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West Newsmagazine 3-21-18

Local news, local politics and community events for West St. Louis County Missouri.

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14 I NEWS I<br />

March <strong>21</strong>, 20<strong>18</strong><br />

WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />

PLAY BALL!<br />

Nine innings of trivia spiced with fun<br />

baseball questions!<br />

Meramec Valley Community Kiwanis &<br />

Wildwood Historical Society<br />

TRIVIA NIGHT<br />

Saturday, April 7 th - 7:00 PM<br />

u’ll Be Impressed.<br />

VFW Hall<br />

115 Mimosa, Ballwin<br />

Call Paul at 636/273-5398<br />

or paul.eckler@att.net.<br />

very affordable price.<br />

130 140 Juried artists both local and national<br />

Inside the comfortable Greensfelder Complex<br />

Free Self-Parking<br />

Age <strong>18</strong> under free admission<br />

Live Music, wine tasting<br />

Plus daily drawings to win $100 Free Art<br />

September March 23,24, 1,2,3 25<br />

Friday 5-9 Saturday 10-6<br />

Sunday 11-4<br />

Presented by Greater<br />

St. Louis Art Association<br />

For complete information, visit<br />

ArtFairatQueenyPark.com<br />

Browsing:<br />

Cool.<br />

Meeting The Artist:<br />

Very Cool.<br />

Selecting The Right Piece:<br />

Perfect.<br />

The Art Fair<br />

At Queeny Park Starts Next This Friday<br />

We’re sure you’ll find the perfect piece you’ve been<br />

looking for from virtually every media at a<br />

Admission $5.00<br />

Bring This Ad<br />

for<br />

$1.00<br />

Off Admission<br />

By JESSICA MESZAROS<br />

@WESTNEWSMAG<br />

WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM<br />

Talk of Belleview Farm Park<br />

improvements starts up again<br />

Outdoor enthusiasts might be taking to<br />

the streets or the trails of Wildwood more<br />

often after 20<strong>18</strong>. The city is taking the concept<br />

of economic development outdoors<br />

for some fresh air.<br />

At its March 12 work session, Wildwood’s<br />

City Council took a voice vote<br />

in favor of developing a concept plan for<br />

Belleview Farm Park, a parcel of more<br />

than 100 acres of unincorporated land in<br />

St. Louis County near St. Paul and Jedberg<br />

roads. The property, which abuts to the city<br />

of Wildwood, is under a long-term lease,<br />

for which the city pays St. Louis County<br />

about $1 per year. The 25-year lease agreement<br />

went into effect in 2014 with the creation<br />

of a park as part of the deal.<br />

“That was a contingency to St.<br />

Louis County supporting the lease<br />

with the city of Wildwood, that we<br />

would build certain facilities and<br />

then open the park for public use,”<br />

Joe Vujnich, director of planning<br />

and parks, said.<br />

On March 12, the council voted<br />

to enter a design process with the<br />

city’s Department of Planning for<br />

the further development of, and<br />

additions to, Belleview Farm Park<br />

by authorizing a memorandum of<br />

understanding [MOU] for the city<br />

administrator and the city attorney<br />

to engage Gateway Off-Road Cyclists<br />

[GORC]. The creation of trails and assets<br />

in the area also was discussed. The MOU<br />

would then return to the city council in the<br />

future for review.<br />

According to Vujnich, GORC<br />

approached the city in early 20<strong>18</strong> regarding<br />

the creation of onsite amenities, specifically,<br />

two trail courses, a children’s<br />

educational area and a connector trail to<br />

link to the nearby Al Foster Trail.<br />

GORC is a 501[c]3 nonprofit organization<br />

dedicated to the design, advocacy,<br />

construction and maintenance of multiuse<br />

trails across the area. Many members<br />

of GORC are architects and engineers,<br />

and much of its work is volunteer-driven.<br />

GORC also has assisted with trail development<br />

within other local parks, including<br />

Greensfelder Park and Bluff View Park.<br />

For some councilmembers, the partnership<br />

with GORC is an opportunity to<br />

provide residents with more outdoor recreation<br />

and to draw visitors that would spend<br />

money at local shops and restaurants.<br />

“It’s really become this world-class trail<br />

system that we really have to give GORC a<br />

lot of credit for, because they’re the volunteers<br />

out there making this happen,” Councilmember<br />

Tammy Shea [Ward 3] said.<br />

“Our outdoor environment is our greatest<br />

asset. It’s the hallmark of our city, and it’s<br />

why we incorporated.”<br />

While the council’s motion was favorable<br />

at the work session, the prospect of<br />

the city using funds for a park not technically<br />

located within the city was a cause of<br />

concern for some, especially in the realm<br />

of using taxpayer dollars for any possible<br />

improvements.<br />

“The reason I’m not in favor of this is<br />

because it’s not land that’s within the city of<br />

Wildwood,” Councilmember Debra Smith<br />

McCutchen [Ward 5] said. “It’s not owned<br />

by Wildwood, and it’ll never be owned by<br />

Wildwood, and we would be using city tax<br />

dollars to go toward that project.<br />

“I think it’s a great project and I think<br />

Belleview Farm Park<br />

[City of Wildwood photo]<br />

GORC does a great job, but if they’re<br />

going to do this partnership, I think they<br />

need to do it with the county and not with<br />

the city of Wildwood.”<br />

According to Vujnich, GORC would be<br />

responsible for providing the expertise,<br />

staff and labor for its respective projects,<br />

while the city will cover costs pertaining<br />

to items like the park’s design plan, access<br />

roads, parking and the interior park drive.<br />

The city would look into providing the<br />

same quality amenities currently present in<br />

the city’s Community Park, such as picnic<br />

tables and trash receptacles. The city also<br />

would be responsible for the ongoing maintenance<br />

of the area, which currently costs<br />

an estimated $2,000 to $3,000 annually<br />

for items like cutting grass and addressing<br />

minor vandalism.<br />

If a favorable MOU is passed by the city,<br />

work could begin in late 20<strong>18</strong> to early 2019,<br />

according to Vujnich. However, before any<br />

physical work can begin, the MOU would<br />

need to return to GORC, and further legislation<br />

would come back to the city council<br />

for ultimate approval.<br />

In July 2016, the city provided an update<br />

See BELLEVIEW, next page

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