Friends of the City of Richmond Heights board member Amy Hamilton sat down with Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch this week to answer questions about the group and its plans for 2011. Hamilton is also Richmond Heights' city manager.

How did the Friends of the City of Richmond Heights get started?

Hamilton: The city had a beautification commission, and before there was any Parks and Recreation Department, they would give input as to what kind of flowers the city should plant at islands. Then the city established a parks and recreation department. That's when Teresa Proebsting was hired here and we began working on what is today The Heights.

The beautification commission did get with The Heights. They got more into the arts, and they brought public art showings to The Heights buildings, which you still see today if you go in there.

As staff was working, the beautification commission said you know, we really need to become a nonprofit because there are certain grants you can go after, certain program funding. So the beautification commission sort of morphed into what has become the Friends of the City of Richmond Heights.  It was fun as a staff member to watch it sort of evolve.

What have the Friends done so far in Richmond Heights?

Hamilton: We had the booth at Celebrate Richmond Heights this summer. That was really the first public appearance that the Friends had. Then we did that trivia night in October, and we did raise about $800. That was the first fundraiser. And so now we've got a little bit of money to actually begin doing something for the community.

How did you personally get involved in the Friends group?

Hamilton: I was the assistant city manager when I first came here, and Teresa was the liaison to the beautification commission. When we decided to make it this something more, it was really beyond parks and recreatio. It became my baby. When the city manager left, it got put on the back burner because we were in transition, and then I became the city manager. Then I did the paperwork and reached out to people who had been part of beautification commission. The council was completely behind it. They saw a draft of where we were going with the organization.

What does Friends membership involve?

Hamilton: The membership is free. At this point, there's no financial commitment. We just want people who  have any interest in the areas that we are in and who want to give of their time and talents to help. The board meets once a month, and those meetings are open to the general public. We typically meet the last Thursday of every month.

Tell me about the Friends' plans to participate in an internship program with Focus St. Louis.

Hamilton: They have an internship program this summer that we're going to go for. The intern would come in and do a greenhouse gases inventory for the city. You need that to really know where you're at, to date, to make improvement over a 5 or a 10-year or a 20-year period.

What other projects do the Friends plan to support?

Hamilton: Initially, Friends is going to pay for the city's membership into ICLEI. Tthe city will move forward from there.

How do proposals to add more biking and walking paths to St. Louis fit into the Friends' mission?

Hamilton: The Friends is really behind that because that's a cultural and an environmental benefit. It's a recreational benefit. As we move forward, the Friends really want to be supportive of those kinds of activities—if the city goes for any sort of grant, if they want a letter of recommendation or letter of support. If there's any way that the Friends could assist in their support, they want to do so.