, and they know that
just because someone is appointed to a
position, that doesn’t mean they’re the
person they’ll vote for. Just because the
candidates are approved by the mayor and
could lose if it failed to receive a parks
grant due to a lower score on its application,
Keathley pointed out. It’s also good
to have an outside firm’s opinion, he added.
City staff earlier had opened proposals
from a number of consulting firms and had
recommended Pros Consulting Inc. for the
project. The council voted unanimously to
award a contract to the Indianapolis-based
firm at a price not to exceed $60,000.
The parks committee recommended
using up to $8,500 from the parks reserve
fund to pay for a new community garden
site and the council unanimously agreed.
The former garden location was on
ground that has been sold. The fact that the
new site is just north of the old one makes
an exodus of current plot holders unlikely,
city officials believe, but there is a waiting
list if any vacancies occur.
Fencing and other supplies from the
original garden will be used at the new site,
east of Burkhardt Place on the eastern side
of Chesterfield Parkway.
As with the old location, the new garden
is on land owned by Sachs Properties,
which has allowed the city to use the tract
for the next several years or until the site is
slated for development.
Those using plots in the garden pay the
city a rental fee. During the past two years,
that income has totaled $4,050.
council doesn’t mean voters don’t do their
own investigation, because they do. We
have a highly educated city, and they know
what they’re doing.”
Councilmember Tammy Shea [Ward
3] said, “It just seems like if you weren’t
trying to politicize these appointments, you
would just pick someone who wasn’t running
already.”
Stephens described the nomination of his
opponent as “an act of desperation.” Still,
he said, “I believe I have a strong campaign
and I have the support of my opponent’s
neighbors; I’m confident that they’d
like to move away from the dysfunctional
2017 council meetings.”
“You have to have confidence in the
voters,” Shea said. “I trust this community
implicitly, I really do.”
According to the city charter, “If the City
Council fails to consent to the appointment,
the Mayor shall make an appointment of a
different qualified candidate within thirty
[30] days of the Council’s failure to consent
and continue this process until such
time as a majority of the members of the
City Council consents to an appointment.”
“If he’s got 30 days, that’s plenty of time
to find somebody,” Shea said.