The Overland Examiner

We're Moving!!

2008-02-02T00:55:00.000-06:00

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No, the Overland Examiner is not gone, we just moved a bit. Check us out at: http://www.overlandexaminer.com. We starting the new project slowly, but it's well on it's way. Be sure to register on the new site so that you can comment on articles and participate in projects as they develop.

There is still a ton of tweaking to do but the site is functional and there are already now articles online there so come check us out.
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Council Workshop Meeting - Oct. 29th, 2007

2007-10-30T17:42:00.000-05:00

Another long meeting of Overland's elected officials
means another long article here.

The Overland City Council met for a Workshop meeting in the Council Chambers on October 29th, 2007. Subjects discussed at this meeting included:

The new sign at the Community Center
Various ways to address Trash Service funding
Demolition of the pool and associated buildings at Legion Park
Parking and municipal boundary issues on Lackland
The City Administrator position
Issues with the Bridge at Wild Acres Park
Issues with Police Radios

The Community Center sign issue was a simple matter of deciding on colors before it was ordered. The Council voted unanimously for a green background with amber LEDs (lights) for the message board. As our readers may recall this new sign will be a scrolling marquee that will allow the Community Center staff to put more information out to the public more frequently. It is our understanding that the message will be able to be added to or changed from within the Community Center. This should allow the Center staff to update the information on the sign as frequently as needed.

One interesting possibility that I don't believe has been discussed is the potential for this sign to be used to provide information to the public in times of emergency. While the need for electricity limits the sign's usefulness in that regard, it might be worth taking into consideration when the Council revisits the issue of providing backup power generation for the Center.

The next issue was Trash service. In the last budget, the Council voted to put $50,000.00 aside to help those in need with their trash bill. While that sounds simple, if you watch the video below you'll learn it's anything but.

Ultimately two possible plans were discussed. One, proposed by Councilperson O'Connell (Ward 2), was to set aside a month each year where people could come into City Hall with their federal income tax return(s) to show that their family earned less than $20,000.00 in the previous year. Once the application month ended the City would divide the budgeted $50,000.00 between all the applicants who would then receive whatever that amount was (up to the cost of a full year of service). For example, if 200 people successfully applied in that month, the City would divide $50,000.00 by 200 resulting in $250.00 per applicant which is nearly the annual cost of the service. However, if 400 people successfully applied each applicant would only get $125.00; if 1000 people successfully applied each would get $50.00, etc. As Councilperson Conlon pointed out we need to take any administrative costs associated with this program into account. City Clerk Linda Downs stated that if the guidelines for the Council were clear the administrative staff could handle it which likely means the costs would be limited to printing the forms and issuing the checks.

The other proposal came from City Attorney Bob Herman. He suggested that the City consider going to the voters for a real property tax increase aka "user fee". While we all just screamed no NO NO!!! this plan is worth some further review.

The idea is to add a tax on every lot in the city. That means that business, large multi-family properties, and industrial would also be paying towards the cost of Trash service even though they don't receive it. It might seem unfair to do this, but as Mr. Herman pointed out we do the same with school taxes now. Everyone pays the school portion of their property tax bills whether they have children in the system or not.

With more entities paying for the service it is likely the cost to the residents would be reduced to a degree. Also, the trash hauler would no longer need to collect the fees. The City should be able to negotiate a reduction in the cost as this plan would eliminate their collection costs. Interestingly enough, the cost of collection is borne, not by the City, but by the County as they would be the ones collecting this revenue for us.

Something else to consider is that those in need already have access to a program from the State of Missouri that gives them a rebate on their State income taxes based on Real Property Taxes (or in some cases rent) paid and their income. As this would increase their Real Property Taxes, it is possible their rebate would increase as well. If you've never heard of the Missouri Property Tax Credit you can find out if you're eligible by clicking on the link.

The City doesn't have the revenues at this time to pay for trash service. So, be it by quarterly bill as we do it now, or by annual "user fee" on the property tax bill, we are going to have to pay for it ourselves. The potential benefit of the tax is the possible reduction in the cost of the service.

It was also suggested that the City could budget each year to subsidize the cost of Trash service based on the previous year's revenues. Though that could reduce the cost even further, I'm afraid I'd have to see that happen before I believe it.

If the City was to move forward with this idea the soonest it would likely appear on the Ballot would be April. Councilperson Conlon pointed out that April elections require a 4/7th majority to pass bond issues, suggesting this measure would require the same. I'm not sure if this is the case. St. Ann's utility tax increase on November's ballot (which requires a 3/5th majority to pass bond issues), only needs a simple majority to pass.

Residents will need to see this in writing and in detail before they could seriously consider it. However, this plan has the possibility (depending on the number of lots taxed) to reduce everyone's bill by an amount similar to what we might expect to be able to do for low income families in the other plan. If the details are there, the loopholes are absent, and the numbers work then this plan could benefit all the residents without filing requirements and the like. As always the devil is in the details so you'll have to wait and see what the City does with this idea, if they choose to act on it at all.

Both plans have issues. Mr. Herman explained that Overland's powers are limited by what is granted to a 3rd class City in the State statutes. He said there was no statute authorizing any sort of financial assistance program, so it would seem we cannot do this. Interesting, when Mr. Herman was challenged on this, using the current Overland utility tax rebate for seniors as an example, he said that it was his opinion that the City does not have the authority to do that either. He suggested that the reason Overland has not had a issue with this is because the dollar amount involved is so low and there are a lot of legal gray areas when dealing with programs for seniors (pun intended).

The other plan would requires a majority, possibly a super majority of Overland voters to cast ballots in favor of a significant real property tax increase aka "user fee". While this increase would eliminate the quarterly trash bill we currently receive and could possibly reduce the cost of trash service for everyone, it's doubtful that such a measure would pass.

As always when the trash issue came up a few on the Council tried to make political hay out of it. Councilperson Owensby (Ward 3)suggested that we should have used "the million dollars" we had last year to pay for it. We can argue about what million dollars he might be talking about but the bottom line is that the service cost more that that annually (last time I checked it was between 1.2 and 1.3 million annually). Even if we somehow paid for the service with last year's "million dollars" that would still only cover one year. Councilperson Owensby was challenged multiple times to present his suggestion for how to fund the service in subsequent years. He didn't directly answer that question.

This discussion went on, and Councilperson Owensby's myths continued. Though it has been proven to be a misrepresentation many times, he still insists on telling everyone that St. Ann pays half as much as Overland for Trash service. St. Ann only pays for a portion of the trash service we have in Overland. St. Ann residents have to pay for recycling and the City of St. Ann picks up the yard waste rather than pay the trash hauler to do it. The City of St. Ann pays half as much as Overland because St. Ann only provides half the services to their residents. We wonder what Councilperson Owensby will use as an example if St. Ann residents don't approve a Utility Tax increase next month and they have to drop "city paid" trash in January as a result? (link)

Then there were the hints that the purchase of Wild Acres cost us our trash service. We didn't pay for that all at once, we make payments on it similar to how people pay for their homes. However, at the current cost of trash service we could sell not just Wild Acres, but every park in the City as well and probably only be able to fund the service for two or three years at best.

Councilperson Jones (Ward 4)had an interesting suggestion as well. He asked if it was possible to create a central location where people who cannot pay for service could bring their trash. Where to put a new City dump is an obvious question. However, I'd like to know how the disabled and the housebound elderly (who make up a major portion of those in need in Overland) would possibly get their trash to this location.

For various reasons, some outside the control of previous administrations and some not, Overland's revenues have be stagnant for years. While the revenues did not increase, our operating expenses sure did. Gas, wages, raw materials, and more all combined to put a real squeeze on our City (as it has done to most of us at home as well). As Councilperson Keller (Ward 3) correctly pointed out, we need to focus on ways to bring new businesses into Overland to generate more revenue. That is of course the ultimate solution. If Overland prospers, revenues increase and the City could potentially return to paying for Trash service (as Maryland Heights did thanks to their casino revenues). However, this doesn't happen overnight. There is a Chinese proverb that says it best: "One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade." We cannot resolve this issue at this time. The funds are simply not there. For the foreseeable future we are going to have to pay for our Trash service, as nearly every municipality around us does. While we cannot get out of paying for this service, there may be ways to reduce how much it costs.

We could go on for pages and pages about the trash issue (did we do that already?), but there were other issues addressed at this meeting as well.

Though the Council has not come to a final decision on what to do with the land afterwards, they did vote unanimously to direct the Public Works department to start the demolition of the Legion Pool and the associated buildings. Councilperson Owensby likely echoed the thoughts of many long time residents of Overland when he explained that though he understands there is nothing we can do to reopen that pool, he has a lot of fond memories from there and will miss the place. Some of the more interesting suggestions for this property's future have been a few ball fields, sand volleyball courts, gazebos, a concession stand (to generate revenue for Overland through sales at baseball or volleyball games) or some mix of them all.

An issue with parking on Lackland at Oakland was discussed. As Acting Public Works Director Chuck Boone and Chief Herron pointed out, though they agree that this is an issue, there is nothing that Overland can do about it as the City of Overland ends at the curb of that street. Councilperson O'Connell raised the question that if the road and the shoulder belong to Sycamore Hills, but from the curb out is Overland, how would Sycamore Hills put up No Parking signs if they choose to. Mr. Herman stated that the City could give Sycamore Hills permission to do so by passing a Council resolution to that effect. Mayor Schneider asked that the Ward 2 Council members get in touch with Sycamore Hills and possibly even the business that is the cause of this problem. While I agree working with our neighbors is a good thing, if all Sycamore Hills needs to resolve this is a Council resolution, why devote any more time to this issue that could be better used dealing with other problems in our own City?

The next was the City Administrator issue. Other than debates concerning the history of the previous attempt to hire a City administrator the Council voted unanimously to schedule a Workshop meeting to review the City Administrator ordinance. They also voted unanimously to contact the East West Gateway Council of Governments to let them know of our intent to engage them for the hiring process once again. It is nice to see our City finally taking a few steps in this direction once again.

One of the most surprising suggestions was when Councilperson Owensby stated that he thinks we should hire former Mayor Frank Munsch as the new City administrator. I didn't live here when Frank Munsch was the Mayor, I've never met the man and I have no idea what his educational background is. What I do know is that I agree with Councilperson Cuminale (Ward 1) when she said we need to fill this position with a neutral party. We need someone who doesn't live or work in Overland and has no connection to Overland Politics. Mayor Schneider agreed with this as well and seemed to suggest to Councilperson Owensby that anyone could apply for the position via East-West Gateway once the process begins.

Councilperson May wanted to be sure that we would only consider candidates who had been vetted by East-West Gateway. Though Councilperson Owensby tried to suggest some sort of discrimination in that statement (which Mayor Schneider promptly corrected him on), all Councilperson May seemed to be suggesting is that we limit the field to those who meet the qualifications for the position and were recommended by the neutral group we'll be hiring to make those recommendations.

After the agenda items were completed some new and old business issues were raised. Mr. Boone asked for direction from the Council on what to do about the bridge at Wild Acres. He explained that a structural engineer looked at the bridge and told him it would be better to tear it down and build new than to try to restore it. Mr. Boone would not commit to whether or not this engineer said the bridge was unsafe for foot traffic. The Council voted to direct him to use public works to recover and store all of the bridge's ornamentation that could be saved.

While there has been a persistent rumor in Overland that this bridge came from the St. Louis Worlds Fair, it is my understanding that the Overland Historical Society has been unable to find any evidence of this. In all likelihood this bridge was build by the property owner in the same style as the Worlds Fair but that's as far as the connection appears to go.

The Mayor suggested that we need Citizens Committees to help the City address issues and research solutions. The Overland Examiner could not agree more. There's entirely too much to do for 9 part-time elected officials. Many residents have expressed interest in volunteering for the city so filling those committees is not likely to be an issue. The Mayore also said he'd like to get together with the entire Council and tour all of the parks to start thinking about what they would like to do with them so they are much better prepared for filing for grants in the future. This is a great idea, however due to the Sunshine Law this will have to be a public event which could complicate matters.

Mr. Boone also informed the Council that he expects work to finally start on the Wild Acres Seminary Property roof in the next week or two. He also asked the Council members from Ward 3 to get together with him to work out positioning of the lights that are to be installed in Brooks park in the hopes that they will reduce vandalism there.

The Chief raised an issue with the Police Radios. He explained that there are several areas in the City where officers cannot communicate with dispatch. The Chief pointed out that their equipment is working properly, and that this is a problem related to the ever growing number of frequencies in use rather than an equipment failure. According to the chief there were a few possible solutions. One was to shift to an 800 Mhtz system. He didn't recommend this however do to the huge cost involved as every hand-held and vehicle radio would have to be replaced as would most of the equipment at the station. The solution the Chief recommended was to install a booster system. This would require equipment to be installed at the Station that he estimated would cost $7000.00. Additionally it would cost the City $3000.00 for each booster as well as about $150.00/mo. for a phone line connected to each one.

Chief Herron explained that the problem is mostly in the Western portion of Overland as well as some sections of Page. He recommended that they purchase one booster and install it at the Wild Acres Police substation first as this might resolve all of the issues. If it didn't handle the problems on Page entirely, they could add a second booster at the City garage. The Council agreed and directed the Chief to begin gathering bids for this equipment.

Though the meeting was long, and it had its tense moments, the Council definitely did a bit better at working together than at the previous Council meeting. Ultimately, we will have to wait and see how votes on some of these issues go at the next Council meeting before we can judge how they're doing.

The following are two versions of the entire video of this Workshop meeting for your review (please let us know how the first one plays for you):

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October 29th Overland
City Council Workshop
( 2 hours, 21 minutes )

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Keeping Kids Safe on Halloween

2007-10-30T05:35:00.000-05:00

Halloween can be a recipe for disaster. Just think: hyper-charged by sugar, in costumes and masks, prowling dark streets with little supervision. The risks can be enormous. How can parents help protect thier kids and make Halloween a fun yet safe experience? Consider this advice for making trick or treating a safe experience.

