Meeting Highlights: Aldermen Talk 2012 Budget, Wydown Resurfacing

Fiscal year were among the subjects discussed Tuesday by the city's Board of Aldermen.

The following is a look at highlights from the meeting as it happened:

8:22 P.M.: Owens thanked his department heads, among them assistant finance director Betty Luebke, for their help in preparing the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The aldermen and mayor applauded.

8:21 P.M.: Ward III Alderman Steve Lichtenfeld said he's witnessed a number of special neighborhood celebrations after the postponing of the city's events. National Night Out is planned Oct. 14 in the city.

"I think we should always encourage our neighborhoods to come together … in activities that celebrate just being together as a community," he said.

8:20 P.M.: Goldstein is talking about the Communities Putting Prevention to Work and efforts to spread the message about resources available to stop smoking. She is on the organization's leadership team.

She said St. Joseph Church in Clayton also has invited the community to a special Mass in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The Mass will happen Sept. 9.

8:16 P.M.: The aldermen are expected to vote on final changes for boards and commissions by the end of September, Goldstein said.

The aldermen are expected to go into closed session momentarily.

8:14 P.M.: The aldermen have voted to nominate Cultural Festivals for the 2012 State of the Arts Award from the Missouri Arts Council.

They are now considering appointments to city boards and commissions.

8:12 P.M.: The aldermen have approved a resolution expressing support for development of the St. Louis City riverfront, including the area surrounding the Gateway Arch.

8:11 P.M.: The aldermen have approved amending city code to permit such sales during authorized events.

8:09 P.M.: The aldermen are considering whether to amend city code to reflect that it's legal to sell goods on sidewalks and streets during approved events such as the upcoming Saint Louis Art Fair. City Attorney Kevin O'Keefe said current law "might lead one to surmise that streets could never under any circumstances harbor sale of merchandise."

8:06 P.M.: The aldermen are considering an agreement regarding Community Development Block Grant funds. Approving the agreement would allow the city to continue receiving such funds. Monies from 2010 and 2011 will be used in the next few months to bring about 15 curb ramps on Wydown Boulevard up to standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act, Owens said.

The aldermen have approved the agreement.

8:02 P.M.: "We're maximizing the pedestrian access area and we're putting in the brick banding and the street trees where we can," said Pratt, referencing plans for irrigation and other work on Brentwood and Carondelet.

The aldermen have approved the ordinance to move forward with the streetscape project.

8 P.M.: The aldermen have approved the Wydown Boulevard ordinance.

The aldermen are now considering another proposed agreement regarding streetscape work on Carondelet Avenue and Brentwood Boulevard. The city would pay approximately $177,000 toward the project, with a remaining amount of approximately $709,000 coming from East-West Gateway.

7:56 P.M.: Ward I Councilwoman Andrea Maddox-Dallas asked how the project would affect Wydown, given construction also planned on the new . Pratt said engineering would happen in 2012; right-of-way acquisition in 2013; and construction in 2014. Maddox-Dallas said the new Wydown Middle School is expected to open in fall 2013, which would help alleviate traffic concerns. 

7:54 P.M.: The city will be responsible for paying approximately $742,000 toward planned resurfacing work on Wydown Boulevard. East-West Gateway Council of Governments will give approximately $2.97 million toward the project.

7:53 P.M.: The aldermen have approved the conditional use permit for the 10 S. Brentwood Blvd. building. The public hearing has ended.

7:52 P.M.: Goldstein said while ARB's primary concern was with the design of the new police station, the aldermen must also weigh the project's budgetary implications.

7:47 P.M.: Owens is reviewing three concerns he said the Clayton Plan Commission and Architectural Review Board expressed regarding the new police station building at 10 S. Brentwood Blvd.:

•  Design of the sally port
• Placement of the building's electrical transformer, which is in the basement of the facility. Ameren Missouri encourages property owners to put the transformer outside buildings for 24-hour access by utility workers.
• Placement of a solar array. The city plans to flush-mount the solar array, which will save $600,000 that otherwise would have been used to mount the array on a trellise.

7:42 P.M.: Clayton's public works director, Michael Pratt, has informed the aldermen that the Lawrence Group did not make it to Tuesday's meeting in connection with work at the new police station building. The aldermen have agreed to proceed with a public hearing regarding a conditional use permit for the facility.

7:39 P.M.: If the public has additional input about the city's fiscal year 2012 budget, aldermen will have time to discuss it before adopting these ordinances at its next meeting, Goldstein said.

