President Mark Froese chaired the meeting.  Mark announced that after the meeting, members were encouraged to get together at the Blackthorn Pub for pizza.  After-meeting gatherings like this will be held starting this year as a way to allow members additional time for socializing.

 

Pauline Ashton, Membership Secretary, had membership forms since this is the start of the annual membership drive.   Dues are $15 per household (two votes), $10 per individual and $100 for a lifetime membership.  Please get a form from Pauline if you have not joined or renewed your membership yet. 

 

We received a thank you note from the 100 Neediest Cases Agency in appreciation of the funds donated by the Association. 

 

John Chasnoff, of the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression, gave a presentation on restoring local control of the Police Dept. to the city of St. Louis.  Mr. Chasnoff gave a presentation last November that was attended by Mark and Claudia and we invited him to come to our membership meeting to discuss this topic. 

 

Mr. Chasnoff discussed the reasons why St. Louis and Kansas City are the only cities in the country where control of the city Police Dept. is held by the State of Missouri.  This arrangement arose in the mid-nineteenth century as a reform movement to minimize the corruption that occurred at that time as a result of police officers being appointed by the mayor as political patronage jobs.  Many cities at the time adopted this policy.  In addition, since the Missouri governor in 1861 was pro-Confederacy and the city was pro-Union, the governor used the idea of state control to gain control over St. Louis.  Since that time, this technique has been deemed unnecessary since police officers were no longer appointed as patronage jobs but were selected based on merit exams and other professional standards,  Currently, every other city in the country has reverted to local control of the Police Dept. with the exception of Kansas City and St. Louis.

 

A bill called the Local Control Amendment has been working its way through the State Legislature in order to restore local control.  The bill is in its 3rd session and did pass out of Committee in the House, although it is still in Committee in the Senate.  The St. Louis Aldermen passed a resolution in favor of the bill with 25 out of 28 aldermen voting in favor.

 

Although the Police Board is officially neutral on the matter, the Police Union is opposed to this bill.  The bill is written so that the Police Pension and other benefits are to remain unaffected; there may still be fear about losing these benefits. 

                                 

Without any actual polls, John feels that approximately 60% of the populace approve of the bill.  Putting the matter on a referendum might be an effective measure but that requires a great deal of effort and hasn’t been put in place at this time.   Alderman Jennifer Florida was told by Governor Nixon that he would not sign the bill if it came to his desk.  However, she was told that he took the opposite stand when discussing the matter with the African American Caucus who consider the current configuration a result of past racism and thus are also working towards local control.

 

The bill isn’t currently assigned to a committee.  It will either be taken up by the Urban Affairs or the Local Government committee.  John recommended sending e-mail to these committee chairs with your opinion about the bill as a way to let the Jefferson City legislators know how St. Louis residents feel. 

 

Ted Hoskins Theodore.Hoskins@house.mo.gov is chair of the Urban Affairs committee.

 

Jason Brown Jason.Brown@house.mo.gov is chair of the Local Government committee.

 

In answer to the question about how Kansas City is dealing with this issue, John stated that Kansas City doesn’t seem to care about it as much since they don’t have a local citizens group involved in this issue.  The Post Dispatch had a very strong editorial in favor of local control although they later backed off a little, perhaps because the Police Board President is now on the paper’s editorial board. 

 

Jeff Smith (our State Senator and John Chasnoff’s cousin) is in favor of the bill; Mike Colona (our State Representative) is not (he has support from the Police Board.)

 

John passed around post cards that could be signed and that will be sent to the state Legislature.  The names will also be used for a mailing list to keep people informed on the progress of the bill.  In addition, he recommended that people contact Lewis Reed, President of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, and our representative, Jennifer Florida, with their opinions on the matter.

 

Mark reminded people that we still have Tower Grove Neighborhood Association t-shirts available for $10.

 

Jennifer Florida, 15th Ward Alderman, shared information she collected about the red light cameras.  Legislation is being introduced to require clear and consistent signage about these cameras to be present near the affected intersections. 

 

Jennifer made a presentation at a meeting that was held February 23, 2009 regarding the proposed closing of Mann school.  Several speakers at this meeting discussed reasons why they felt Mann should not be closed.  School Superintendent Dr. Kelvin Adams is scheduled to present the administration’s recommendations to the St. Louis Public Schools Special Administrative Board at 6 p.m. Feb. 26, 2009.

 

Real estate assessments should be received June 15, 2009.  There will be a 2-week period in which to file an appeal.  Appraisals may go down but taxes will not necessarily be lowered.

 

On Saturday, February 28, 2009, Jennifer will host a coffee crawl through the neighborhood.  Mayor Slay will be attending as well.  The first stop will be at the Gelateria at 9:15 a.m.  Attend and help stimulate the local economy.

 

Jan Clinite, Treasurer, was not able to attend; Jennifer had flyers on her behalf about the next meeting of the 15th Ward Democrats on February 26, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at Mangia Italiano on Grand.

 

Rachel Witt, South Grand Community Improvement District Executive Director, reported that Victor’s addition to his Hair and Nail Salon will be called Café Mochi and will open mid-April.  It will include a bakery and Asian cuisine.  Erato Wine Bar closed and will be replaced with Parkside Lounge, to be opened in a few weeks.  A new Lebanese restaurant will be opening soon.  Absolutli Goosed reopened under new management that includes Joe Thele, Program Manager of the Neighborhood Stabilization Team.

 

The South Grand Community Improvement District (CID) purchased the land behind the old Commerce Bank and will be putting 98 parking spaces there.  It will be a lighted lot; 50 spaces have already been leased.  The cost is $30 per month and is aimed at people who work on or near Grand.  This will help relieve street parking congestion. 

 

A new business recruiting package has been completed and is being distributed.

 

Tomorrow Rachel will officially be told whether the CID will receive any of the economic stimulus money.  Soon, timelines will be put together for steps involved in the Great Streets Initiative project and this information will be posted online.

 

Mark reported that new Welcome packets have been put together by the block captains.  We will be reviewing these packets and will be adding a handout about the Tower Grove Neighborhood Association in them for packets distributed in our area.  He also reported that we plan to replace the TGHNA banners in time for the Autumn Fest this year.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

 

 

Claudia Seifert

Secretary