Plan ahead. First, parents should make sure they know the expected route their children are planning to take for trick or treating. Make sure they have an expected time for return and that the kids have a watch.

Go along for the fun. The best approach is to make sure a responsible adult, preferably a parent, accompanies all trick or treaters. A little adult supervision can go a long way. Get together with other parents and take the little people as a group. Some of the fondest memories as an adult at Halloween, have been chatting with friends as the kids went door to door.

Stay on the beaten path. Remind your truck or treaters that they should stay in populated areas and away from open fields, back alleys and the like. Choosing well lit streets is a good rule.

Go only to known houses. This is a little tough to enforce, but is a wise choice. Just go to homes of people you know and can trust. While treat tampering is rare, you have to exercise a little caution. And there is a built in benefit - treats are usually a little better if the person behind the door knows the kids who are knocking!

Take a few safety precautions. Make sure your children have a flashlight or chemical "glow stick" with them. Putting a little reflective tape on the back of costumes is a good idea as well.

Watch for cars. This seems like common sense advice. but trick or treaters sometimes assume drivers can see them. Exercise extra caution. And remember, just because one car stops for them doesn't mean that all cars will.

Help them avoid crime. Sometimes children can unwittingly participate in criminal activities in the name of fun at Halloween. Toilet papering, parties, egging houses, terrorizing trick or treaters, engaging in harmful practical jokes, shoplifting and the like are criminal offenses. Sometimes masks and customes can make children feel invulnerable! Halloween is not an excuse for vandalism and crime. Warn them sternly. If they become involved in something like this, make them clean up or make restitution.

Custome safety. Here are some general guidelines for Halloween customes:

Any costume should be made of flame retardant material. There are just enough jack o'lanterns around to make us think twice.
Costumes should have at least some way of being visible in the dark. Reflective tape, lighter colors, battery operated flashing lights, and the like are important.
Avoid high heels and other tripping hazards with costumes. Props like swords, scythers and the like should be bendable in case they are fallen on.
Masks should have eye holes big enough to allow peripheral vision. If possible, avoid a mask altogether and use face paint.

As your children get a little older, trick or treating loses it allure and they will start looking for parties, haunted houses and the like. If your children are headed out for a party away from home, follow a few common sense rules:

Set a curfew. Make sure the kids know what time they need to be home and that they have a watch.
Know where they are going. Get a name, address, and phone number of their destination. It's also a good idea to make sure there will be adults supervising the party.
Take a cell phone or change. Make sure your kids have a way to contact you and to get home if needed. Sometimes parties can turn ugly in a variety of ways and they may want to get out and fast.
Consider hosting your own party. One way to stay in control of Halloween activities is to be the party host.
Plan activities in advance. Consider having some active games like a scavenger hunt or a murder mystery. A little structure can go a long way toward a safe Halloween.
Get creative. A pumpkin carving contest can be fun. You can even plan this around a theme like classic horror movies, local landmarks and the like. Have the party guests bring them along and carve them on-site.
Videos are great. With a little care and planning, you can rent a couple of Halloween classics at the video store. This with some munchies and a little supervision can be a great teen activity.

With trick or treaters, teen party goers and the possibility of a little adventure in the neighborhood, it pays to take a few precautions.

Open flames are a real hazard. If you use candles in your jack o'lanterns, make sure that they are not where costumes can connect with them. Put them on a shelf, on a garden wall or somewhere where they are not a potential fire hazard.

Keep pets safe. If any group has the potential for a bad Halloween experiences, pets would probably be close to the top of the list. Put your dogs and cats inside on Halloween night to minimize their stress and keep them safe from pranksters who might put them at risk. Don't let the kids feed them Halloween candy - not good for the digestive tract of any domestic animal.

Patrol occasionally. It doesn't hurt a couple times Halloween evening to jump in the car or wander down the street with your cell phone and a strong flashlight. Taking the iniative to establish a presence can eliminate vandalism or other problems before they start.

Be safe, use a little extra care and plan ahead. You can make a difference in your children's safety this Halloween.

This article was provided to us by Officer Scott Barthelmass of the Overland Police Department. Information originally from the Firefighters Association of Missouri. Thanks Scott!! You can find their article in PDF format here.

Overland City Council Meeting 10/22/2007

2007-10-28T06:31:00.000-05:00

Before this article begins I would like to apologize for the delay in getting this published. Unfortunately, my full time job (that supports my family), though my employers are very understanding and accommodating, does not always allow me the time needed to work on this project. Add to that the extensive work being done on a new version of this site (which is nearing completion), and time simply got away from me. Though I am doing radically better at time management these days, I still slip up from time to time.

The Overland City Council held their regularly scheduled meeting on October 22nd at the Overland Community Center. While we have become used to the spirit of cooperation and compromise the Council and the Mayor has shown since the August election both seemed all but absent at this meeting.

Residents comments included one resident asking when the Council was going to move forward on their proposal to fund helping needy families with the cost of their trash service (They budgeted $50,000.00 toward this earlier in the year). She was advised that they are working on it but as yet have no firm time frame for implementation. Another asked the Council and the Mayor to make filling the City Administrator position a top priority. One resident made an excellent point in my opinion. When Overland is already dealing with a negative image problem why would we add to it in prime time by holding a town hall meeting on a rat issue that is no worse than any inner-ring suburb? Also at residents comments an announcement of a Public Meeting focusing on Global Warming issues and what average people can do about it. This meeting will be held at the Overland Community Center, in the Activity Room on Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. I hope to see you all there.

The bills and the approval of the minutes went without issue other than Councilman May asking that the October 15th, 2007 Special Council meeting minutes be amended to include his motion to table the consolidation issue. The vote to approve this change went 7-1 with only Councilman Owensby opposing.

At this meeting Mayor Schneider reappointed some members and newly appointed others to the Board of adjustment. At an earlier meeting the Mayor expressed his desire to ensure that every Ward was once again represented on the Board.

Jack Arnold of Ward 2 was reappointed to the Board by a 7-1 vote with only Councilperson Owensby opposing.

Rudy Kuhlmann of Ward 4 was reappointed to the board unanimously. Oddly enough, Councilperson Owensby made the motion.

Bob Aston (not sure of the spelling here) of Ward 3 was appointed unanimously.

Dennis Hegamann (not sure of the spelling here either) of Ward 1 was appointed unanimously.

Jon Seals of Ward 1 was appointed as the alternate unanimously.

There was no mention of addressing the expired terms of some on the Planning and Zoning Commission, though we assume that will be coming up in the near future.

During the Clerks report several new business licenses was listed including Wendy's, which I believe is for their location in the Home Depot parking lot at 170 and Page that has been closed for some time now. Personally I've always been a fan of Wendy's so I look forward to their reopening.

During the Report of the City Attorney is when everything started to fall apart. The first issue raised was the consolidation of lots 9616 - 9622 Midland ave. These are commercial properties that had formally be occupied by a construction company. It was said at an earlier meeting that the owner needed to consolidate the lots because he had a buyer whose bank would not finance the deal unless they were consolidated into one property. Normally consolidations like this are a simple procedure. The Council is involved because all lot consolidations or subdivisions require an Ordinance. Normally such a consolidation would go through without a hitch because the property is vacant and consolidating the lots makes it easier for the owner to sell the property (hopefully bringing a new business to Overland in the process). This issue was a bit different however.

Before we go further I would like to point out that my family lives within a few blocks of this property. While I am confident my position on this issue would be the same if it was anywhere else in town, to some this would constitute a personal bias.

First there is the type of company looking to move into the property. Pool Pros (this link may be broken) is a swimming pool maintenance company. As such they would be storing large quantities of chemicals including chlorine on-site (as they currently do at their 2533 Link Location). That puts those hazardous chemicals across the street from Legion Park, a few doors down from a Day Care Center, a few blocks from Marion School (and along the route many children walk to get to that school). Additionally, these lots boarder Cold Water Creek and several residences share a property line with it. Considering all of this it would seem obvious that such a business does not belong at this location. There are a host of industrial park locations in Overland that would be better suited for such a company. These issues were also raised at the October 15th Special Council Meeting that was held after the Town Hall Meeting that evening.

Normally, this would not be a concern when considering consolidating lots. Consolidating the lots helps the seller, but the buyer normally has to go through the same inspection and review process all commercial interests have to go through to open a business in Overland. However, it was suggested by Acting Public Works Director Chuck Boone that the former construction company and the new pool company are similar businesses and thus he would have to transfer the Conditional Use permit. This would allow this company to move into this property without Planning and Zoning Commission or Board of Adjustment review and without any Public input on the issue. It is because of this that the consolidation became an issue. Several on the Council felt that they could not let this business circumvent the process designed to protect the city and its citizens.

I reviewed the Overland Ordinances on Conditional Uses trying to figure out where Mr. Boone was coming from on this. To give a current conditional use permit for one company to another would seem to come under one of two ordinances:

SECTION 400.705: TRANSFERABILITY

All conditional use permits shall be approved for the originating applicant for a specific location, and may not be transferred to any other location by that applicant. Should title to the property be transferred to a different owner, a renewal of the original conditional use permit shall be required. (CC 1976 App. A §10.10; Ord. No. 2449 §1, 11-14-88; Ord. No. 2542 §2, 12-11-89)

SECTION 400.685: PROCEDURE TO AMEND APPROVED CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT

In order to amend an existing conditional use permit, the application procedures, required materials, approval process, and appeal process shall be the same as for a new permit.

In both cases it appears that a new company would have to go through the same conditional use permit application process that all companies have to go through. That means a review by the Planning and Zoning Commission and a Board of Adjustment Hearing, both of which allow for public comment. Interestingly enough, this property is currently zoned as C1. According to APPENDIX A: TABLES OF PRIMARY USES, ACCESSORY USES AND PLANNED USES, whether you call this company a Construction Contractor (as Acting Public Works Director Chuck Boone suggested) or a Repair Services (off-site) company (which seems more accurate) both such companies are specifically prohibited from being in a C1 zone.

If the Conditional use permit process is properly followed it appears that there is no way within Overland's Ordinances that a company like this could operate at this property. Also, there are specific provisions in the ordinances for public protest and City Council review. If the city was to have this company properly follow the process set forth in our ordinances it is doubtful that they would be allowed to open both because of likely public protest and the fact that our ordinances do not allow this sort of company within this zoning classification.

Councilpersons May and Cuminale both of Ward 1 (where this property is located) fought for proper review as did Councilpersons O'Connell and Conlon (both of Ward 2). They were concerned that this company was going to be allowed to circumvent the normal process. At one point they offered a compromise to amend the ordinance consolidating the properties to specifically require a planning and zoning review for any company seeking to occupy the property. This compromise was not adopted. Ultimately, Councilpersons Owensby and Keller, both of Ward 3 and Councilpersons Jones and Dills, both of Ward 4 voted for the Consolidation with the Mayor casting the deciding vote in favor of it.

I was disappointed in the Mayor on this issue. Since taking office, when faced with a divided Council, Mayor Schneider has tabled issues to be fully discussed at a Workshop meeting in order to try to find workable compromises. I have appreciated his efforts in this regard in the past and I was surprised that he did not do the same here. Ultimately this consolidation passed, however if the company does move forward and the Public Works department does attempt to circumvent the process, legal action against the city on this issue is highly likely. If reason does not prevail at City Hall, hopefully good business sense will and the Owner of this company will reconsider this location. If so I hope he chooses to look into properties in more appropriate locations and zones in Overland.

What disappointed me the most on this issue were a number of people in the audience. a group of people including several I know to be C.O.G.G. members booed and waved "thumbs down" signs when some on the Council argued for public input and proper review and cheered when others on the Council voted in favor of this consolidation even though circumventing public input and review seemed likely. C.O.G.G. stands for Citizens of Overland for Good Government. I would really like to know how these members believe circumventing public input and proper review is "Good Government". Perhaps someone from this organization will comment on this article to let us know.

Another issue that was raised was the consideration of the job description for the Computer Technician position that needs to be filled in our MIS department. It is clear that another person is needed as there is simply too much work for one person to effectively manage. However, this description was discussed at length at the Council Workshop meeting on October 1st. At that meeting, several on the Council were concerned about the low qualification requirements for this position. After much discussion the Council seemed willing to compromise on the qualifications but ultimately voted to table the issue so they could further discuss the qualifications as well as consider the need for bonding MIS employees at a Workshop meeting the following week (that was later canceled). Councilperson O'Connell was outraged when the job description came up for a vote as none of the proposed compromises were included and the issue was supposed to have been tabled for further discussion.

As a compromise Councilperson O'Connell motioned to amend the job description to include the suggested qualification compromises. That vote went 4-4 With Councilpersons Owensby, Keller, Jones and Dills opposing and Mayor Schneider casing the tie-breaking vote by opposing as well. The Job Description ultimately passed with the same vote breakdown and the Mayor breaking the tie in favor of the job description. This has major implications. If Council members do not feel that their agreements made in Workshop meetings will be upheld when issues come up to vote at Council meetings then why would they want to participate in these workshops at all? This issue came up before, during the Purzner administration and then Councilperson Schneider was one of those expressing similar concerns.

Yet another issue came up at this meeting. Councilperson O'Connell asked what happened with the mailing of the notices for the October 15th Town Hall. Councilperson O'Connell pointed out that at the September 17th Council Workshop the Council agreed to send those mailings via first class mail to ensure that they reached the public in time. The announcements were later sent via a bulk mail company resulting in most residents not receiving notice of this meeting until after it was held, some as late as a week after the fact.

