West Newsmagazine 5-6-20

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HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! WE HAVE HANGING BASKETS GALORE! OR GIFT CERTIFICATES SO MOM CAN PICK HER OWN SURPRISE! ZICK’S GREAT OUTDOORS THANKS YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT AND PATIENCE Polka Dot Your Landscaping with Some Splash! Beautiful Knockout Roses! AND a great selection of “Drift” Roses! We have the largest inventory in our 40 year history INCLUDING Boxwoods and other deer resistant plants! Hanging Baskets, Magnolias, Perennials and Annuals Galore! The Azaleas are BLOOMING!! Add some color to your life!! TODD’S TULIP IS BACK! 23 YEARS STRONG! WE MISS YOU! Your Mulch, Top Soil & Pine Straw Headquarters! Yes! We Deliver! The Governor says yes... We say CAREFUL!! We ARE social distancing! “Visit our Brand New Website!” www.zicksgreatoutdoors.com St. Louis’ supplier of pine straw! Open 7 Days a Week @ 16498 Clayton Rd. (Corner of Clayton/Strecker in Wildwood)
FACEBOOK.COM/WESTNEWSMAGAZINE WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM Municipalities tweak summer events, close spaces to enforce social distancing May 6, 2020 WEST NEWSMAGAZINE I NEWS I 11 By JESSICA MESZAROS On April 27, Gov. Mike Parson officially revealed plans to launch an upcoming statewide recovery plan designed to jumpstart the local economy, provide aid to local businesses and inspire jurisdictions to transition back into a normal routine. The Show Me Strong Recovery Plan, which spans from May 4-31, is made of up four pillars that were created allow residents to gradually return to normal life while simultaneously quarantining and providing adequate treatment for infected individuals. The plan calls for an extended testing capacity statewide, increasing the reserves of personal protective equipment by opening public and private supply chains, monitoring and/or expanding hospital and healthcare system capacity, including isolation and alternate care facilities for those that cannot self-quarantine at home and improve the ability to predict potential outbreaks using public health data. Local jurisdictions can follow the recovery plan’s guidelines or hold residents to stricter rules, depending on the area. Those stricter rules are exactly what St. Louis County has opted to continue. While the state’s stay-at-home order was only scheduled until May 3, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page stated that the county’s stay-at-home order would continue indefinitely and would be reevaluated by mid-May. According to the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services, St. Louis County continues to lead as the state’s most concentrated area of infection statistics, accounting for over 3,000 of the state’s total 7,000 cases amongst its estimated 1 million residents, at press time. As a result of the stay-at-home order and ongoing state of the pandemic, many municipalities have tweaked or altered their upcoming event schedules in anticipation of summertime crowds. Ballwin After multiple discussions amongst both city staff and the Board of Aldermen, the city’s Ballwin Days 2020 festival scheduled for June 4-7 has been officially canceled. However, there are current discussions among city staff members regarding potential plans to host a celebration event later this fall. According to the city’s website, the decision was made as a result of ongoing safety concerns in the community. “We’re not sure how similar it’s going to be to Ballwin Days, but once this is all over and it’s safe for everyone to go outside, we do want to do something that celebrates the community,” Kennedy Robinson, Ballwin’s marketing and communications specialist, said. According to Robinson, there are three outdoor recreation areas within the city that see frequent traffic during spring and summer. One of those is The Pointe at Ballwin Commons recreation center, which will remain closed until St. Louis County’s stay-at-home order is officially lifted. The North Pointe Aquatic Center usually opens after Memorial Day, and according to Robinson, that date has not changed. The Ballwin Golf Course remains open for business from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, but with changes made to enhance social distancing measures. All carts, flags, rakes, ball washing stations and other high-touch surfaces have been removed. All interior facilities are also closed, and food and drink sales have been suspended. The city’s trails and parks also remain open for individuals to utilize. However, amenities like playgrounds, restrooms and water fountains remain closed. Chesterfield The city of Chesterfield has been operating under its “Essential Personnel Only Mode” In the interest of public health and safety, Ballwin Days 2020 has been canceled. City discussions are under way about hosting a follow-up event this fall. [File photo] since March 23. Due to the current health concerns surrounding the pandemic, certain citywide amenities are still scheduled to remain closed until further notice. These include all park bathrooms, all park playgrounds, Eberwein Dog Park, the community gardens and the Chesterfield Valley Athletic Complex. The city’s Parks, Recreation & Arts Department has created a Daily Virtual Recreation Challenge that residents can participate in via social media channels like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. As of April 30, many of the city’s upcoming events scheduled for late summer and fall are still scheduled to proceed as normal. These include the Sounds of Summer Concert Series, a free concert series at the Chesterfield Amphitheater that is currently scheduled to begin its line-up on June 13; the annual Fourth of July Celebration, which includes a firework display at Chesterfield Mall; and the 8th Annual Ed Nestor Memorial Backstoppalooza, a fundraiser concert on August 22 where all the concession sales benefit BackStoppers, Inc. While all these events are currently scheduled to continue as planned, the approval of all events will depend on the state of the county’s stay-at-home order and any safety regulations issued by St. Louis County or the Chesterfield City Council. For ongoing updates, visit chesterfield. mo.us. Ellisville Ellisville was one of the first municipalities to act following the indefinite extension of St. Louis County’s stay-at-home order. At the city’s April 15 City Council meeting, which was held via video conference, Mayor Mike Roemerman and council members approved a staff recommendation to cancel all events and concerts scheduled through the month of August. This includes the city’s annual Independence Day event at Bluebird Park. Also included was the decision to close The EDGE Aquatic Center at Bluebird Park. The decision was announced on the city’s Facebook page on April 17. The city made the move to cancel citywide events and close common spaces in order to prevent large gatherings of individuals, which could potentially increase the risk of person-to-person infection. According to Roemerman, the decision to cancel the July Fourth event was not an easy one to make. “It was a difficult decision to make because it is a tradition,” Roemerman told West Newsmagazine. Wildwood’s Plein Air art event has been rescheduled for September. [Source: City of Wildwood Facebook Page] He also stated he originally was in favor of postponing the cancellation of the event rather than canceling it now, but changed his mind after a council member shared that many July Fourth event cancellations had already taken place in other areas. The April 17 announcement also stated that the cancellation of some of events and amenities through August has created some budgetary savings that will help replace some of the lost sales tax revenue resulting from local businesses and restaurants seeing closures or adopting reduced hours due to COVID-19. However, Roemerman said the budgetary savings were not the driving force behind the city’s decision to restrict its events. Roemerman said that city staff and council members will continue to monitor the fluidity of the situation moving forward, but that the city is forced to remain in a stay-at-home state until at least May 15 to coincide with the stay-at-home timeline issued by St. Louis County. The situation will be constantly reevaluated by council and staff members. While certain facilities like playgrounds and The EDGE Aquatic Center may be closed, Bluebird Park and its network of trails remain open for individuals to visit and utilize while practicing good social distancing and following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Eureka Following the announcement of Parson’s recovery plan, Mayor Sean Flower released an official letter to the public on April 28 stating the city would plan to reopen per the governor’s guidelines. While part of Eureka is located in Jefferson County, which has stated its intent to follow Parson’s order, much of the municipality is located in St. Louis County where the stayat-home remains enforced indefinitely. On April 30, Flower issued a follow-up letter to his original statement commenting See MUNICIPALITIES, page 42
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