Comments by JoeBlumberg
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A note from the reporter:
I normally do print the names of who voted -- sorry about that, Heritage. Here's the vote on Bill Falkner's motion to reduce outside sewer customers' rates by 15 percent:
Yes: Bill Falkner, Barbara LaBass, Mike Bozarth (3)
No: Donna Jean Boyer, Mike Hirter, Gary Roach, Joyce Starr (4)
Mayor Ken Shearin and Councilman Roger Baker were absent from that meeting. (The mayor was at a KC life-sciences-corridor gathering along with St. Joseph businessmen and the Chamber.)
On St. Joseph, neighbor not likely to work things out
Heritage,
The three city skate parks are at Hyde Park in the South Side, the Bode Complex in the middle of town, and on Mapleleaf Parkway up north (off St. Joseph Avenue and Grand Avenue -- get with it, dude).
Other unofficial skate parks abound.
From your filled-with-useless-knowledge City Hall reporter,
Joe
On Skateboards nixed on streets, again
Heritage is correct about one project receiving the full amount they requested. The Reillys received the full amount they requested -- $10,000 -- for 1219 Felix St. Sorry about that.
On United Building, 5 others receive grants
A note from the reporter:
The deli is Mojo Cafe, at 620 Felix St. Sorry for my mistake.
Joe
On Felix Street work nearing end
A note from the reporter -
Richard Mastio asked me to post this comment from him:
Sadly for St. Joseph, Missouri, the city's biggest export is and has been for a very long time your young people, now and in the past, and even still those growing up there today. If the city wants to keep it's vibrant youth, good jobs are the answer. Following the lead of Mr. Ken Shearin, your mayor and a man with a big heart and a very creative mind, in time can change the atmosphere and provide benefits to the city. Isn't it time that the 5 council members who regularly oppose Ken open their minds a bit and work with Ken to make a real difference instead of constantly giving him a hard time and opposing his every suggestion? An audit of the city finances and expenditures would be helpful too. Merging city and county government and removing some of the tax collector pressure might help too. Isn't it time to face the facts of the decay that infects your city of very good people and start to make corrections?! Your city has much history to be proud of, but it is the history you make today that will enliven St. Joseph and make it prosper and grow. Saying No, No, No to Mr. Shearin is not the answer! You fine people elected Ken, tell your council women and men to cooperate with Ken. He cares and so do most of you too.
Sincerely,
Richard Mastio
On Whatever happened to ... Mastio and his gorilla?
A note from the reporter:
Chris011, thanks for the interest and for posting your comment. I'm not here to answer for the city, but I do want to provide you with what information I have.
The city hires an external auditor every year, and that report is available on the city website. You can go directly to http://stjoemo.info/finance/2007CAFR.pdf... or go to the city's main website, http://stjoemo.info/ and click on the "Departments" button and go to the Finance Department.
Joe
On Council quietly moves on from spending drama
Another response from the reporter:
Mr. Gann said Wednesday that the townhouses would likely sell for about $180,000 to $190,000, and the single-family homes would probably sell for $225,000 or more.
On South Side project moving ahead
A response from the reporter:
Heritage, the answer is no. This project will not pay any impact fees. (For those who aren't up on all this stuff, the council recently created new sewer and road impact fees for new developments. Greystone was the first to pay any of these impact fees -- $500 per house for sewers, and $500 per house for roads.)
The council did discuss that Wednesday, and here are the answers:
The sewer impact fees couldn't be imposed because Mr. Gann received approval for his "preliminary plat" about two years ago -- long before the fees were created.
The road impact fees couldn't be imposed because the council only created a "transportation district" in northeast St. Joseph. They can't impose a fee without the district in place. (Why they haven't created more districts appears to be a little bit of a political issue -- obviously developers would rather not pay fees, plus the city and Chamber of Commerce worry about the hefty fees that would have to be applied on a new industrial development.)
On South Side project moving ahead
g73,
Good question, and the official answer is: Commercial tree trimmers are not allowed to leave debris on the curbside, according to the city and FEMA standards. If a property owner hires a tree trimmer, that trimmer is supposed to haul it away (whether that was understood when the estimate was given is another matter, and it could obviously complicate things between the homeowner and tree trimmer).
The reason is that FEMA and the city don't want to use taxpayer dollars to underwrite private businesses that are profiting on their normal business enterprise.
Thanks for the interest,
Joe Blumberg
reporter
St. Joseph News-Press
On City lifts restriction on debris drop-offs
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