Oddly, Mayor Schneider said that happened under the last administration and that Councilperson O'Connell should not lay that issue at his feet. However, it is clear in the video of this Workshop that Mayor Schneider chaired that meeting (as he was elected Mayor a month prior). Though the Mayor had been suggesting using a mailing service for the notices, a review of the video of the meeting meeting (in this article) shows that at 1 hour and 21 minutes in (1:21:00 approximately), the Mayor himself says to the Council "we have already decided we're going to make this a first class mailing". It seems that if City Hall had followed the direction of the Council an the Mayor on this matter the notices would have likely reached all of the residents well before the meeting. Even though Councilperson Jones properly pointed out that the Overland Examiner is not the official website of Overland when Councilperson O'Connell referenced it the fact remains that we have a video of that meeting in its entirety for the public to review.

Interestingly, Councilperson Jones suggested that they do not have to stick with what is decided at workshops when issues come up in Regular Council meetings. This begs the question, why bother voting on anything at a workshops? Better yet, why bother to hold them in the first place? The Council Workshop meetings are designed to give the Council the opportunity to express their views on various issues, seek public input if they choose to, and try to find reasonable compromises that will allow for a successful vote on various measures. If decisions make at Workshop meetings are going to be ignored then those meetings would seem to be all but pointless.

Another contentious issue came up at this meeting. This time it was the issue of the mandatory retirement age for the Police Department. It has already been established that this requirement, instituted back in 1959, is well within the EEOC Police and Fire exemption for age discrimination. At their meeting a month or so ago the Police Pension Board voted 4-1 in favor of Chief Herron's motion to ask the Council to remove the age requirement entirely.

The Chief's stated reasoning for this was that though this mandatory retirement age for police officers was in fact legal, and the City would win if a lawsuit was brought against us for age discrimination, the cost of defending against such a suit would likely be high and could be avoided by eliminating the requirement all together. If you take this reasoning to its logical conclusion, you have to wonder why Chief Herron is not asking the Mayor and Council to eliminate of the Overland Police Department entirely. After all, even when officers and command staff follow all the laws and standard procedures they can still be sued, and even a successful defense is costly (as we've seen at the OPD several times in the past).

At that Pension meeting concerns were raised as to whether the average person over the age of 65 was fit for the physically intensive job of being a Police Officer. Chief Herron stated they could remove an officer who was unfit to fulfill the duties of a police officer. However, this happened recently with Officer Sheffer, a 17 year veteran of Overland PD. His health declined to the point that he was let go by the police department due to an inability to perform as a police officer. Though it should, currently the Police Pension has no provision for dealing with such disabilities like the non-uniform pension does. This termination didn't go so well as it is my understanding that Officer Sheffer's legal council successfully forced the department to take care of him financially.

You cannot selectively enforce physical standards. If OPD wants to ensure that all officers meet whatever physical fitness requirements they decide on (and put in writing) they will have to test everyone regularly. That would include command staff. Failing to do so leaves them open to legal action should they try to remove another "unfit" officer from their ranks. It seems to me that, contrary to the Chief's opinion at the Police Pension Board meeting, the department cannot, without risk of legal action, remove an "unfit" officer from their ranks unless several policy changes are made.

The proposed ordinance would have eliminated the mandatory retirement age. However, a reasonable compromise was suggested. Since the Social Security Administration has changed the retirement age for full benefits (as you can see in their chart here), it seems reasonable to suggest that we change the mandatory retirement age to mirror Social Security's. Since their retirement age is based on your birth year, and they could possibly change this again in the future, it was wisely suggested that the proposed ordinance revision be amended so that the Police Mandatory Retirement age is the same as Social Security's minimum age for full benefits.

The Vote to amend the proposed ordinance in this way went 6-2 with only Councilpersons Owensby and Keller opposing. The vote on the amended ordinance passed 6-2, again with Councilpersons Owensby and Keller opposing.

There were a host of other interesting issues that came up during this meeting. However, due to this already being a lengthy article, I'm going to leave those to our readers to discuss in the comments below if they choose to do so after watching the video.

The following are two versions of the entire video of this Council meeting. We had some trouble uploading it but the process is now complete and we have 2 versions of the video your review (please let us know how the first one plays for you):

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October 22nd Overland
City Council Meeting
( 2 hours, 55 minutes )

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Comprehensive Plan Review Committee Meeting

2007-10-27T23:13:00.000-05:00

This article slipped through the cracks I'm afraid. While the video has been uploaded for awhile now, time constraints prevented me from writing an article about this meeting when it happened. Before long it slipped my mind. I apologize for that and I'm working on ways to keep such mistakes from happening again.

Overland's new Comprehensive Plan Review Committee (CPRC) met for the first time on October 16th, 2007 at the Community Center. This was mostly an organizational meeting to introduce the members to each other and explain the role and goals of the committee. As our readers might recall, at the September 24th City Council Meeting Mayor Schneider named Mark Giroux to head this committee and left naming its membership to him. While concerns were expressed about this in many corners, now that the committee is named many will likely put most of those concerns aside.

The Committee is made up of the following people with all but Don Rolfing being Overland residents:

Mark Giroux - Chairman - also: Planning and Zoning Commission Member and President of C.O.G.G.
Bob Young - Member - also: Ritenour School Board Member
Don Rolfing - Member - also: Community Fire Protection District Inspector
Eedie Cuminale - Member - also: Overland City Council Member (Ward 1)
Barbara Olsen - Member - also: Local Business owner
Fran Kulhmann - Member - also: Overland Treasurer and Secretary of C.O.G.G.
John Alberici - Member - also: Local Business owner
Lee Patterson - Member - also: Overland Business Association Board Member
Capt. Mike Laws - Member - also: Director of Operations for Overland P.D.
Stacey Ficken - Member - also: Local Bank Manager
Chuck Boone - Member - also: Acting Public Works Director
Tom Eckert - Member - also: Chairman of the Overland Board of Adjustment
David Sippe - Member - also: OBA Board member and Local Business owner

There is a good mix of people, experience and opinions represented on this committee. I have had conversations at one time or another with nearly every member and all have been reasonable and willing to consider the opposing views of others for the most part.

There were several guests in attendance at this meeting. Mayor Schneider, City Clerk Linda Downs and Beth Noonan of the St. Louis County Economic Development Council, who spoke about several areas where the St. Louis County EDC could be of assistance.

The original Comprehensive Plan (AKA "Master Plan") for Overland was written back in 2001. The purpose of this committee is to review that plan and work out changes needed to fit Overland for today and tomorrow.

All the members of the Committee were given copies of the current plan to review and consider for the next meeting. That meeting is currently scheduled for November 13th, at 7:00 PM. It was explained that the city offered the use of the Council Chambers for future meetings. With 13 members on that committee they will have to work out where everyone will sit as the dais only accommodates 11 I believe. However, this is a disappointing choice. The smaller rooms at the Community Center have excellent acoustics which allow everyone in attendance to hear clearly as well as allow for clear audio recording (as you can hear for yourself in the video below). Without the sound system in place it is extremely difficult for the audience to hear anything being discussed at a normal volume on the dais. It also makes audio recording nearly impossible. While I understand the Committee's desire to meet without taking up a time slot at the Community Center that might otherwise be rented, I hope they take into consideration residents who might attend in the future and their likely desire to hear what is discussed at the meeting.

The most interesting discussion at this meeting was the explanation of the ground rules for the committee. If followed, rules like these could better enable any organization, perhaps even our City Council, to be more productive. Those ground rules are:

Come prepared for the meetings
Focus on the big picture not the little ones
Respect the opinions and comments of others
No posturing, grand-standing, or personal agendas
No "war-stories" during the meetings
A 90% plan is far better than no plan
We will never be 100% on all things and that's OK

One ground rule above I really liked was "A 90% plan is far better than no plan". Whenever a body, be it a committee like this, a City Council or whatever else considers an issue, there will likely be conflicting opinions on how to resolve it. For most issues, a compromise can be reached that may not be the perfect solution, but it is far superior to no solution. All too often people allow their personal agendas to prevent them from even considering compromise. Frequently when this happens nothing is accomplished.

It is likely that this committee will not find a perfect solution for every issue that every member agrees with. However, if they work together they will probably find agreeable solutions and/or compromises for most. Moving forward with a plan that addresses most issues, even if they end up having to leave out some they could not come to an agreement on, will still benefit the City (assuming we actually use the plan this time around). Ultimately, politics and policy are about negotiations and compromise. Sometimes people forget this, but more often than not when people don't work together to find a middle-ground most can agree on, nothing gets done.

Overall this was an interesting meeting and I am personally looking forward to seeing what this mix of people comes up with. It is nice to see some diversity in viewpoints and I am hopeful that this will result in a more effective and complete Comprehensive Plan in the future. Only time will tell if the city leadership will choose to follow or ignore it as happened with the previous plan.

What follows is the video of that meeting in its entirety:

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Comprehensive Plan Review Committee (CPRC)
Meeting October - 16th, 2007
( 1 hour )

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Special Council Meeting 10-15-2007

2007-10-18T15:56:00.001-05:00

9616-9622 Midland Ave, Overland
Image thanks to Google Maps

The Overland City Council convened for a Special Council Meeting to consider the lot consolidation for 9616-9622 Midland Avenue. This was a short meeting, but not without its issues. City Attorney Robert Herman explained that an ordinance is required to subdivide or consolidate property lots and that this is a simple administrative process.

It was explained that this property was going to be sold, but the bank would not approve the loan unless the lots were combined and the closing date was set on a date prior to the next Council meeting.

Councilpersons Conlon and O'Connell were the most vocal opposition to this. The issue was the precedent this action would set. While the property's sale might be expedited by taking care of the consolidation at this special meeting the issue here is really the property owner's poor planning. If you know that you cannot close a sale without combining the property and you know an ordinance needs to be passed for this to happen why would you even consider setting a closing date prior to the next City Council meeting?

Thankfully, the Mayor listened to these concerns and said he wanted to table the issue. Surprisingly, Councilperson Jones moved for a second reading anyway. That motion was seconded by Councilperson Owensby, though the Council never voted on the measure. This is another example of Mayor Schneider listening to all sides in my opinion. Had he moved forward with this issue there may well have been enough votes to pass it. If this happened the City Council would likely have to hold Special Council Meetings on all issues like this in the future to avoid potential legal action for making this effort for one party but not another.

Earlier in the meeting Mr. Herman referenced a sign on a local judges door that reminded me of one of my favorite sayings:

Failure to plan on your part
does not constitute an emergency on my part.

The bottom line here is that had the property owner properly planned for the closing of this sale there would have been no need to even consider holding a Special Meeting to begin with. Frankly, I am surprised this meeting was scheduled to begin with.

Also raised at this meeting was the concern that the company looking to purchase the property was a swimming pool maintenance company. Taking a look at the location of these properties (map), it's a stones throw from Legion Park, at least one Day Care provider and an extensive residential portion of Ward 1. Pool Maintenance companies store hazardous chemicals, usually in large quantities. Allowing this sort of risk in this area seems foolhardy at best. Though consolidating the property does not circumvent the rest of the process to open such a business (zoning changes and variances if needed as well as the commercial inspection process), I thought residents of this area of town (which includes my family) should be aware of this potential future issue.

What follows is the video of this short meeting in its entirety.

Overland Town Hall Meeting 10/15/2007

2007-10-18T15:02:00.000-05:00

The City of Overland held a Town Hall meeting to consider the perceived rodent problem in our city. I say perceived because though it is definitely a substantial problem for those who are affected by it, as the representatives from Rottler Pest Control correctly pointed out, the issues with rodents in our area are no worse than the average older, inner-ring suburb in our area. While this meeting can be seen by some as being proactive in trying to address an issue for residents, it can also be seen as unnecessarily bringing more negative publicity to our City. It's simply a matter of perspective.

While there were about 60 residents in attendance it's hard to say how many might have attended if the public had been directly notified about this meeting well in advance. I believe it was the September 17th, 2007 Workshop meeting where the Council decided to have this Town Hall event. At the same meeting they decided to send out a mailer to pass along helpful information related to the issue and invite residents to attend and speak on the issue. Unfortunately, that mailer went out too late as no one in attendance had received one, and all the residents that I have talked to who have received it, got it on October 16th or later (I still have not received one). I am hoping that City Hall learns from this experience. Unless you're willing to foot the bill for First Class stamps it can take weeks to get a mailing into the recipients' hands. This is a manageable problem with proper planning and execution.

At the meeting several representatives of Rottler Pest Control offered a host of suggestions, the most interesting of which was examining ways to bait (poison) the sewers. There are a number of considerations here. Will MSD allow it, what poisons to use to avoid secondary casualties (predators eating the rats and the like), etc. However, they made it clear to the Council that they could not present a plan or realistic estimate without detailed information on where the problems are.

Acting Public Works Director Chuck Boone was asked about this information. Interestingly, though he had told the Council that they didn't have the data at an earlier meeting, he stated at this meeting that they did have the information. At issue here was that Mr. Boone probably didn't think of the log book that is used when residents sign for the free bait boxes as a source of statistical information when he was asked the first time. Mr. Boone offered to provide statistics on this from log that covered August - October. The Council agreed that this was not enough data to be able to plan from and ultimately asked for a year of data from this log to be entered into a database so it could be analyzed to determine were the problems were and start seeking bids to address them. Mr. Boone told the Council that neither he, nor any of his staff have the time for that. One interesting suggestion, raised by Councilperson Cuminale after the meeting was that we hire a temp to do the data entry. Also, Councilperson Colon offered to donate some of her time to get this done as well.

This seems to be a recurring problem in Overland (and likely most smaller municipalities). Frequently when a solution to a problem or a new need is raised the department heads point to the difficulty of finding the time to accomplish the task. While I sympathize with having a heavy workload, our government has to start thinking outside the box a bit. The tasks that are currently taking up the bulk of the city's time are, for the most part, business as usual. Overland's revenues and growth have been flat for years, perhaps it's time to start evaluating business as usual and eliminating or at least changing the procedures that are not working. The time saved could potentially be put to use on new solutions that resolve rather than manage the issues facing our community.

