Mid Rivers Newsmagazine 3-20-24

14 I NEWS I
March 20, 2024
MID RIVERS NEWSMAGAZINE
NO TAX INCREASE
BOND ISSUE
The CITY CENTRE COMPLEX will be located at the American Car & Foundry
property, and Main Street will be extended through the property connecting
Main Street to Frenchtown.
The complex will include:
• A New City Hall
• A New Senior Center with a Rec Center Component
• Historical Society
• Sister Cities International Offices
• Arts and Cultural Center
VOTE APRIL 2
ON PROP C
Paid for by the City of St. Charles, Missouri. Daniel Borgmeyer, Mayor. 200 N. 2nd Street, St. Charles, MO 63301.
By JESSICA MARIE BAUMGARTNER
@MIDRIVERS_NEWS
MIDRIVERSNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
Monthly report proposed amid
transparency concerns
Dardenne Prairie residents have been
expressing a desire for more transparency
from city officials. The topic was once
again addressed at the March 6 Board of
Aldermen work session and regular meeting,
with the potential for the creation of a
new monthly report proposed.
During public comments, resident Cheri
Hawes brought up transparency concerns
on a recent public notice concerning
property near Stump and Feise roads She
explained that the notice only afforded
residents a 48-hour period to contact their
aldermen.
Hawes asked why notices of this nature
were not posted on the city’s Facebook
page or the website.
“Transparency is something residents
have repeatedly stood up here and
requested,” Hawes said.
Sound and audio issues have been a
recurring problem during work sessions
and board meetings, both in-person and
on YouTube recordings. Residents at the
March 6 meeting noted that the Feb. 21
board meeting video only contains audio
for two of the six speakers who presented
their cases to board members. The first
three speakers were not recorded at all,
and the last speaker’s comments were
completely silent. Two of those previous
speakers, David Miller and Cheryl Bratton,
spoke again on March 6 and shared their
displeasure with the situation.
City Engineer Tom Weis stated that the
video issue was a malfunction on his end,
and City Administrator James W. Knowles
said the video was not edited, despite the
recording gaps.
Recording issues have recently caused
problems for the board members, preventing
Alderman Mike Costlow (Ward 2)
from participating a Town Square Vision
Steering Committee meeting. This was
addressed at the Feb. 7 board meeting,
with no further discussion being made
public.
Due to the transparency complaints,
Costlow proposed creating a monthly
report. He said it could be made available
to residents and city officials through the
city’s website and offer updates on city
health, activities and current challenges.
His suggested areas of interest are listed
in the March 6 work session agenda and
range from financial information to project
updates, parks and recreation enrollment
information and more.
In response, Mayor John Gotway said
much of that information is “readily available”
already. He said the list of suggested
information isn’t being withheld and that
anyone can request the information on an
individual basis, unless it’s confidential.
Alderman Mark Johnson (Ward 3) questioned
how much added time and effort
creating a report of this nature would be.
Costlow said current public information
is coming from multiple varied
sources, and described how a monthly
report would offer a concise and standardized
update to make the information more
easily accessible for everyone, including
board members.
Alderman Justin Ungerboeck (Ward 2)
agreed.
“It’s not that we aren’t getting the info,
it’s that we’re getting it in five different
emails and it would be great if we got it all
in one,” Ungerboeck said.
The monthly report idea is currently in
the research and planning phase and is
expected to be addressed at the April 3
meeting.
NEWS BRIEFS, from page 9
“mutually voluntary” meaning both the
buyer and the seller must agree to participate.
Once a property is bought by the
county, the home will be demolished, and
the land converted to open space, Meyers
said.
Eligible properties are those that are
the primary residence and owner-occupied
home at the time of the flood event
in 2019 and are still owned by the same
person. This also includes owner-occupants
when they are heirs and assigns of
a deceased owner-occupant in 2019 and
are eligible owners. Deployed military
personnel who are owners and those that
are the primary residents of a residential
owner-occupied building with up to three
residential tenant units within the same
structure as the owner-occupant are also
eligible.
Properties that were second homes at
the time of the event or that have been
sold since the 2019 flood and now have a
different owner are not eligible to receive
buyout funds.
The county has been working with the
Missouri Department of Economic Development
to launch the buyout process. For
more information or to find out if a property
is included in the voluntary buyout
program, visit sccmo.org/2185 or call
(636) 200-1933.