Courtesy of Pat Flood.
Warson Woods Board of Aldermen had their monthly meeting
Feb. 18, 2014. Just a few notes:
1.
The plans for the now vacant St.
Matthew’s Church property. Warson Woods purchased the adjacent lot two
years ago. The mayor stated that the
purpose at the time was to retain the lot as green space as the Church had
intended to sell it to a developer. He
said that the green space idea was not meant to be permanent and the City and
the Church are now proceeding with plans to possibly develop the area. Residents spoke in opposition to the condo
development idea discussed at prior meetings and mentioned in a newspaper
article. The mayor said the condo idea had a lot of support. Residents stated their belief that Warson
Woods should remain a single family dwelling community; that property values
would be reduced if the condos were built; that traffic would increase
drastically and that children would be put in danger because of that. Speakers
also suggested that the City should consider developing single family houses;
retain the green space; or use the Church building for a City Hall or
multi-purpose building.
The Board was also asked if
citizens should get petitions signed. The Mayor said that the Consultant is now
speaking with six citizens to get their ideas and he, the Consultant, should be
allowed to do his job. The groups will
get larger as the project progresses.
When asked why larger meetings were not being held now the Mayor said
that it made no sense for a large number of people to be consulted at this
time.
Communication was the biggest
complaint with many residents near the Church property saying that they felt
they were not receiving the information they should. It was discussed that a meeting had been held
with the Consultant and when asked if there was any reason why the Aldermen
from the Ward where the property is located were not invited they were told
there was no reason.
2.
Lighting at Andrew and Manchester
3.
The Bread Company will be moving
from its current location in Greentree to the Schnuck's parking lot. Concerns were raised with Kirkwood
about increased traffic on Woodlawn due to one of the Manchester entrances being closed off for the
store.
4.
A new website is being developed by
one of our police officers who has expertise in this area. A demonstration was given. This will aid the
communication issue including hopefully posting meeting agendas with hyperlinks
to proposed ordinances and other documents so they can be reviewed by Citizens
without having to attend the meetings or in preparation for comments at the
meetings.
5.
The
City Attorney reported that proposed ordinances regarding the parking
of commercial vehicles on the streets and the installation of solar energy
technology on homes are being prepared.