Ultimately the Council took the information gathered under advisement. I suspect that this will be an agenda item at a future workshop, and perhaps, as Councilperson Conlon suggested, another Town Hall meeting.

What follows is the complete video of this meeting. The Special Council meeting that followed is not included and will be the subject of the next article.

Testing: Flickr Slide Show

2007-10-13T12:07:00.000-05:00

This post is a test of flickr slide show. Assuming it works this slide show includes the bulk of the photos we took at Autumn in the Park this year.

We're testing this code here for inclusion into the new web site.

Meetings on Monday Oct 15th

2007-10-13T11:57:00.000-05:00

Reminder: There will be a Town Hall Meeting at the Overland Community Center starting at 7:00 PM. The Subject of these meeting will be rodent issues and potential solutions.

Immediately following this meeting will be a special meeting of the Overland City Council to consider a bill that would consolidate the lots from 9616 to 9622 Midland Ave (map).

We have been very busy with projects related to the new version of the Overland Examiner. As a result, we've had limited time for this site. I believe the best approach at this point is to focus on the new site so that it can be up and running sooner. We will continue to provide meeting coverage and hope that a solution for the sound issues at these events will be found soon.

Council Workshop October 1st, 2007

2007-10-01T22:46:00.000-05:00

This meeting was difficult to cover as has frequently been the case in the last several months. Being able to hear what the Council is saying in the Council Chamber, in the absence of the sound system, is difficult, if not impossible for many in the audience. This becomes even worse when someone is trying to record the event.

At this point I have to take issue with holding public meetings in a space where many in attendance cannot hear what is being said. A quick review of Missouri's Sunshine Law brings us back to an all familiar provision:

610.020 subsection 2: Each meeting shall be held at a place reasonably accessible to the public and of sufficient size to accommodate the anticipated attendance by members of the public, and at a time reasonably convenient to the public, unless for good cause such a place or time is impossible or impractical. Every reasonable effort shall be made to grant special access to the meeting to handicapped or disabled individuals.

I believe the argument can be made that these meetings are not being held in a place that is reasonably accessible, or accommodating the anticipated attendance when most in attendance cannot hear what is being said by the Council or the Mayor at these meetings.

Everyone has been reasonable with this issue due to the Council meetings having to be held at the Community Center because of the high attendance (and the judge's order). We understand that damage could be done to the sound system if it is regularly moved back and forth from the Community Center to City Hall. However, that sound system is regularly broken down and moved from the gym to a storage room in the Community Center. Since it apparently can be moved short distances without concern, it would seem to me that the best approach, if the intent is to be reasonably accessible, would be to hold workshop meetings in one of the smaller meeting rooms at the Community Center. That way, the sound system could be setup without damage concerns and everyone in attendance could actually hear what their elected representatives were discussing. Better still, the sound system might not even be needed at all as the acoustics in the meeting rooms are far superior to the Council Chambers.

I also have to take issue with holding Pension Board meetings at 3:00PM (as is the case with the scheduled Joint Pension Boards meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 2nd, at 3:00PM) 3:00PM meetings cannot possibly be considered "at a time reasonably convenient to the public". Overland is a blue collar town for the most part. The majority of our residents are working, on their commute home or picking up children from school at this hour. Holding meetings that involve a great deal of taxpayer money at an hour when few, if any, taxpayers can attend is not in the spirit of the Sunshine Law in my opinion.

Soapbox moment over.

The Council held a Workshop meeting in the Council Chambers at City Hall on Monday, October 1st, 2007 beginning at 6:30PM. The meeting started with consideration of a job description for hiring another person for the MIS (computer / IT) department. The additional person is certainly needed. However, the chosen pay scale, starting at $31,000.00, is too low to hire an IT professional. That means this is an entry level position. The suggested requirements are a high school diploma (or GED), A+ certification and 2 years work experience or equivalent education. Though those requirements seem rather low, the 2 year experience pushes the limit of the pay proposed for this position.

The Council decided to table this discussion for further review and consideration of possible confidentiality agreements as well as bonding requirements for this position (as well as for the current MIS employee). The Council plans to revisit this issue at a newly scheduled Workshop meeting to be held on Tuesday, October 9th at 6:30PM in the Council Chambers at City hall.

The Council then moved on to the Marquee sign. They agreed to accept the bid from Bill Yount Signs for $17,551.60 for the new Marquee sign as well as Gillick Brickwork Inc.'s $7780.00 bid for the brick work and Lee Deering Electric company's $2,300.00 bid for the electrical work needed for the sign, bringing the cost of this new sign to $27,631.60 not including the costs of moving the existing sign at the Overland Community Center to Wild Acres.

The next item considered was lighting at Brooks Park. The Council agreed to accept a bid from Lee Deering Electric company (I didn't catch the amount of this bid).

From there the Council discussed park grants. It was proposed that they apply for a St. Louis County Park Grant to repair and upgrade the bathrooms at Norman Myer and Brooks Parks as well as bring them into compliance with ADA (American's with Disabilities Act) regulations. Acting Public Works Director Chuck Boone estimated that this could be done for approximately $140,000.00.

Councilperson O'Connell expressed concern about investing more money into the frequently vandalized bathrooms at Brooks park. He suggested that we get the lights installed first and see if vandalism is reduced before we put more money into that property. Councilperson Owensby took exception to this. Mr. Boone pointed out that they would be investing in ways to prevent future vandalism. One example he gave was the use of motion activated fixtures that would prevent vandals from jamming faucets open and blocking drains in order to flood the bathrooms (as has happened more than once in the past). While this might work, as a friend pointed out to me earlier this evening, these very sophisticated and expensive faucets can be destroyed rather easily by a vandal with a very simple and cheap hammer. The result would likely be the similar with water flooding the bathroom but with the added expense of repairing, or more likely replacing these expensive fixtures.

Councilperson O'Connell asked that the Council consider adding resurfacing the track at Norman Myers park to the grant proposal. It was said once that the cost of doing this could be around $30,000.00 However, Councilperson Jones suggested the Ritenour High School track as an example of what would be put on the Norman Myers track. That type of project generally costs around $100,000.00 or more on a full size track. Also, vehicles, including large semi trucks, have to drive on the existing track for setting up the various fairs and events that are regularly held there. I don't believe this material would hold up to that abuse.

Ultimately the Council voted to submit a proposal for improving the bathrooms at Norman Myers and Brooks parks as well as resurfacing the track at Norman Myers. I hope they have a plan for protecting the track from vehicle traffic at future events. I also hope that the cost of doing this does not hurt our chances of receiving a grant, like the over 1 million dollar proposal for a new pool complex did last year. The Council also agreed to consider Legion Park for a grant opportunity later this year, and to discuss that at the next workshop meeting.

The next item addressed at this meeting was openings on the Board of Adjustment. One member of the Board apparently wants to resign, and an additional opening was created when Les Dills was appointed to the City Council. The Mayor proposed the following names, keeping in mind the Council's concerns about equal representation of the Wards, on this board:

1> Dennis Hegaman of Ward 1 (please post a comment if we are wrong on the spelling)
2> Bob Estin of Ward 3 (please post a comment if we are wrong on the spelling)

With Jack Arnold (Ward 2) and Rudy Kuhlman (Ward 4) remaining as members and Tom Eckert (Ward 4) remaining as the Chairman.

Additionally, Mayor Schneider proposed John Seals (Ward 1) as a board alternate. At the last Council meeting Councilperson Eddie Cuminale asked that John Seals be considered to fill a vacant seat on the board. Discussion followed with Councilperson Owensby asking the Mayor to consider Cliff McBride (not sure on this name at this time) as well.

What threw me was when Mayor Schneider said: "John Seals was the only resident to come forward and express interest". Why, especially when you consider the constant charges of nepotism or cronyism lately, would you choose to limit "the only resident to come forward and express interest" to the role of alternate rather than full member, regardless of the fact that the alternate would likely be used semi-regularly on that board?

The issue of providing assistance with the cost of Trash service to those in need was covered briefly next. The Council was informed that City Attorney Robert Herman would be prepared to make a presentation to the Council on what options they would have with such a plan as well as the pitfalls. That presentation is scheduled for the October 29th Council Workshop meeting.

There were a host of issues discussed under new business including possible stop sign locations, speeding concerns and the like. The Council and the Mayor also agreed to move forward on establishing city email addresses for the Council members (a request made by Jim Schmidt at the last Council meeting if I remember correctly). The Council got a look at a new Ordinance proposed by the Municipal Court as well. This proposed ordinance will be brought to the Council at the next regularly scheduled Council Meeting.

One interesting item that was mentioned under new business was when the Mayor raised the possibility that the Council might be equipped with laptops in the future to speed the dissemination of information and documents while reducing printing costs (both financial and environmental). While this is certainly a good idea I hope that the City will consider the real need of computers, cameras and modern radio equipment in our police cars as well. Having the best tools at someone's disposal generally allows them to work more efficiently. However, while laptops for the Council might improve their productivity, laptops and the like for our Police officers would likely save lives. It is simply a matter of priorities.

Under Old Business Councilperson Jones asked about the trial period for the Blackberries several at City Hall had been using. Mr. Boone stated that no one was using theirs other than as a phone because they had as yet been unable to get the vendor to come in for the training they had promised to provide to the employees equipped with these devices. Based on that response, it appears the City will be considering canceling this trial and returning the equipment.

What follows is the video of the meeting in its entirety. I've amplified the audio as best as I can though it can still be hard to follow at times:

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City Council Workshop
October 1st, 2007
(2 Hours, 15 minutes)

Mingle at the Mills Charity Races

2007-09-29T06:39:00.000-05:00

Warning: This article may take awhile to load due to the number of photos.

Fun for charity at the NASCAR Speedpark in the St. Louis Mills

Yesterday the cities served by the Northwest County Chamber of Commerce came together for the 4th Annual Mingle at the Mills, a fun charity event put on by the Chamber at the NASCAR Speedpark (St. Louis Mills Mall). This event raised money for the Chamber's scholarship fund as well as the favorite charities of the winners of several races.

The races began with the Chiefs of Police Race. Unfortunately, Chief Herron of Overland was not in attendance. Standing in for Chief Herron was Andy Hale, a 3 1/2 year officer with the Florissant Police Department.

Officer Andy Hale - Florissant P.D. standing in for Chief Herron

Chief Bob Schrader of St. Ann managed to steal the show even before the race started thanks to his helmet choice.

Chief Bob Schrader of St. Ann

The race ended with victory for Chief Tony Umbertino of Charlack followed by an officer standing in for Chief Bob Dowling of Woodson Terrace, Chief Bob Dowling of Edmundson and Cheif Carl Wolf of Hazelwood. Besides coming in first, Chief Wolf was at the NASCAR SpeedPark all day organizing the setup for the event and even putting tables and chairs out himself.

Chief Umbertino of Charlack wins!

After the Chief's race there was a series of races for the Northwest County Chamber, several challenge races anyone in attendance could sign up for, a race between several OBA members (that I'm happy to say I survived) and more. Besides races there was music, bumper boats, a mini-golf challenge, and more.

Also in attendance was Miss Missouri Lindsay Casmaer. Besides visiting with those in attendance and presenting the awards at the finale, Miss Missouri also won her heat in the challenges and made a great showing in the challenge champions race.

Miss Missouri Lindsay Casmaer tears up the track

The finale of the evening was the Mayor's Cup Challenge. The participating Mayors earned the placement at the start based on who sold the most tickets for charity. Woodson Terrace Mayor Lawerence "Butch" Besmer won the pole position for his stand in driver with an astonishing 5,179 tickets sold. Next was Hazelwood with 2,265, Florissant with 1719, and our own Mayor Mike Schneider of Overland with 1,313.

While Overland didn't have the most ticket sales, it certainly appeared that we had the most boosters in attendance last night. Many were easy to spot due to their matching blue shirts though there were a number of Overland residents in attendance with their own sense of fashion (or lack of one in my case).

.
.........The Mayor's Cup Race..................Mayor Schneider's Race Fans

Though the limited lighting for this late evening event made it difficult to take pictures we did manage a few good shots of Mayor Schneider in action. The Mayor started the race moving quickly towards the lead. However, the pack soon started shifting around wildly resulting in Mayor Schneider going into the wall. After a minute or two under the caution flag Mayor Schneider was back in the race and managed to work his way back to 3rd place before the end. Mayor T.R. Carr of Hazelwood took the Checkered flag, earning his second win of the Mayor's Cup.

Hazelwood Mayor T.R. Carr wins again this year.

Though we had a difficult time with the lighting, we did manage a few shots of Overland Mayor Mike Schneider putting up a good fight in the race. Please note, if you click on most of the pictures in this article you will see them at full size.

All was well at the start of the race

But soon cars were scrambling, bumping and Mayor Schneider was in the wall

Back in the race our Mayor worked his way through the pack

Held back only by the limits of the Go-Kart's engine

Tearing up the turns

To finish the race in 3rd place

The race was a lot of fun and all the Mayor's (or their stand-ins) gave it their all. This race raised a lot of money for the Northwest County Chamber of Commerce's Scholarship fund and was a lot of fun to watch. Having raced earlier in the day (and finishing somewhere slightly better than last) I can say that these go-karts are a lot of fun, but racing them isn't easy.

If you missed this event this year make sure to mark your 2008 calendar for the 5th annual Mingle at the Mills next year as this event is a lot of fun with the added bonus of all the activities to be explored at the NASCAR Speedpark.

