St. George to Decide Fate in November

St. George residents will get a chance this November to decide whether their town should exist anymore. That’s because the St. Louis County Council approved a ballot item on Tuesday that, if .

St. George residents will vote on the issue Nov. 8.

The unanimous vote to put the issue up for a vote prompted a small cheer from St. George Mayor Carmen Wilkerson, who attended the meeting along with several other people who support taking apart the town. In an interview, Wilkerson said she was “very excited” about the voters getting to “make a choice for themselves.”

“Now we get out the vote,” Wilkerson said. “We talk to our citizens about the importance of how important this vote is and how important it is for them to get registered and make sure they participate in this election.”

Asked if it would be difficult to get voters to disassemble the town they live in, Wilkerson pointed to the success of getting enough signatures to put the initiative on the ballot.

“We have a lot of support from the citizens about it,” Wilkerson said. “We still have some work to do. We still have some people who don’t have enough information yet. And actually we have 30 or 40 people who have moved into St. George since we started this. So we have to start back at square one and educate them about what’s been going on and what the issue is on the ballot in November.

DISCORD OVER EMERGENCY CENTER CONSTRUCTION

During the council’s open forum, Chief William Karabas discussed the importance of adopting a project labor agreement for an Emergency Communications Center in Chesterfield.

A project labor agreement (PLA) involves terms set up before a construction project starts. PLAs, which often are forged with labor unions, are aimed at preventing strikes or alterations in wages.

Karabas, who is the chairman of the St. Louis County Emergency Communications System Commission, said it will take about 12 to 14 months to construct the new facility, which will contain equipment running a emergency communications system that conforms to a looming FCC mandate. He told the council that the building has to be ready in order for the county to receive the equipment before the January 2013 deadline.   

“As we understand it, a PLA ensures that there would be no strikes or work stoppages,” Karabas said. “And if there were jurisdictional disputes, projects would continue without a work stoppage. They also promote safety on the job site, and the process is open to union and non-union contractors, as well as requiring minority participation.”

Karabas said that PLAS were used to construct major projects such as Busch Stadium and the . He said those projects came in “on time” and “on budget.”

But James Knowles III, the eastern Missouri director for Associated Builders and Contractors, told the council if the PLA becomes “union only,” it would “discriminate against the vast number of contractors and workers in the industry.”

“Contrary to popular belief, the construction industry is mostly non-union,” said Knowles III, who is also the mayor of Ferguson. “It’s easy to look at St. Louis County’s own rolls and see who’s a registered contractor in this county. And majority—the vast majority—are all non-union."

Knowles III said a PLA restricts the bidding process, which he added runs contrary to St. Louis County ordinances.

“It does restrict on who’s allowed to bid on the job,” Knowles III said. “It does restrict who’s allowed to work on the job. So we’re obviously concerned about this.”

The council did not take action on the issue.

SULLIVAN RESPONDS

University City resident Tom Sullivan r

Sullivan had criticized the council for allocating funds for a convention for the American Society of Association Executives. Stenger said the convention was meant “to showcase St. Louis as a destination spot for conventions, which are, as we all know, it’s (one of the) bread and butter of the region.”

During the public forum portion of the council meeting, Sullivan said all he was doing was asking questions about the event. For one thing, he said, he wanted to know why the event cost so much.

“Even if you assume that a party is a good idea, maybe you could put a party on for a mere $50,000,” Sullivan said. “But nobody came up with estimates, even the people at the (Convention and Visitors Bureau).”

Sullivan added that no matter how much money is sent to the CVC, the results just aren’t there.

“Of course, don’t forget that St. Louis County sent $180 million for the dome that was supposed to revitalize downtown and bring in all sorts of conventions,” said Sullivan, referring to the Edward Jones Dome. “Huge amount of money is being sent to downtown St. Louis, and it’s hard to see any results.”