West Newsmagazine 4-11-18

4 I OPINION I
April 11, 2018
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
@WESTNEWSMAG
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
False pretenses
To the Editor:
Two weeks ago I was approached by a
petitioner outside of the Pointe at Ballwin
Commons. I asked if the petition
was a proposition or if it had a name.
The petitioner said no, but that the goal
was to have the removal of Confederate
landmarks be decided by the Missouri
History Museum and the like and not by
politicians. I thought this sounded reasonable
so I signed.
Then, one of my union friends posted
a picture on Facebook showing two men
at UMSL trying to get people to sign the
petition under the same pretense. Turns
out that they are paid out-of-state petitioners
deceptively using this ruse to get
people to sign a petition for a ‘Right to
Work’ initiative. I recognized one of the
two men as the one outside The Pointe.
What a foolish tactic. Ultimately, it
fails. Not to mention the fact that it’s just
plain wrong.
Tim Cibulka
Regarding ‘Time for a
new Valley view’
To the Editor:
Your suggestion that it’s time to “consider
the vision” of Chesterfield Valley
[“Time for a new Valley view,” West
Newsmagazine, April 4] is well-taken.
All cities, organizations, school districts,
etc. should occasionally reconsider
their view. The question is how they go
about it, what guidelines are used, who
participates in the process, and what is
satisfactory and what is not satisfactory
in the current view.
In my estimation, the Chesterfield city
fathers have failed the Valley with two
impactful decisions. First, the incomprehensible
decision to allow two outlet
malls in the Valley, admitting that one
was certain to fail. Of course, what happened
is the demise of the city’s crownjewel,
Chesterfield Mall. Second, was
the approval of the Topgolf complex
– perhaps one of the most unsightly structures
imaginable. The tax dollar “poised”
[as you put it] to benefit Chesterfield
cannot mitigate or repair this ugly edifice
despoiling the Valley’s skyline.
Now comes Carvana. It is a transparent
tower of used-cars, bathed in light, 24/7.
It is without merit, it brings no needed
service to Chesterfield, it is architecturally
sinful and it adds another eye-sore
to the Valley.
Additionally, as one speaker noted at
the Planning Commission meeting, Carvana
is a used car dealership. As such,
approval of the project sets precedent
and opens the door for other used car
dealers to seek ground in the Valley.
The property in Chesterfield Valley
is prime real estate. With patience and
thoughtful planning, the city will not
hurt for businesses wanting to locate
there. High rise structures are to be
expected, but they don’t have to be atrociously
ugly.
The Carvana proposal should be
denied. Look beyond the almighty tax
dollar.
Bill Mueller
Deceptive language
To the Editor:
I want to share my huge disappointment
on how poorly I felt all the propositions
on the April 3 ballot were written. The
citizens of Wildwood were tricked into
voting for term limits and an increase in
spending on capital improvements without
voter approval.
None of the ballot language on the
propositions included that there were
already term limits in place and that the
propositions were asking to change the
current term limits. So as it was written,
the voter was lead to believe that
these propositions were to establish term
limits, not change existing ones.
The same was true in the deceptive way
Prop 4 was written. On the ballot, Prop 4
asked if voter approval should be required
on capital improvement projects exceeding
$3,500,000, but it did not state that
there was already a limit of $3,000,000 set
on capital improvements, so what the prop
was actually asking for was an increase
in spending without voter approval. Why
not just state it as such? Take the honest,
straightforward approach.
It could have been worded much
more honestly by stating “Shall subsection
B of Section 6.3 be amended
to increase the amount of money able
to be spent on certain capital improvement
projects exceeding $3,000,000 now
to be raised to a limit of $3,500,000?”
When the propositions were written, the
Wildwood officials correctly assumed
that the voters would not scrutinize
the current city charter to see what the
original charter stated in regard to the
propositions, and they relied on the
voters trusting them to honestly word the
language on the ballot to state honestly
and exactly what they wanted to change.
Those officials were aware that most
voters do not research the current charter
before voting, but only read the language
as written on the ballot, and they deplorably
took advantage of this.
They took advantage of the people they
are paid to represent and deceived them
into approving changes to the charter.
I am hugely disappointed in all of the
officials who approved the misleading
ballot language. Shame on them. It is time
for a huge change in our government representation
in Wildwood. The citizens of
Wildwood deserve better than this.
Susan Weis
Founder
Publisher
General Manager
Managing Editor
Associate Editor
Features Editor
Business Manager
Graphic Designer
Graphic Designer
Graphic Layout
Tech Advisor/ Website
Admin. Assistant
Advertising Manager
Vicky Czapla
Writers
Doug Huber
Sharon Huber
Tim Weber
Kate Uptergrove
Ellen Lampe
Lisa Russell
Erica Myers
Jessica Mattingly
Ryan Moore
Emily Rothermich
Brian Miller
Melissa Balcer
Advertising Account Executives
Nancy Anderson
Denise Candice
Ellen Hartbeck
Classified Advertising Sales
Chris Oth
Suzanne Corbett
Jim Erickson
Brian Flinchpaugh
Linda Joyce
Joe Ritter
Sheila Roberts
Bonnie Krueger
Warren Mayes
Jessica Meszaros
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In this Issue
12
Home Opener
New Chesterfield Valley
hockey complex plans
grand opening for late
summer 2019.
Want to express your opinion?
Submit your letter to: editor@newsmagazinenetwork.com • 636.591.0010
16
Tripped Up
Des Peres is set to
overhaul local sidewalks,
residential streets this
summer.
22
Wrestling Records
Senior Greg Rowles is
first Priory wrestler to
reach state finals in more
than 30 years.
33
Good Eats
Three area restaurants will
offer an autism-friendly
dining experience on
April 15.
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A PUBLICATION OF
ON THE COVER: The new mixed-use development in the Big Bend Square shopping center, also known as the Village at Twin Oaks Apartments.
[Jessica Meeszaros photo]