Mingle at the Mills

2007-09-28T10:51:00.000-05:00

The Family 500 Track
NASCAR Speedway
at the St. Louis Mills

Today (Friday Sept 28th) is the day for the 4th annual Mingle at the Mills, Charity Benefit Race put on by the Northwest County Chamber of Commerce and NASCAR SpeedPark. The event will open at 4:00PM and end at approximately 10:00 PM after the North County Mayor's race which is scheduled to start at 9:00 PM. This event is being held at the NASCAR SpeedPark which is located at the St. Louis Mills, next to Chevy's Restaurant and entrance 4 (map, also see picture below) at the north east corner of the Mall grounds.

In addition to the Mayors' race and a host of others. The first race of the evening is between 10 Chief of Police including our own Chief Herron of Overland. Also, Overland Business Association members will be participating in a race of thier own scheduled to start at 7:00PM. At last count the OBA has 8 racers listed for this event (including myself).

There will be a host of races held at the NASCAR Speedway's Family 500 Track. Half the entrance fees raised for each race will go to the winners favorite charity as well as live music by Terry Beck and a variety of door prizes. For more information on this event or the NASCAR Speedway you can call (314) 227-5600 or visit NASCARSpeedpark.com.

NASCAR SpeedTrack St. Louis offers five exciting tracks, the NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway Simulators, kid-sized rides, a rock climbing wall, lazer tag arena, state-of-the-art arcade, a children's indoor playground, bumper boats, officially licensed NASCAR merchandise, the Pit Stop Grille, private parties, meeting rooms and more. If you haven't been there yet this would be a great time to check it out, and support OBA members and our Mayor in their races. So come on out and join the fun. I hope to see you there.

Council Meeting 09-24-2007

2007-09-25T05:09:00.000-05:00

The Overland City Council met for a regularly scheduled Council meeting at the Overland Community Center on September 24th, 2007. There were approximately 200 people in attendance. Though the City attempted to improve the sound by repositioning speakers, the echo and sound quality issues continued. The Council breezed through the minutes with only one minor correction requested by Councilman Owensby. They also passed the bills without issue.

At this meeting the Council voted unanimously to approve the Mayor's appointment of Les Dills to the vacant seat in Ward 4, giving the City of Overland a full Council for the first time since April 2006. Several on the Council commended the Mayor for working with them to open the appointments process to the public by allowing interested residents to speak to the Council as well as answer questions. All agreed that ultimately, such appointments are chosen by the Mayor, with the Council filling the role of advisers with the ultimate responsibility to approve or disapprove such appointments. In my opinion, this vote was a sign of how our new Council can and will work together in the future.

Les Dills
New Councilperson - Ward 4
(click to enlarge)

There was a proposal from the City's financial director presented by the City Clerk asking for direction from the Council on whether or not to purchase $500,000.00 in Certificates of Deposit (CDs) to improve the interest the City would earn on the money. Most on the Council expressed concerns about tying up that much money. Ultimately the Council decided to reduce the amount and terms of the CDs to $200,000.00 for 1 year.

During the City attorney's report there were a host of Ordinances passed unanimously to enter into contracts with suppliers and secondary suppliers of road materials, concrete and fuel. There was a resolution passed that expressed the intent to seek park grants from St. Louis County. Councilperson Conlon mentioned that the resolution did not mention any specific grants or projects to which the Mayor responded that the issue was on the agenda for next week's Council Workshop meeting so the Council could consider the various options and decide what the best approach would be.

At first it seemed odd to hear that acting Public Works Director Chuck Boone did not have a report for the Council as he had just returned from vacation. Last weekend was Autumn in the Park, an event that requires much work from City employees, especially Public Works, as well as coordinating efforts with the OBA, the Overland Lions assistance with electric, etc. However, Autumn in the Park was originally planned for next weekend and was moved up to fit the Calvary's schedule. It's likely that Mr. Boone had committed to his vacation plans long before that change. Since the event went off without issue it seems that the folks at Public Works know how to get things done, even when the Acting Public Works Director isn't available.

The Chief's report focused mostly on the recent news of attempted Child Abductions in our area. Ritenour School District put out information on this issue earlier that day (which you can see here). Fox 2 News did a report on this issue earlier the same day as well which can be seen here and included this map of the suspected abduction attempts:

Suspected Abduction attempts in Overland
over past 2 months (source: Fox2 News St. Louis)
(click to enlarge)

The Chief added that though there were 2 attempted abductions this past weekend there was an additional one since last July. We are happy to report that in each incident, the children responded by running away and yelling as they were taught to do. The Chief pointed out several safety tips, including the availability of Child I.D. kits (thanks to a donation from Alberici) that are available to residents, free of charge, at the Overland Police Department (more information available here). Additionally, parents and grandparents should review the following links provided by the Ritenour School District:

Parents should also consider visiting the National Crime Prevention Council's McGruff.org where children can learn about a host of safety issues related to them while playing games, reading stories, and more. They can even join the McGruff Club with their parent's permission.

During the Mayor's report he thanked the Council for approving his appointment and mentioned how he and Councilperson O'Connell had not seen a full eight member Council until now. We were given the opportunity to take a picture of the Mayor and the new, full City Council after the meeting:

City of Overland's 1st full Council since April 2006
(click to enlarge)

The Mayor spoke of a recent meeting he had with the St. Louis County Economic Development Council to discuss options and ideas for Overland's future. One issue he raised at that meeting was whether or not our city master plan, originally drafted in 2001, should be completely re-written. They recommended a full review and update rather than a complete re-write of the plan. To that end, the Mayor stated that he had asked Mark Giroux (currently a member of Overland's Planning and Zoning Commission) to form and chair a citizens committee to review the plan and recommend changes. The Mayor left the naming of committee members to Mark Giroux but said citizens should contact Mr. Giroux if they are interested in sitting on this committee. If you would like to contact Mr. Giroux about this committee, contact City Hall at (314) 428-4321 so that they can pass your information along.

Overall the meeting went well though it was difficult to follow at times due to sound system issues. The following is a video of this meeting in its entirety. I did what I could to clean up the sound. However, without the ability to directly connect to the sound system (as Charter does), our video is subject to the same sound issues faced by the audience.

If you are viewing this content through a news-reader
you might not be able to see the video below.

City Council Meeting
September 24th, 2007
(59 minutes, 9 seconds)

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Two Possible Attempted Abductions

2007-09-24T16:42:00.001-05:00

The following is posted as a service to the community. The original information appeared in an Email alert from Ritenour School District:

________________________________________________________

Ritenour Informed of Two Possible
Child Abductions Over the Weekend

Sept. 24, 2007 - This afternoon the Overland Police Chief notified the Ritenour School District about two possible child abductions that occurred over the weekend. Both children are safe. In both cases, the children did the right thing by running away from the cars and telling adults what happened. A letter with more information will be sent home with Ritenour students on Tuesday, Sept. 25.

This message is not sent to alarm parents and guardians, but to make to make you aware of the situation and ask for your help to keep our children safe in the community.

Here is the information provided by the police about the two incidents:

On Saturday, Sept. 22, a child reported she was approached by a white male driving a gray GMC mini-van with a black stripe. According to the police, the last two letters on the license plate are XK.
On Friday, Sept. 21 a white male driving a small two-door red pickup truck with an extended cab approached another child.

Overland Police are asking parents to report any suspicious activities by calling (314) 428-1221.

For more information and tips on how to keep your child safe, visit the following Web sites:

www.ritenour.k12.mo.us

____________________________________________________

Parents and Grandparents, please take a moment to review the above links as a refresher. Also, please contact the Overland Police Department at: (314) 428-1221 if you have any information regarding these incidents.

Autumn in the Park 2007

2007-09-22T16:55:00.000-05:00

Autumn in the Park
at Norman Myers Park (map)

This weekend is Autumn in the Park. The City of Overland and the Overland Business Association with the help of too many local organizations and businesses to list have really put together a fun time for us this year. I was there today (Saturday Sept 22nd) and there was so much to do I didn't get to it all. If you missed it on Saturday with everything else going on in town you still have a change to enjoy it on Sunday from Noon until 5:00 PM.

Sunday's Schedule is:

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM: St. Louis Volleyball, Inc. Tournament (East Field)
Noon: Opening Ceremony with Mayor and Calvary
12:30 PM - 4:30PM: Kids Crafts and Activities (Kids area)
1:00 PM: Griffin and the Gargoyles Band (on stage)
1:00 PM: Carriage Ride (West Entrance (limited availability))
2:00 PM: Washers Tournament (Near Stage (No entry Fee))
3:00 PM: Carriage Ride (West Entrance (limited availability))
4:00 PM: Carriage Ride (West Entrance (limited availability))
5:00 PM: Event Closes

Thought it was not on the schedule I have, I'm under the impression that the Calvary will be doing another demonstration on Sunday as well. You don't want to miss Colonel Terry Crowder and the Division Cavalry Brigade if you can help it. Take a look for yourself:

Precision drills

Period Firearms demonstrations

And hair-raising exchanges
are just some of what you'll see from them.

There was a vintage baseball game (no gloves for one thing) between the St. Louis Perfectos Baseball Club and the OBA. You can probably imagine who won though the great people of the OBA put forth a valiant effort with the added bonus of Mayor Schneider as Catcher:

I'd be running scared if I was the ball

Gregg Wesche of Overland Hardware pitches for the home team

Mayor Schneider as our catcher

There was so much to do and see. If you can make it tomorrow be sure to bring your kids or grandkids by the Home Depot Kids Workshop where you can do a project together and get one to do at home.

There are a host of vendors and interesting people there. We can't get to them all this evening due to limited time but these interesting fellows sure are worth a visit:

Dulcimer Player

Blacksmith - and a true recycler

And of Course Overland's very own
true Cowboy Martin Bergin

And don't miss out on the wonderful carriage tours of Overland.

Finally, remember, this is your last change to get that wonderful Overland Historical Society Apple Butter. Don't miss out this year!

So get out there on Sunday, from Noon to 5:00 PM and enjoy. If you see me there, feel free to come up and say hello.

September 17th Council Workshop Meeting

2007-09-19T03:03:00.000-05:00

The Overland City Council meet for a Workshop meeting in the Council Chambers on Monday, September 17th. There was a great public turn out at this meeting of at least 70 people. The meeting had a long list of issues to be covered including the vacancy on the Council in Ward 4, the rat issue, repairs to the roof of the old Seminary building at Wild Acres and more. Though the Council wasn't able to get through the entire list of items they managed to address more than most people thought they would get to in one meeting.

The following is the video of that meeting in it's entirety:

If you are viewing this content through a news-reader
you might not be able to see the video below.

September 17th Overland
City Council Workshop
( 2 hours, 22 minutes )

As we've discussed before the acoustics in the Council Chamber are not very conducive to video taping without the sound system (which is currently at the Community Center for Council meetings). However, We were able to amplify the audio significantly this time. There's some background noise as a result, but you should be able to hear all but the most soft spoken comments from the Council.

Time has not been on our side lately but we hope to get a more detailed article about this meeting added here before the end of the week. For now we wanted to get the video online so those who were not able to attend could see the meeting for themselves.

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September 11th, 2007

2007-09-11T23:02:00.000-05:00

On this date in 2001, three planes taken over by foreign terrorists were purposefully crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Additionally another plane hijacked (by terrorists whom it's believed were planning to hit Washington D.C. as well) crashed in rural Pennsylvania when the passengers, having heard of the other attacks via their cell phones, took matters into their own hands and stopped the terrorists, sacrificing themselves in the process. 2,996 people were lost on this day. It was and is the worst attack of it's kind in history.

Last year I wrote about this from a personal prospective. The impact of September 11th on myself and my family has not changed, nor has my beliefs of what we could do on this date in the future. As a result I am reprinting that article below and I welcome any comments our readers would like to share.

Originally posted on September 11th, 2006:

Having grown up in New Jersey, 45 minutes or so for New York City by train, September 11th 2001 hit me hard. That is not to say that people that lived elsewhere were not as negatively impacted by this tragedy or worse then I was. However, the experiences of most that live in Overland might be a bit different then mine.

The Town I grew up in lost 36 people (if memory serves) to September 11th, 2001. Forever burned in my mind are not just the events that lead up the fall of the towers (it so happened I had been off that morning and watched the entire event live on the news). My memories include the pain I could hear in my parents voices when we talked. From the house I grew up in (where they still lived at the time) you could see the smoke rising, and it continued to do so for a long time. The shock of the event changed everyone on some level. Most of my friends and family became different people in some ways. This event sent ripples of change through our nation as a whole.

In the late 1990s I took the women who later became my wife to meet my parents for the first time and we visited New York City while we were there. We experienced the observation deck of the World Trade Center together, it was a first for both of us (I never did the "tourist things" when I visited New York as a young man). We can never revisit that event outside of our minds now. I have been back to New Jersey 3 times since then, and I have avoided ground zero each time. I do not want those who attacked us on that day to replace my memories of events in the square or my wife's first visit to NYC with the vision of the aftermath. When they finally build a building there I will be there, along with my wife and my daughter. We will visit whatever observation deck they create, as well as the memorial that will surly be a part of the site.

I will let the triumph of a new, tall building rising up in the place of the towers take the place of my older good memories, but nothing else.

We should NEVER forget what happened that day. Prior to 9/11 we did not take treats against us very seriously. We know now that we can no longer afford to think like that. However, this sort of thinking is not limited to our country. We need to take all threats seriously as individuals and families as well.

September 11th, 2001 should have taught our country many lessons. Whether it has or not is perhaps debatable. It should have taught us all something about personal preparedness as well. However, based on what many experienced in the recent electrical outage here in Overland, perhaps we need a refresher.

September 11th was a tragedy beyond measure, and one that will be burned into the minds of everyone who was alive at that time, forever. The horrors of 9/11 are unquestionable. However, what comes from it might be. I would rather be able to say that 9/11 helped save lives in the long run.