7:38 P.M.: The Clayton Professional Firefighters Association and the have provided input on the city's budget, Goldstein said.

The public hearing has closed.

7:34 P.M.: Revenue from Clayton outdoor facilities is projected to be $912,500 in the coming fiscal year. That would represent a 2.8 percent increase over the year-end estimate for fiscal year 2011. The parks department is looking to reduce per-acre maintenance costs in the coming year, he said.

7:32 P.M.: The addition of two part-time positions in the city's finance department has worked out "really well," and the city will look at continuing that in the future, Owens said.

7:30 P.M.: Clayton is expected to pay $395,000 for participation in East Central Dispatch, a joint operation with five other cities to dispatch personnel in the event of an emergency, Owens said. The money comes out of the 's budget.

7:26 P.M.: The city maintains 122 vehicles in its fleet. Staff are proposing a budget of $325,000 for gas, oil and lubricants to be used for that fleet and $83,000 for parts and related supplies.

7:24 P.M.: Owens is reviewing the proposed street maintenance budget for the coming fiscal year. Its total budget would be approximately $1.5 million, including $21,000 in capital projects.

7:20 P.M.: Clayton's debt ratio, compared to assessed value, is "unbelievably low," Owens said. Staff are recommending that the city try to engage in some debt funding for long-range investments and projects. The city is expected to have a low level of debt in 2019, he said.

Among capital projects recommended for fiscal year 2012:

• New police facility
• Washington University pedestrian underpass
• Traffic signal improvements
• Work on Shaw Park tennis courts

7:15 P.M.: The city's second largest revenue source is utility taxes, Owens said. During fiscal year 2010, for example, commercial utility taxes accounted for 85 percent of the city's total utility-tax revenues. Capital improvements are primarily funded by sales taxes.

7:13 P.M.: The economic downturn has affected revenues, so the city's challenge has been keeping expenses in check, Owens said. Revenue sources have remained fairly consistent.

7:09 P.M.: Only a first reading of the bill happened Tuesday night. A second reading, at which aldermen will consider giving final approval to the measure, will happen at a later date.

A second public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2012 operating and capital improvements budget has opened.

7:08 P.M.: Several aldermen have pointed out that taxes allow the city to provide valuable public services. Owens said he doesn't expected collective assessed valuation to go up in the coming fiscal year. He said that hopefully the coming year will be better than years in the recent past but that recovery will be gradual.

"We are budgeting more conservatively, and that's been our experience over the last two years," Owens said.

The public hearing on the ordinance has closed.

7:02 P.M.: City Manager Craig Owens is reviewing the expected changes over the previous year. City documents state that a person who owns a house in the city valued at $600,000 would pay $24 more during fiscal year 2012 than in the previous year. Business owners who have a commercial property valued at $2 million would pay $51 more during fiscal year 2012 than in the previous year.

7:01 P.M.: The first of three public hearings planned for tonight is beginning. At issue: Consideration of an ordinance regarding the proposed property tax levy request for fiscal year 2012.

6:58 P.M.: The regular meeting is getting underway.

6:45 P.M.: The discussion session has ended. The board will reconvene in 15 minutes for its regular meeting.

6:42 P.M.: Mayor Linda Goldstein said for the most part, everyone has embraced the banners that were placed on Wydown. Someone contacted her and asked that banners be placed on Hanley Road, so the city placed three along the road, she said.

"Not only do you promote health and wellness and the connectivity and all of that, but I think that you remind people that it is important to respect alternative modes of transportation if you're in a car," Goldstein said.

The organization also will recycle the old banners.

6:39 P.M.: Wilding said Great Rivers looks forward to piloting seven new banner designs in Clayton. They will be two-sided and should be fabricated by the end of September. The organization will work with the city's public works department to install the banners.

6:37 P.M.: Janet Wilding of Great Rivers is giving an overview of the organization's efforts to develop trails in the region. New regional goals include improving economic vitality and enhancing public health.

6:32 P.M.: Judy Metzger of Great Rivers Greenway is addressing the board as part of its discussion session. She said she has been involved with the organization since its inception nearly 11 years ago. Years ago, she said, she proposed involving Wydown Boulevard in a project to get people walking and biking in the St. Louis area.

"Thank you Clayton," she said. "Thank you for being progressive."

6:17 P.M.: The meeting is scheduled to begin in just over 10 minutes.