Below I have included a handful of links to information to help us all plan for disasters, be they acts of terror or acts of God. If we are all prepared to care for ourselves to some degree, we help strengthen our country and our community, making us a "harder target" in the face of any disaster or emergency. Take a look at some of the information and suggestions on the following sites. it is my hope that they will help everyone plan and prepare to keep our families safe in the event of potential future disasters I hope we never see:

I hope this information is useful for everyone. Never Forget what happened on September 11th, 2001. Most importantly, learn from it, as well as other disasters that have struck our nation and community. Please take a few moments with the links above and learn about the various disasters that can effect us, and the ways you can better to protect yourself and your family. Knowledge is power but preparation is survival.

What better time to consider ways to better protect your family then on the anniversary of a national tragedy like 9/11? Maybe it should be a holiday, a day when Americans checks on their disaster supplies and takes time to learn about new ways to protect their families.

Overland City Council Meeting September 10th, 2007

2007-09-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

The Overland City Council met at the Community Center for a regularly scheduled meeting on September 10th, 2007.

During resident comments we were reminded that the Mayor will be participating in the Mayor's Challenge Cup Race During the 4th Annual "Mingle at the Mills" event on September 28th, 2007 from (entire event: 4:00PM until 10:00 PM). "Mingle at the Mills" is a NASCAR Speedpark and Northwest Chamber of Commerce family friendly, outdoor event that includes a host of charity races, fun activities, music, contests and more. The Mayor's Cup is one of the charity races where the Mayor's of Overland, Woodson Terrace, St. John, St. Ann, Vinita Park, Charlack, Edmundson, Bridgeton, Florissant and Hazelwood all participate. All of the Mayor's have tickets to sell for the race. The number sold determines each Mayor's starting position and a portion of the money raised goes to the Northwest Chamber's High School Scholarship Fund. If you would like to support Mayor Schneider as well as the scholarship fund, City Hall may still have $1.00 tickets you can purchase. Please contact Overland City Hall at 428-4321 to check if any are left before you head over there.

As Mike Oakes pointed out during resident comments, there are still some sound system problems at the meeting. We tried repositioning the camera in an effort to get clearer audio but, as you can hear for yourself (further down) it is still a problem. Hopefully, the Council will find a solution to this issue before the next Council meeting at the center.

At this meeting a representative of Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) made a presentation covering a 3.7 billion dollar capital improvements program to eliminate as many of the sewage overflows in our area as possible.. I had the opportunity to speak to him briefly at the meeting and hope to have more detailed information on this in the near future.

At this meeting, Mayor Schneider named Councilperson O'Connell (Ward 2) to replace him as the Council representative on the Overland Planning and Zoning Commission. The Mayor also offered Les Dills as an appointment to fill his vacant seat in Ward 4. This lead to an lengthy discussion where several on the Council asked that the appointment be tabled and that it be added to Monday, September 17th's Workshop meeting agenda so that members could have an opportunity to talk to Mr. Dills. A motion was made to table, but that motion failed 3-3 with Councilpersons May, Cumanale, and Conlon voting to table, Councilpersons O'Connell, Owensby and Jones opposing, and Councilperson Keller abstaining.

Discussion continued with Councilperson Jones expressing concerns about not wanting to see an extended vacancy on the Council as we saw last year with Ward 3. Councilperson May made an excellent point that the Council (including Councilpersons O'Connell and Schneider) opposed appointments made by former Mayor Purzner last year because they were not given an opportunity to speak to the appointees about their experience, views and goals. Councilperson May made it clear that it would be hypocritical at best for the Council to have opposed Mayor Purzner only to face a similar lack of Council involvement now and not handle the issue in the same manor. Mayor Schneider seemed to agree with this point and discussed the issue with the Council further, ultimately deciding to hold off on the appointment until the September 24th meeting to allow the Council, as well as interested residents of Ward 4 to consider the appointment at the September 17th Workshop.

I appreciate Mayor Schneider's handling of this situation. Whether you agree with him on all issues or not it is clear that he is a definite improvement over our recent past. We have now had two Council meetings without egregious violations of State statutes, shouting matches, inaction, etc. That is already 100% better than the previous administration. Now if some in the audience would follow the Mayor's lead when it comes to civility and listening to other points of view that would really be progress.

Normal business was also handled professionally at this meeting (yet more improvement). A few new business licenses were approved, bids for slurry seal, asphalt and concrete were reviewed, an ordinance to enter into a contract to purchase 1000 tons of road salt from Chesterfield for the winter passed and even the bills were approved unanimously without issue.

Below is the video of the meeting in it's entirety. There continues to be sound problems at the Community Center. Moving the camera appears to have helped to a degree but the issue is far from resolved:

If you are viewing this content through a news-reader
you might not be able to see the video below.

September 10th Overland
City Council Meeting
( 1 hour, 43 minutes )

The Public Works report became rather interesting when acting Director Chuck Boone apologized for not being able to acomplish as much as he had hoped to because of all the catchup work his department is doing due to the inaction of the previous administration. One such project was sidewalk work on Poe Ave. in Ward 4. Councilperson Conlon asked about this, expressing concern because this has apparently been an ongoing issue for 3-4 years and it involves handicapped access issues. Councilpersons Conlon (Ward 2) and O'Connell (Ward 2) suggested that Public Works consider contracting some of the work, like this particular project, to help the department catch up. Mr. Boone expressed concern about the increased costs of using a contractor and further explained that this sidewalk project is difficult and would require extensive engineering and surveying. While I can understand the likelihood of projects being more expensive due to using outside firms, when it comes to this sidewalk project, to the best of my knowledge Overland Public Works employees no engineers or surveyors so the most difficult part of that project would have to be contracted out regardless.

Other suggestions were made on how to address the workload. Councilperson O'Connell's suggestion that Public Works put out some "RFPs" (Requests for Proposals) as a way of getting an idea of how much contracting some of the workload would cost. Councilperson Conlon asked if Saturday overtime for the Public Works employees was a possibility to help with this as well.

Councilperson Conlon asked about the progress with the boarded up buildings at Woodson and Midland. Mr. Boone explained that the process had been started and they still needed an extensive title search, to check for leans on the property, build a case with photos and other evidence, and seek a condemnation hearing. While I understand the difficulty of such an undertaking (as several years ago a similar process dragged on for years on Spencer Ave), I am confused by this answer. Mr. Boone stated at a meeting months ago that prior to his "unscheduled vacation" under Mayor Puzner he had met with the owners, be in the building along with St. Louis County inspectors and others and that the process to resolve this issue was well underway. I'm surprised that all of this evidence was not gathered at that time. I wish Mr. Boone would commit to some sort of time table on resolving this issue as Woodson and Midland are major thoroughfares though Overland and the deplorable condition of this particular property really makes our community look bad in my opinion.

Later in the meeting Councilperson O'Connell asked if Public Works had moved forward with hiring a grant writer. Mr. Boone stated one was hired. Councilperson Conlon asked how the department would be determine priorities with grants and which ones they would apply for. I would suggest that you view the meeting video below to see if you can decipher the answers. Personally I found it odd that the Council was asking a department head how this would be handled rather than directing how they wanted it handled.

The Chief reminded the public about the upcoming Overland Police Community Golf tournament on September 21st. He pointed out that the money raised went toward the City D.A.R.E. program. The Chief also mentioned that the BBQ dinner at the Golf course will be catered by Miss Piggies Smoke House (located at 11612 Page Ave.) and will cost $15.00 a person. You can attend the BBQ without participating in the Golf tournament so if the only drivers you know are in on the end of cordless drills (I know I always though a pitching wedge was the white thing on the mound in baseball) you can still come out and support D.A.R.E. and have a good time in the process.

The Chief also reported that the Overland Police had received a $31,512.00 grant to be applied to several local law enforcement responsibilities including sobriety checkpoints, speed enforcement, general DWI enforcement, etc. The Chief also informed us that the department's DWI enforcement numbers for this year (73 arrests so far) had already exceeded last years total of 70. Nice work OPD!

Overall the meeting went well, Council members, as well as the majority of the people in attendance were civil and once again city business was acomplished. There were some bumps and kinks and we still have much room for improvement, but things in Overland are definitely looking better than before.

A word of warning:. Considering the number of issues that were already planned for the September 17th, Workshop meeting, including the recently proposed pension changes, and the number of issues, including the filling the vacant Ward 4 seat have were added to it at this meeting, that workshop could be a record breaker in length. If your planning on attending, you might want to pack some water, a few snacks and a blanket. I will attempt to record this workshop but without a functional sound system in the Council Chambers its has been all but impossible to record meeting in that room so far. Considering the length, my external microphone can't last though it all so if you want to be sure to see it for yourself, I suggest you attend.

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Active Amber Alert for St. Louis County

2007-09-11T05:03:00.000-05:00

Monday evening (September 10th) a man was shot and killed in a car-jacking in North St. Louis County. It is believed that his 10 month old child was in the safety seat in the back of the vehicle at the time.

There is currently a Amber Alert for Ivory Roach, the victim's 10 year old daughter. She has brown hair, brown eyes, is approximately 2 foot tall and weighs approximately 20 pounds. She was last scene on Monday evening at approximately 10:30 PM. Other information available is that she is bi-racial and "appears more white than black".

The father was driving a 2007 Blue Lincoln Navigator with 20 inch rims. The Missouri license plate number is:

7AS61R

For reference here is a picture of a 2007 Lincoln navigator:

St. Louis County police are looking for a suspect described as a black male, bald with a small goatee or beard, medium build and height wearing white t-shirt. This suspect is thought to be in possession of the Lincoln navigator which was last seem driving towards Lucas and Hunt Road on Burrwood in North County.

This suspect may still have Ivory Roach so please keep an eye out for this vehicle on your commute this morning.

If you have any information that can assist the authorities on this matter please contact the St. Louis County Police Department at:

(314) 889-2341

UPDATE: (7:15 AM) The morning news is reporting that the Navigator was found at Barnes Jewish Hospital with the child inside, apparently unharmed. No word on the status of the suspect.

If you have any information that could assist St. Louis County Police with this case PLEASE don't hesitate to contact them at the number above.

August 27th Hearing and Special Meeting

2007-08-28T17:42:00.001-05:00

On August 27th, 2007 the Overland City Council met for a hearing to set the tax levy for the coming year as well as hold a special Council meeting, primarily to swear newly elected Mayor Schneider into office.

There were a few issues raised by people in attendance concerning what should have happened following the swearing in of Mayor Schneider. The first was that they should have named a President Pro Tem of the Council. Actually, we already have one. Councilperson Jerry May of Ward One is the President Pro Tem of the Council. As you can see in City Ordinance 110.240 (you'll need to scroll down to find it) the City Council elects the President Pro Tem of the Council following each year's municipal election. The Council elected Councilperson May to President Pro Tem in April 2007 and the election of a new Mayor has no impact on this. The only way this might have been impacted would have been if Mayor Schneider had been the President Pro Tem prior to being elected Mayor.

Another issue raised was that the Mayor should have re-appointed Linda Downs as the City Clerk (or appointed someone else which would be very unlikely). A look at 115.020 of the Ordinances makes it pretty clear that the City Clerk is "elected by the City Council immediately following the election and installation of a new Mayor". This was an issue we raised following Mayor Purzner's election. Though the ordinance does not distinguish between special or regularly scheduled Council meetings this appears to be nothing more than a simple oversight, which is understandable considering that this has all come about because of Overland's successful mayoral recall, the first one in our County in 25 years, which leads to some uncharted, or at least confusing waters at times. Considering that appointments were not on the agenda for this meeting, even if the Council caught this oversight they could have run afoul of the Sunshine Law if they attempted to add appointments to the agenda. I am sure this will be resolved at the September 10th Council meeting without issue.

During the Tax Levy hearing portion of the meeting Councilperson Peggy Keller of Ward Three took issue with an increase in the personal property tax rate. Last year's residential personal property tax rate was 7.7 cents, which was increasing to 9.7 cents per 100.00 of assessed value. Along with this small increase was a small reduction in the residential real property tax rate from last years 7.5 cents to 6.9 cents per 100.00 of assessed value. The first thing to consider here is that this is only affecting the small municipal portion of our tax bills. The city's portions of our property taxes is one of the smallest items on the list of where the money goes, and that is all this change affects.

To put this in perspective this change would add 22 cents to the personal property tax bill for every $1,000.00 in assessed vehicle value. For example, the county assesses my family's two vehicles at 4,200 combined, meaning this would increase my personal property taxes by a whopping 93 cents (rounded up). The reduction in real property taxes would reduce a homeowner's property taxes by six dollars ($6.00) per 100,000.00 of assessed value. For example, the county assesses my home at 78,300.00 so the decrease in municipal real property taxes would reduce taxes by $4.69 (rounded down). That means this tax "increase" is actually reducing my combined taxes by $3.76. I imagine most homeowners will have similar results. The above examples do not take into account the additional 2.3 cent per 100 reduction of the city police pension real property tax line item.

Councilperson Peggy Keller said at this hearing "Do not raise taxes if you do not need to". While I have to agree with this statement in general I also have to admit that I'm all for future tax "increases" that actually reduce my combined tax burden.

This personal property tax increase will have some impact on local businesses. Commercial interests pay personal property tax on a host of items above and beyond commercially owned vehicles. They pay personal property taxes on store fixtures, computers, and desks just to name a few. However, there is also an 8 cent reduction in Commercial real property taxes (as well as another 8 cent reduction of the commercial real property tax city police pension line item). More Overland businesses lease their business property than own it. As a result, in some cases there will be no accompanying real property tax deduction to negate the impact of this change. However, many commercial leases break down actual expenses (such as taxes, property maintenance, etc) which often adjust to the actual costs. As a result this is likely to only impact a minority of our local businesses and that impact would be minimal when you consider the small dollar amounts involved.

The people who will be most impacted by this change will be the renters in Overland. They don't pay real property taxes directly, but if they own a vehicle, they do pay personal property taxes. I think it is safe to say that the minor reduction in the real property taxes is not likely to result in a surge of rent reductions in town. As a result the average renter will have to foot that $1.00 or so a year without an accompanying savings. However, is this unfair? Renters need the same services that homeowners (police, street repairs, etc), while homeowners pay the bulk of the taxes (as any homeowner can see when writing that significantly larger real property tax check to the county annually). Marginally shifting the burden from real to personal property also marginally shifts the burden more evenly to all residents of Overland in my opinion. Frankly, when we are talking literally about a dollar or two a year, I doubt anyone (other than those seeking a political advantage of some kind) will even notice the difference.

Another issue raised at this meeting was that Councilperson Keller's motion to amend the Tax Levy Ordinance to change the 9.7 cents back to the 7.5 cents per 100.00 on personal property taxes should have passed because the vote went 4 - 3. The key word here is ordinance. This was a vote to amend a proposed ordinance and is subject to the same 5 vote minimum requirement passing an Ordinance has. Whether you want to look at RSMo. 77.080 or Overland Ordinance 110.260 you find the same language:

No ordinance shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall become an ordinance unless on its final passage a majority of the members elected to the City Council shall vote for it, and the "ayes" and "nays" be entered on the journal.

As we have pointed out time and time again here at the Overland Examiner the courts have repeatedly interpreted "majority of the members elected to the City Council" to mean the majority of the the total body, regardless of who might be absent or what seat(s) might be vacant. Since our Council is an 8 member elected body the requirement to do anything with an ordinance is that there be a minimum of 5 votes in favor of it. Once again, this applies to ordinances and not normal business like approving the bills, voting to go into executive session, etc. As a result, the amendment did not pass. However, in the grand scheme of things that really would not have mattered because even if that could have legally passed with only 4 votes, there would not have been 5 to pass the levy. Since both Councilperson O'Connell called for a vote on the amendment again as he wanted to change there vote after hearing the detailed discussion on the tax levy, and Councilperson Jones changed his vote as well ultimately the whole point becomes moot.

At this meeting Mayor Schneider was sworn in and officially took office. We would like to once again congratulate Mayor Schneider on his victory and express our willingness to help and support all efforts with moving the city forward for the betterment of all residents. I am hoping that we will now be able to get the ball rolling on the search for a qualified City Administrator as that would be a huge step in that direction.

There was also a presentation made to Councilperson / President Pro Tem Jerry May for his service in place of the Mayor since April. We would like to thank Councilperson May for his hard work and all his efforts for the City and President Pro Tem. Councilperson May has consistently impressed me over the last several years and his time as "temporary Mayor" only served to solidify that even further for me.

One of the things Mayor Schneider presented to Councilperson May was the gavel. This is a nice gesture that is seen often in many rolls. However, the best part of it came later when Mayor Schneider pulled out a new gavel that was close to the size of a sledge hammer. He said it would only be temporary and that he had made this in shop class when he was a student at Ritenour, giving a nod to his former teacher. It was funny and a nice touch. I assume we'll only see it once though as I imagine they will be replacing the gavel.

Below is the video of the hearing and the meeting in their entirety:

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August 27th Overland
Special Council Meeting
and Tax Levy Hearing
( 33 minutes )

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August 13th, 2007 Overland Council Meeting

2007-08-13T14:13:00.000-05:00

Well this was an interesting meeting. I suspected a move to add the swearing in ceremony to this meeting as the mayoral election results were certified Monday. However that didn't happen (and I have since learned, thanks to discussions on OVCC, that it would have likely been in violation of the Sunshine Law if they had done so). Apparently, they plan to add the swearing in Ceremony to a meeting scheduled for August 27th, 2007 to address property taxes.

By far the most interesting items on the agenda were two ordinances proposing changes to the police and the non-uniform pensions. First, they were interesting because no one seemed to know where they came from or what they were about. Several on the Council expressed concerns about there being no discussion about these items prior to being asked to vote on ordinances to enact them.

One was to eliminate the mandatory retirement age of 65 from the police pension. The argument has been made that this is discriminatory and could open Overland up to a lawsuit. However, a review of the EEOC Compliance Manual, specifically the "threshold issues" section, suggests that this is not exactly the case. There is an exemption when it comes to age discrimination in regard to firefighters and police officers (direct link).

While I am no lawyer and so I am not sure why these specific dates are important, this concern could apparently be easily resolved by simply repealing the current requirement and passing the same requirement directly after the repeal. For whatever reason, EEOC exempts 65 year old mandatory retirement requirements for firefighters and police officers so long as the requirement is put into effect after September 30th, 1996 (which it certainly would be if done now or in the future). While I have the utmost respect for our police officers, and I thank them for the job they do for us, I don't think it's advisable to have someone older than 65 bearing those responsibilities, many of which can become intensely physical at the drop of a hat. I also can't fathom why any officer would want to continue dealing with the unsavory characters they encounter daily after age 65. Our officers have a great pension that they definitely earn. They should retire when they still have years ahead of them to enjoy it.

The other was not so clearly referenced at the meeting. It's my understanding that this was a change for the non-uniform pension involving spousal benefits that made this option automatic rather than something the employees have to select. However, considering how only half of the story about the mandatory retirement issue has been told, I'm not sure if the entire story has been told about this provision either.

Thankfully, the Council agreed (voting 7 to 1 with only Councilman Tim Jones (Ward 4) dissenting) to table these issues and hold a workshop meeting where they could be considered at length. Hopefully this will also give the two Pension Boards an opportunity to add their input as well. Though it was said at the meeting that this is what the pension boards wanted it is my understanding that this may not be the case at least with the police pension board. Hopefully, all of this will be ironed out, and these issues can be resolved in the best interest of the city in the near future. Some other changes to the pensions that have been suggested recently do not have the support of the actuaries. We'll have to wait and see where they stand on these particular issues as well (I hope the rumors that some at city hall want to change actuaries because of these opinions are false).

Interestingly, City Attorney Robert Herman was apparently surprised by these ordinances as well. He didn't draft them, and I got the impression he was not involved in any discussions about them either. Who drafted them is still a mystery. So far, the only answer given has been "they" instructed that these items be added to the agenda. So much for open government.

As if to keep with the theme of "so much for open government", even though this is the only regularly scheduled Council meeting for the month of August, neither Chief Herron nor Acting Public Works Director Chuck Boone had anything to report to the Council. I found this odd since they always seem to have things to report at length. You would think, Chuck Boone would want to at least pat the street department folks on the back for their hard work in this blistering heat, and that the Chief might at minimum want to pass along a few heat related safety tips to the public as well as the recent arrests involving an armed robbery at PX liquor.

Once again, even though there was no Chief's report, Councilman Owensby decided to raise several questions. One involved a suggestion for camera systems that would have been more appropriate to raise during New Business. Another involved a possible lawsuit which should probably be left to executive session until it's resolved. One issue he brought up involved a Police Officer we recently wrote about here. Unfortunately it is my understanding that the Police Department terminated this officer because of his poor health. He had 17 years on the force and was only 3 years away from being able to retire and receive his full pension. There does not seem to be a disability provision in the police pension for health issues. That is definitely one thing that should be discussed at a workshop meeting about the pensions in my opinion. The non-unformed pension (for city employees other than the police) apparently has such a provision. While I realize those employees have difficult jobs and work hard for our city, our police, whose work is incredibly stressful, taxing and thus detrimental to health, don't have such protection and that seems a bit absurd to me.

Hopefully most if not all of these issues will be addressed at the future workshop meeting. I hope the Council will seek to include input from the pension boards, the actuaries, and the employees (preferably through a secret ballot or something similar so the employees and officers can answer freely). We need to ensure that we properly balance the needs of the city, the needs of the employees and officers, as well as what is fiscally sound. There are also potential legal ramifications to consider such as what happened in San Diego, California.

Another issue that came up was an ordinance to adjust bidding requirements to require that only "responsible contractors" be considered. This ordinance was exceptionally detailed and rather than try to go into it at length I will try to get a copy from city hall and add it here as soon as possible. The basic concept seemed to be that contractors had to provide benefits to their employees, pay prevailing wage, not have been barred, disqualified, fired, etc by any local, state of federal agency, have proper licensing, insurance, etc in order to be considered when bidding city projects.

Under old business, Councilperson Conlon again asked the Council about moving forward with finding a City Administrator through the East - West Gateway Council. President Pro Tem May stated that he had been advised to wait until the our new Mayor took office so that the process could move forward without issue. That's assuming Mayor Schneider chooses to do so (which I hope he does).

The remainder of the meeting was standard fair. Ordinances were passed to make it illegal to leash dogs in front yards, change parking regulations on Millet, and add stop signs to Meadowbrook at S. Milton and the Driver and Bryant intersection. Other than that it was business as usual. Several new businesses and liquor licenses moved forward, Councilman Owensby questioned the bills, minutes were passed with only a few issues raised and resolved, etc.

You can review our video of the entire August 13th Council Meeting below. I apologize if you have difficulty with the sound, as the sound system seemed a bit off at this meeting.

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August 13th Overland Council Meeting
( 1 hour 5 minutes )

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2007 Mayoral Election Results

2007-08-07T21:10:00.000-05:00

The County Just announced the unofficial results:

Out of 3170 votes cast:

Conlon:................1298
Keller:..................319
Schneider:............1548
Write-In:..................5

Link to the results

Based on the unofficial results it appears that Councilperson Schneider will be the next Mayor of Overland. We would like to congratulate Mr. Schneider, and wish him the best of luck in his new position. Hopefully, all sides will be able to come together and focus on the future of Overland.

Considering that there were only 2 elected offices and a handful of ballot issues throughout St. Louis County on this ballot it is possible that the election result could be certified before the end of this week. That means that Mr. Schneider might be sworn into the office of Mayor as early as the August 13th, 2007 City Council meeting.

Mayoral Election Update

2007-08-07T19:09:00.000-05:00

With the polls now closed the last unofficial count we had was 3001 votes cast between the seven polling places. With absentee votes included that gives us a rough count of 3265 vote cast.

The big turnout winner of the day was Wyland School with approximately 565 votes cast there alone.

In the April 2007 election we had 10,049 registered voters. That would make this a turnout of approximately 30% (32% with the absentee ballots counted). Not too bad considering this was a municipal only, one ballot item, special election on a blazing hot day.

Now we just have to wait and see what the results are.

Overland's Mayoral Election Update

2007-08-07T13:19:00.000-05:00

I've been running around the polls checking numbers and making sure everyone has enough water and ice. Everyone has been trying to look out for each other which is great as heat stroke is not partisan. So far all is well though the turnout is a bit slow. As of 1:00PM the rough count of votes cast was about 1568. That's a bit slower than usual for Overland but people maybe waiting for the sun to go down to vote. There were 264 absentee ballots cast which brings that number over 1800 votes for this election so far.

Turn out is important, not only for representation of all the residents but also for the image of Overland, so if you have yet to vote, get out and do it now. If you need transportation contact the candidates (Candidate contact information can be found here), don't neglect your right and responsibility today.

Editorial: Overland's Mayoral Election 2007

2007-08-05T15:42:00.000-05:00

While I have made every effort to provide information about all the candidates without bias or prejudice (including our previous article which contains a host of information about them) I am not without an opinion of my own when it comes to the upcoming mayoral election. The following editorial is that opinion, and (as you might expect) it is a long one so be prepared.

Here at the Overland Examiner we have tried made all the information about the candidates available to our readers that we could. Ultimately it is up to you to review that information and determine how you wish to cast your vote. The following is simply the reasoning behind my own decision.

As I have said before, there are three clear choices in this election.

First there is Councilperson Keller. Having been on the City Council for a few short months and having no experience beyond that in public office or managing matters of policy, she is the least qualified of the candidates. Since she did not attend either of the candidate events held in Overland, she has not held a “get to know the candidate” type forum for the public that we are aware of, and she has put very little information out for voters to review, it appears she is not at all serious about winning this election in my opinion.

Of the little bit of information Councilperson Keller has put out, the flier that was recently left on my door speaks volumes. In that flier Councilperson Keller points out that she had proposed a ballot measure for the residents to vote on selling the Seminary property at Wild Acres and that it was voted down by the majority of the Council. She says "Your right to vote was taken away", a line former Councilperson Knode frequently chose to use inaccurately as well (which is one of the reasons he is now a "former Councilperson" in my opinion).

She did not include in that flier that at the same meeting she was asked by one of the council members if she had ever seen the inside of the buildings (which she could have done while they were conducting tours of the building as recently as the Discover Overland Event on June 9th), if she had ever talked to the Friends of Wild Acres about the buildings, or if she had ever communicated with any of the residents or businesses who are currently exploring plans and proposals for that property. Her answer was “it’s not about me”. Based on that answer, and considering the fact that earlier at that same meeting the current president of the Friends of Wild Acres had challenged her on this as well it appears clear that the actual answers would have clearly been no (if she had chosen not to evade the questions). This begs the question, how can you pass judgment on something when you have made no effort to examine the various options?

Her flier goes on to say that the Council will be spending over $200,000.00 on those buildings “that have never been inspected”. They most certainly have been inspected, numerous times for that matter. They were inspected by the Fire Marshal multiple times in order to get the OK to hold the various resident tours that we've had over the last several years. They have also been inspected repeatedly by our Public Works Department and by St. Louis County as well. Secondly, as a Councilperson she should be well aware of the offer currently being negotiated between the City of Overland and the insurance company that covers those buildings. The insurance company has offered well over that $200,000.00 to cover the damages from when the furnace that went out resulting in frozen pipes that later ruptured and flooded the building. Her flier suggests the Council is spending taxpayer money on the buildings when in fact, it will be mostly money from the insurance company, given specifically for those repairs.

She complains in the flier that the Council wants to spend $25,000.00 to have an architectural firm evaluate the property. She says earlier in it that the city has no plan for these buildings, and then she complains about bringing in professionals to help develop a new plan. I say a “new” plan because there IS an existing plan at City hall that was drawn up for those buildings back when Mayor Dody was in office.

Originally, the City was considering making the property the new municipal complex / City Hall which seemed reasonable in conjunction with the move to annex West Overland (the seminary Property would be very close to the center of the city if the annexation was successful). When the Annexation fell through, the City Hall move fell through as well. However, there is a detailed plan laying out what it would take to bring the buildings back into good repair and up to modern code. All we need is a review of the current status of the buildings (after more years of neglect) to update that plan. That updated plan could possibly be made publicly available which would help companies and individuals interested in doing something with this property work out their plans and proposals.

While I sympathize with the frustration of owning these buildings and not moving forward with them I think it is a bit ridiculous to try to abandon them right when we are finally starting to try to make something happen with the property (and we have the majority support of the City Council to do it).

Based on what little we have seen from her, it's my opinion that a vote for Councilperson Keller is a vote for a lack of vision, an unwillingness to research, and the same misinformation tactics we just recalled from office.

The next choice is Councilman Schneider. Councilman Schneider has been on the City Council for 16 months or so, though 12 of those months were as a member of a dysfunctional government that could not accomplish anything, so his experience as to how the city is actually supposed to be run is still a bit limited. While I appreciate Councilman Schneider’s efforts to stand with the Council majority and prevent former Mayor Purzner and others from doing even more damage to the city of Overland, I have concerns as well.

At the May 14th Council Meeting, the President of the Friends of Wild Acres asked the Council why nothing had yet been done to repair the leaks in the Seminary Property roof. Councilperson Schneider answered, stating that they hadn’t appropriated any funds for the repairs and that hopefully they would do that this year. However, back in August of 2006 the Capital Improvements budget was passed by the Council unanimously. Included in that budget was a $45,000.00 line item for repairs of those buildings. As a member of the Council at that time (not to mention a member of the Budget Committee) and someone who voted on that budget Councilperson Schneider should have known about this. As the Chairman of the Parks Committee at the time he should have worked to implement it. Councilperson Schneider failed to move forward on using those funds when they were approved and the Seminary property at Wild Acres continued to deteriorate as a result (you can see a video clip of this for yourself by clicking here).

As many of you know, I had been looking into a "Neighbor helping Neighbor" program for our area over the past six months or so. There were numerous issues with such a program, the worst of which was the high costs of insuring such and effort. Then I learned about St. Louis County's "County Older Residents Programs (CORP)". To me this was the perfect solution. They have programs to cover all of the things I was hoping to address and those programs are professionally managed. They are also insured and funded by the County. This program has run successfully for over 30 years. When I met with people there they told me they are very interested in getting more involved in the Overland area. When Councilperson Schneider first started talking about his “Ward Warriors” I told him about my research and about CORP. However, he seemed determined to create his own version of the program. Reinventing the wheel like this is completely unnecessary. Taking on this mountain of potential legal liability for the City (and ultimately the taxpayers) is a risk that is pointless to take when the County already has an operation in place if your motivation is to help people rather than to be able to say "I created this".

Throughout this Campaign (as you can see in the various videos linked to in our previous article) Councilman Schneider has suggested things that seem odd. Parking a dump truck in from of someone’s home as a solution to the problem of suspected illegal aliens having too many people living there is one such suggestion (what a dump truck would accomplish is beyond me). Another is the suggestion that we use money from the City Beautification fund to “clean up the place” and let people put brush on the street for the city to pick up instead of what the Beautification fund was created for which was to improve our right of ways and parks as stipulated in the ballot language which you can found in City Ordinance #2005-44:

"Shall the City of Overland, Missouri, collect an annual license tax of two percent (2%) on all gross annual revenues produced by outdoor advertising structures (commonly referred to as off-premise billboards) in the City of Overland, Missouri, such revenues to be used for the beautification of public rights-of-way and other properties in the City of Overland?"

There is Councilperson Schneider's frequently stated suggestion that the Ordinance governing the City Administrator position makes that position “too powerful”. However, ultimately the City Administrator can't do anything without the approval of the Mayor and the City Council as is clearly stated in that Ordinance (specifically section 115.520):

“The City Administrator shall be responsible for the administration and management of the governmental business, officers and employees and activities of the City subject to the direction and supervision of the Mayor and the City Council".

Then there is the issue of the legal action against Councilperson Schneider over his candidacy. At issue was the fact that he had received a waiver from the St. Louis County Department of Revenue for his 2006 personal property taxes. The notations in that department’s computer files said that he had not moved here in February 2006. This raised the reasonable question that if he had not lived here before that time, how could he be qualified to run for an office in August 2007 when one of the requirements is that a candidate has to have been an Overland resident for 2 or more years? Alternately, the suit asked that if he actually did live here long enough to qualify to run for that office (which both sides stipulated to at the beginning of the court hearing), how could he do so if he did not pay his personal property taxes for the 2006 tax year when state statute 115.346 forbids candidates from running if the are in arrears on their taxes?

It has been spun by many that this case was a "frivolous lawsuit" and that Councilperson Schneider did nothing wrong. However, that is not how the ruling went. The Judge ruled that since the County Department of Revenue would not have considered Councilperson Schneider to be in arrears on May 22nd, 2007 (the last day you could have filed to run for Mayor in this election), even though they did have to pay those taxes, he did not have to come off the ballot. RSMo. 115.346 states:

“Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, no person shall be certified as a candidate for a municipal office, nor shall such person's name appear on the ballot as a candidate for such office, who shall be in arrears for any unpaid city taxes or municipal user fees on the last day to file a declaration of candidacy for the office.”

As a result of a waiver being improperly issued and not being caught by the Department of Revenue before May 22nd, Councilperson Schneider was able to remain on the ballot due to a legal technicality. Far from being exonerated he had to pay those taxes. Also, waivers are not issued unless they are requested. Lets be clear, you DO NOT get a tax waiver unless you ask for one. To have been issued a waiver for that year someone would have had to tell DOR that either Councilman Schneider had not lived in county prior to Jan 1st 2006, or that they did not own the vehicle at that time. Since the ownership records for that vehicle listed him by name as a joint owner along with his former company, and the Schneider family has lived in the house on Chaucer since early 2005 it seems reasonable to conclude that someone made an erroneous, if not outright false, statement to the Department of Revenue in order to secure that waiver that was later rescinded as a result of this suit. You can review the decision of the court for yourself here (first made available online at the OVCC blog by SuzyJax) and you can even see the entire transcript of the hearing here (first made available online at Mary Beth Conlon's website).

Then there are the big names supporting Councilperson Schneider. There are former Mayors, Council members, and appointees as well as a host of politicos and wanna-be politicos from Overland’s past (from both of the two largest sides in Overland politics). Councilperson Schneider’s slogan is “Different enough to make a difference”, yet his closest advisors and supporters are the people who have been in charge of Overland (on the dais or in the back-rooms) going back decades. The policies of the past have led us to our current position of flat revenues, increasing expenses, and vacant business properties all over the city. Do we really want to continue with them or their authors?

While there are an enormous amount of grant opportunities and the like out there that, with proper planning, could help Overland build a brighter future, Councilperson Schneider doesn’t appear to take those opportunities seriously when you consider his “Grant Fairy” comment at the LWV Candidates Forum. Why anyone would belittle such opportunities is beyond me.

Finally, when you review the information that Councilperson Schneider has put out to the public on what he wants to do for Overland, you find an extreme lack of details. There are a lot of promises that include everything that just about anyone wants to hear, but there are no detailed explanations on how this would be accomplished. A review of Councilman Schneider’s website finds that there isn’t even a platform or a list of ideas to be found as of today. The closest we come is a question and answer post. Even in that we find a lack of understanding of public policy and the law. Councilperson Schneider has said repeatedly that he wants to see Overland run more like a business. However, no successful business executive will commit time, money or resources to an idea without detailed plans and projects that they can first analyze. Though he says he wants to see Overland run more like a business, based on what little detail he has provided to us it appears Mr. Schneider doesn't want the voters to act like business people.

One of the questions that appear on his website asks how to deal with a problem concerning a neighbor’s 5 outside cats. Mr. Schneider’s response failed to even mention that you cannot legally have more than 2 outside pets in the City of Overland.

Another deals with a skateboard park which Councilman Schneider seems to support in his answer. Where this would go or how the city could manage the massive legal risks it would create remains a mystery. The Skateboard park issue was brought up several years ago by then Councilperson Purzner. At that time the City’s insurance company stated they would not cover it unless the city had absolutely nothing to do with it directly. The City couldn’t build it, maintain it, or supervise it in any way if they wanted the insurance company to cover it (what they would be covering at that point I don't know). Until a private concern approaches the city about building such a facility we either cannot move forward, or we have to figure out how to budget for the massive insurance costs covering it would bring, assuming we could find a company that would cover it at all.

Though I happen to like Councilperson Schneider and have always enjoyed talking with him it is my opinion that a vote for him is a vote for the same old politics and policies of the past that gave us the problems Overland has today and yet another politician who won’t take responsibility for their mistakes or invest time into fully researching how current laws and policies relate to our problems and their possible solutions. How is Overland supposed to move forward if we don't look before we leap?

Lastly, there is Councilperson Conlon. Councilperson Conlon served on the City Council from 2004-2006. She narrowly lost her run for Mayor in 2006 and she successfully ran to return to the Council in 2007. In her time on the Council, Conlon authored numerous successful ballot measures designed to improve Overland, including holding absentee owners accountable for derelict properties and the creation of the city's beautification fund, just to name a few. While on the Council she successfully advocated for spending reductions, creating the position of a city administrator as well as using an independent agency to recruit candidates to fill that position (to avoid having it become yet another political patronage job at City Hall like the recent changes at Overland's Public Works Department). Councilperson Conlon’s education in public policy administration has given her the tools we need to successfully find and implement solutions to Overland’s problems. At her candidate forums, Councilperson Conlon not only explained what she wanted to do, but how it could be done using various programs, grants and other opportunities. There is no absence of “how” with her.

The old guard politicians of both camps are opposing her. Her supporters are Overland residents, young, old and in-between, many of whom have been actively trying to improve our community (or just their block) for years. Those seeking to parlay their support into some sort of personal gain have chosen to back one of the other candidates.

When talking to her detractors, there are a few common complaints. The first is that she filed last to run for Mayor in 2006 and the resulting split vote gave us Mayor Purzner. However, these same people are supporting Councilperson Schneider, who filed last in this election which could result in a similar split vote result. The hypocrisy of this is ridiculous to me. What no one is considering is that there is a certain statistical math to filing as a candidate. Ultimately it is best to be listed first, but if you can't be first, then it is next best to be listed last. It has also been said that Councilperson Schneider was saying he wanted to run back in October of 2006 as if to suggest he was talking about it first. However, I knew (as I am sure many of you did) that Councilperson Conlon intended to run again for Mayor shortly after the recount of the April 2006 election.

Her detractors claim that she didn’t meet with them when asked. The intent of those meetings was to get one of the two "good" candidates to back out of the race. While there were various reasons why these different meetings didn’t happen, ultimately it was obvious that neither candidate had any intention of backing out so what was the point? Also, am I the only one the questions the “back-room” appearance of such meetings?

There are those that simply do not like her. Personality conflicts happen and there is rarely a solution for them, but to base your vote on whom you like personally over the person you know has the ability to do a better job seems a bit foolish to me.

The recent legal action I mentioned above is also a reason some have chosen not to support Councilperson Conlon. While I took issue with her not contacting Councilperson Schneider about this before filing the suit as well, ultimately the suit was valid. Councilperson Schneider clearly won that suit purely on a technicality, nothing more. To have that suit referred to as a “frivolous lawsuit” or a “dirty trick” is ridiculous as all that suit did was ask the court to ensure that election law was properly followed. Ultimately, Councilperson Schneider had to pay the unpaid taxes in question, so obviously the facts of the case were accurate. The judge’s strict interpretation of the statute’s wording is the only reason that Mr. Schneider was able to remain on the ballot.

Mary Beth Conlon has articulated her vision to us clearly. She has told us what she wants to do and how she will go about making those things happen. She has not pulled punches or answered every question blindly with a yes just for the sake of a vote. If you ask Councilperson Conlon a straight question, you get a straight answer that she either backs up with facts or asks to get back to you after she researches the issue. If you don’t believe me call her and ask your own questions.

Marybeth Conlon’s website has real information on it including her platform which gives an overview of what she wants to accomplish for Overland as our Mayor. At her forum events she's given us detailed information about her ideas including what stumbling blocks exist and how they can best be overcome.

In my opinion a vote for Councilperson Conlon is a vote for a clearly defined new direction for Overland that isn't weighed down with the politics of the past.

As I have said before, this Mayoral election is critical to the future of Overland as it will set the tone for things to come and there are three clear choices for the voters. A vote for Councilperson Keller is a vote for a lack of vision, the misinformation tactics most of us despise and a lack of interest in properly researching the various issues facing Overland. A vote for Councilperson Schneider is a vote for the same old politics of the past that have failed us time and again, ideas without substance, and a whole new series of legal risks for the City (and ultimately the taxpayers). A vote for Councilperson Conlon is a vote for a clear vision of a brighter future for Overland and a detailed road map showing us how to get there without back-room political debts.

The choice in this election is obvious to me. That is why I will be voting for Conlon on August 7th, 2007. In my opinion she is the only choice for a new, brighter direction in Overland.

Comments ARE enabled on this article so fire away,
we welcome the opportunity for a good discussion/debate
on this critical Mayoral Election if anyone is up for the challenge.